Minutes:
The Panel received a presentation regarding “Mutual Gain”, the Community Engagement initiative which had been piloted in Darlington and Seaham (for copy of slides see file of Minutes).
Chief Superintendent G Hall and Chief Superintendent I Wood delivered the presentation, accompanied by officers from both pilot areas. The presentation provided the Panel with an overview of the aims and objectives of the programme, details of those who participated and an overview of the outcomes, evaluation and benefits. The Panel were advised that the initiative had been a valuable learning curve not least because it had altered the views of all participants in relation to community engagement and had created a strong sense of empowerment among the pilot communities.
Councillor Boyes commended the model which had been piloted and welcomed the possibility of it being rolled out to other areas. He stressed that for the programme to be successful it required buy in from all levels and good leadership from senior levels. Chief Superintendent Hall agreed and advised the Panel that indeed the staff involved had also felt empowered.
In response to queries from Councillor Brookes, Chief Superintendent Hall advised that the programmes were not actually labour intensive as local residents were so keen to be involved that all stakeholders were required to do was to facilitate their development. It was noted that officers would have welcomed more time to devote to the programmes.
In relation to keeping up the momentum in the pilot areas, Chief Superintendent Hall clarified that all efforts would be made to build on what had already been achieved, irrespective of future funding. The Panel was also advised that it had been identified that a wider scope of participants should be involved in future work, for example including representatives from the Health Service.
In response to a query from Councillor B Jones, Chief Superintendent Hall clarified that the model was suitable to roll out to other ward areas, though it would be inevitable that residents in alternative areas may respond to the programme differently.
Councillor Forster had been involved as a stakeholder in the Seaham pilot and took the opportunity to commend all those who had been involved, the event had been a resounding success and the most pleasing outcome was the trust that local residents now had in the police.
Chief Superintendent Hall took the opportunity to commend the work of S Pearce, Area Action Partnership Co-ordinator for East Durham, for her involvement with the Seaham pilot as she had worked very closely with the Police to facilitate and deliver the event.