Knives and Guns
in our communities!
Multi-Agency Action to develop effective strategies and ways forward

Course postponed until later this year - New dates will be announced soon.

This conference is for leaders, decision-makers and practitioners from Local Government, Police,
Health, Criminal Justice, Children Services, CDRPs, YOTs, Third Sector and other partners
committed to reducing knives and guns-related crime and disorder.

Conference chair: Lord Harris of Haringey, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Policing

The Conference will:

• Explore best ways of engaging and empowering communities and targeting and working with young people at risk
• Assess the effectiveness of different approaches to prevention, awareness raising and diversion
• Examine in depth new approaches to reducing knife enabled crime and armed criminality and discuss key issues around intelligence gathering and enforcement
• Explore the practical lessons from projects in different parts of the country and identify successful ways of engaging and working with parents and schools to tackle knife carrying

Discussion Forums led by practitioners

■ Formulating the Strategy
■ Prevention, Enforcement and Prosecution
■ Prevention and diversion

■ From Strategy to Action
■ Education – achieving true engagement
     future actions for YOTs and Partners

■Stop and Search

• Take a fresh look at the complex issues around gun and knife crime in the light of recently published updates on national and local action and best practice
• Examine the findings and recommendation of the Knife Crime Report, to be published by the Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons and Time for Action report, to be published by The Mayor of London.
• Offer the opportunity listen to the key partners, to attend best practice forums and discuss effective strategies and practical interventions being developed and implemented by local and national partnerships.
• Explore the broad range of expertise, and most effective communication means, needed to ensure the informed formulation of policy, strategy and practice at all levels.
• Identify the key issues and mechanisms for achieving the best balance between education, prevention/diversion, intelligence, investigation, enforcement and prosecution.
• Identify key issues for stakeholders, holistic approaches, and scope for working within existing and emerging partnership arrangements at national and local levels.
• Identify practical action plans for all partner agencies for the short/medium-term and clear messages for local and national policy and decision making

Speakers and forum facilitators include:

• Lord Harris of Haringey, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Policing

• Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, HoC

• Dr Marian FitzGerald, Visiting Research Professor, Kent Criminal Justice Centre

• Mr John Birkenshaw, Crime Reduction Manager, Leeds Community Safety Partnership,
  Weapons Awareness Programme, Leeds

• Mr Kirk Daws QPM, West Midlands Mediation and Transformation Services

• Mr Jonathon Toy, Head of Community Safety and Enforcement, Southwark LBC

Target Audience

• Local Government:
  • Elected Members
  • Policy Officers
  • Community Safety and Anti-Social Behaviour officers

• Police Authorities and Police Services:
  • Authority Members
  • Chief Officers and BCU Commanders
  • Youth Liaison, Violent Crime and Crime Reduction
  • Safer Neighbourhood officers and Community Safety staff

• CDRPs and other Relevant Partnerships

• Children and Young People’s Services
  • Children’s Services and Youth Services
  • Local Safeguarding Children Boards
  • Youth Offending Teams
  • Schools, Education Welfare, Behaviour Support

• Primary Care Trusts, A&E doctors and nurses
• Offender Management Service
• Third Sector organisations
• Magistrates and Crown Prosecution Service

Conference Topics include:

• Knife Crime –The recommendations.
  The Home Affairs Committee Report

• Weapons amongst young people.
  Building on the research evidence

• Co-ordinated action against knife and Gun crime:
  An Update and Next Steps

• The latest on Time for Action

• The Youth Justice Board Perspective.
  Current and future interventions

• Doctors attending to the injured.
  The hospital’s trauma team perspective

• Policing knives and guns

• The Legal Perspective. Building up the case

• Advise local stakeholders on the latest measures and proposals to prevent and tackle knife and gun related crime and disorder.
• Be in a position to contact colleagues from around the country and further discuss ways of addressing similar challenges.
• Revise current strategies in order to improve their effectiveness in getting to grips with knife and gun crime.

Participating organisations include: