Establish problem solving forums to find innovative solutions

Upon re-election the PCC sought to adopt a new approach to targeting specific crime or community issues that continue to challenge a number of public service partners through establishing a series of problem solving forums.

The three forums that have been held during the PCC’s term of office have all sought to focus on particularly ‘wicked issues’ affecting the police and a range of other partners – homelessness, fly tipping and County Lines drug activity – and more detail is set out elsewhere on each of these individual forums and the action that has occurred as a result.

Ultimately, the PCC Problem Solving Forums have proven that, through the range of attendance and engagement, the nature of the discussions, the ideas generated and the volume and variety of shared actions agreed and subsequently implemented, such an approach can be successful and have a long-term impact on addressing deep rooted problems and issues.

Three Problem Solving Forums have been held during the term of office and since the publication of the Police and Crime Plan in March 2017. These covered Homelessness (October 2017), Fly Tipping (June 2018) and County Lines (November 2018).

Homelessness: This event took place in partnership with the Bournemouth and Poole Council for Voluntary Services’ Criminal Justice Forum and was attended by representatives from 22 voluntary sector organisations. Attendees included housing associations along with a range of organisations providing advice, support, mentoring and advocacy, emergency provision, drug and alcohol services, funding, outreach work, and specialist work with offenders and ex-offenders.

There were presentations from a range of voluntary and statutory sector organisations, followed by workshop sessions across themes of health, housing, support and finance, education, employment, training and benefits. The workshops identified issues, including gaps, and identified potential actions/solutions to address the issues. A range of activities were identified and details of these are shown here.

Fly tipping: This Problem Solving Forum included presentations by the PCC, Dorset Police, Dorset Waste Partnership and the Environment Agency. These were then followed by two workshops to solve the identified issues from both rural and urban perspectives. The groups were asked to identify what they perceived the main actions should be and appropriate ones would be taken forward and funded where required, through a business case. A range of activities were identified and details are shown here.

County lines: Around 60 local representatives from the statutory and voluntary sector attended the Problem Solving Forum on County Lines at the Queen Elizabeth School in Wimborne Minster. ‘Scene-setting’ presentations were given by Dorset Police, the National County Lines Coordination Centre, Aster Housing Association and the St Giles Trust. Facilitated workshops were held to identify proposed actions. A range of activities were identified and details of these are shown in here.