6th December 2018 update from Marie:
Just a quick email update with what I have been doing for Faith and Police together throughout November. The last four weeks have been rather busy with a lot of traveling and meetings around the country, below are a few of the highlights.
10th Nov - ‘Jubliee+ Churches that Change Communities’ Annual Conference: the key note speakers were Martin Charlesworth calling the Church to think and act strategically to bring about community transformation and the Bishop of Burnley who urged the church not to neglect the poor and get out into the urban estates. There was also an array of seminars on tackling addictions, homelessness, and loneliness in the older generation and much more. All the talks can be found at www.jubilee-plus.org/media
12th-14th Nov - Christian Police Association Leaders’ Conference: as always this was an inspiring and encouraging time. Paul Blakey from ‘Christian Night Life Initiative’ spoke to us about the work of ‘Street Angels’, ‘Festival Angels’, and the significant crime reduction impact they have had. Check out www.cninetwork.org
15th and 16th Nov - I spent two days at ‘Betel UK’ in Birmingham who offer a residential recovery community to those affected by homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction and long-term unemployment. They can support more than 375 men and women across the country at any one time and will often take someone within 1-5 days of the initial interview. It was another inspirational and encouraging time, hearing the stories of how the residents' lives had been transformed, how they now feel valued and that their lives have meaning, they are no longer committing crime and taking drugs. Visit www.betel.uk for more information.
21st Nov - I attended the Northampton ‘ROC Conversation’ which was the largest ever with 400 people attendance from all different areas of the community wanting to be involved in helping Northampton be a better and safer place to live. A ‘ROC Conversation’ is a great way to pull the local community together, find out what is already happening and celebrate that, then look at the issues within the community and come up with solutions to help solve those problems. Visit www.roc.uk.com/roc-conversation for more information
22nd Nov – I attended the launch of the College of Policing’s new ‘National Diversity Equality and Inclusion Strategy’ at their National Diversity Conference, where I was privileged to represent the Christian Police Association alongside colleagues from the Muslim Police Association, Black Police Association, LGBT+ Police Network and Autism Police UK on a staff support networks Q&A panel.
23rd Nov - I spent the day discussing the Churches’ response to addiction and how Jubilee+ could assist the church increase its capacity to help tackle the problem of addiction. This was a great day and lots of positive and useful ideas were generated. I will keep you updated with further information as things move forward. Check out www.jubilee-plus.org for further info about what they do and see their recent research report; ‘Supporting People With Addiction’. This is a preliminary report on UK church-based work to help those suffering with addictions. I am sure some great resources will be produced or advertised over the coming months.
Many of these ideas can be transferred to other faith communities.
Just a quick email update with what I have been doing for Faith and Police together throughout November. The last four weeks have been rather busy with a lot of traveling and meetings around the country, below are a few of the highlights.
10th Nov - ‘Jubliee+ Churches that Change Communities’ Annual Conference: the key note speakers were Martin Charlesworth calling the Church to think and act strategically to bring about community transformation and the Bishop of Burnley who urged the church not to neglect the poor and get out into the urban estates. There was also an array of seminars on tackling addictions, homelessness, and loneliness in the older generation and much more. All the talks can be found at www.jubilee-plus.org/media
12th-14th Nov - Christian Police Association Leaders’ Conference: as always this was an inspiring and encouraging time. Paul Blakey from ‘Christian Night Life Initiative’ spoke to us about the work of ‘Street Angels’, ‘Festival Angels’, and the significant crime reduction impact they have had. Check out www.cninetwork.org
15th and 16th Nov - I spent two days at ‘Betel UK’ in Birmingham who offer a residential recovery community to those affected by homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction and long-term unemployment. They can support more than 375 men and women across the country at any one time and will often take someone within 1-5 days of the initial interview. It was another inspirational and encouraging time, hearing the stories of how the residents' lives had been transformed, how they now feel valued and that their lives have meaning, they are no longer committing crime and taking drugs. Visit www.betel.uk for more information.
21st Nov - I attended the Northampton ‘ROC Conversation’ which was the largest ever with 400 people attendance from all different areas of the community wanting to be involved in helping Northampton be a better and safer place to live. A ‘ROC Conversation’ is a great way to pull the local community together, find out what is already happening and celebrate that, then look at the issues within the community and come up with solutions to help solve those problems. Visit www.roc.uk.com/roc-conversation for more information
22nd Nov – I attended the launch of the College of Policing’s new ‘National Diversity Equality and Inclusion Strategy’ at their National Diversity Conference, where I was privileged to represent the Christian Police Association alongside colleagues from the Muslim Police Association, Black Police Association, LGBT+ Police Network and Autism Police UK on a staff support networks Q&A panel.
23rd Nov - I spent the day discussing the Churches’ response to addiction and how Jubilee+ could assist the church increase its capacity to help tackle the problem of addiction. This was a great day and lots of positive and useful ideas were generated. I will keep you updated with further information as things move forward. Check out www.jubilee-plus.org for further info about what they do and see their recent research report; ‘Supporting People With Addiction’. This is a preliminary report on UK church-based work to help those suffering with addictions. I am sure some great resources will be produced or advertised over the coming months.
Many of these ideas can be transferred to other faith communities.
8th November 2018 update from Marie:
Over the last few weeks I’m met with and spoken to lots of people from a variety of different areas and organisations including Faith Forum for London, Faith in Society, Faith Action, Nishkam SWAT, Churches Together England and I’ve been to see a number of project/organisations which are reducing demand on the police and other statutory agencies to help transform lives and their communities some of those are:-
Teen Challenge have seen large numbers of men and women get free from addiction and crime, get re-educated and living quality lives that make a difference to society over the last 33 years. They have 6 residential units across the UK and numerous outreach projects working mainly with the people the police have regular dealing with. www.teenchallenge.org.uk
A homeless project in Manchester city centre which is aiming to eradicate homelessness long term with a multi-agency partnership approach and faith communities are central to that.
Redeeming our Communities (ROC) HQ hearing about the various work and projects they are doing, ROC Champions working in schools developing showing children their value and developing positive life skills, ROC restore working with the police to bring about quality resolutions to long standing neighbourhood disputes, bullying etc. thereby reducing demand on police and ROC Coach a professional community mentoring programme which aims to empower disadvantaged children, young people, families, those at risk of offending (depending on the agreed target group) to build resilience in individuals bringing about long term change in lives and communities. Visit www.ROC.uk.com ROC coach is also being rolled out in areas of London to work with families whose children are at risk of offending and getting into drugs.
The Message Trust Manchester, work with a variety of churches. I visited the Enterprise Centre this is a great initiative that is helping people to rebuild their lives through socially responsible business comprises many different aspects of transforming lives and preventing reoffending by providing a holistic support. Over the 5 years they have been running their reoffending rate is less than 10% whilst estimates suggest the national average equivalent could be as high as 80%. They are passionate about seeing lives turned around and those who were part of the problem becoming part of the solution. Visit www.themec.org.uk They also do work in prisons seeing lives transformed and people resettled once out of prison. The Eden project who alongside a local church do detached youth work and help to see long term lasting change in the most deprived communities. Visit www.themessage.org.uk for more information.
Hope Centre Ministries in Cwmbran www.hopecm.co.uk are hosting a recovery conference on 10th December at Victory Church Cwmbran, Wales. If you’re a professional working in treatment wanting to see how they facilitate recovery, a service user who’s searching for hope or a family member who needs to understand the complexity of addiction, this is for you. Attached is a poster with further information.
Over the last few weeks I’m met with and spoken to lots of people from a variety of different areas and organisations including Faith Forum for London, Faith in Society, Faith Action, Nishkam SWAT, Churches Together England and I’ve been to see a number of project/organisations which are reducing demand on the police and other statutory agencies to help transform lives and their communities some of those are:-
Teen Challenge have seen large numbers of men and women get free from addiction and crime, get re-educated and living quality lives that make a difference to society over the last 33 years. They have 6 residential units across the UK and numerous outreach projects working mainly with the people the police have regular dealing with. www.teenchallenge.org.uk
A homeless project in Manchester city centre which is aiming to eradicate homelessness long term with a multi-agency partnership approach and faith communities are central to that.
Redeeming our Communities (ROC) HQ hearing about the various work and projects they are doing, ROC Champions working in schools developing showing children their value and developing positive life skills, ROC restore working with the police to bring about quality resolutions to long standing neighbourhood disputes, bullying etc. thereby reducing demand on police and ROC Coach a professional community mentoring programme which aims to empower disadvantaged children, young people, families, those at risk of offending (depending on the agreed target group) to build resilience in individuals bringing about long term change in lives and communities. Visit www.ROC.uk.com ROC coach is also being rolled out in areas of London to work with families whose children are at risk of offending and getting into drugs.
The Message Trust Manchester, work with a variety of churches. I visited the Enterprise Centre this is a great initiative that is helping people to rebuild their lives through socially responsible business comprises many different aspects of transforming lives and preventing reoffending by providing a holistic support. Over the 5 years they have been running their reoffending rate is less than 10% whilst estimates suggest the national average equivalent could be as high as 80%. They are passionate about seeing lives turned around and those who were part of the problem becoming part of the solution. Visit www.themec.org.uk They also do work in prisons seeing lives transformed and people resettled once out of prison. The Eden project who alongside a local church do detached youth work and help to see long term lasting change in the most deprived communities. Visit www.themessage.org.uk for more information.
Hope Centre Ministries in Cwmbran www.hopecm.co.uk are hosting a recovery conference on 10th December at Victory Church Cwmbran, Wales. If you’re a professional working in treatment wanting to see how they facilitate recovery, a service user who’s searching for hope or a family member who needs to understand the complexity of addiction, this is for you. Attached is a poster with further information.
Police offer Counter Terrorism training for staff and volunteers working at places of worship:
Counter Terrorism Police are calling on places of worship to take part in an innovative new training scheme that is proving a hit with major shopping and entertainment venues.
The package – free to use and developed in partnership with retail giant Marks & Spencer – aims to equip workers in crowded places with knowledge to help prevent terror attacks.
Fifteen hundred companies nationwide have already signed up.
Called ACT Awareness e-Learning, the training covers how to spot the signs of suspicious behaviour and what to do if a major incident should take place. Free to use, the package can be divided into short sections to suit business or service needs. However, it takes just three quarters of an hour to complete – 45 vital minutes that could save lives.
Last year 36 people were killed and many more were injured in five separate incidents in London and Manchester. One of the attacks involved a group of worshipers outside a mosque. One man lost his life and many others were injured.
Police are now asking leaders of all faith institutions – especially those who host large congregations – to encourage staff and volunteers to take part.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D’Orsi, national lead for Protective Security, says: “There is no specific intelligence to say that places of worship are particularly at risk but sadly we have seen that attacks can take place anywhere at any time. All locations that attract large numbers of people should take steps to help protect their staff and visitors.”
Manchester suffered the largest loss of life in last year’s attacks, when 22 people died in an explosion at a pop concert. The city’s cathedral was one of the first organisations across the UK to sign up to the scheme.
The Dean of Manchester, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender, says: “The online training shows staff in simple terms what to look out for and what to do if the worst should happen.
“It’s basic and free advice that could save lives. I would encourage others across all faiths to ask their employees and volunteer workers to take part. We all need to play our part in helping to keep our communities safe.”
Organisations wanting more information, or to apply for registration, should visit the National Counter Terrorism Security Office website - www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-counter-terrorism-security-office
Counter Terrorism Police are calling on places of worship to take part in an innovative new training scheme that is proving a hit with major shopping and entertainment venues.
The package – free to use and developed in partnership with retail giant Marks & Spencer – aims to equip workers in crowded places with knowledge to help prevent terror attacks.
Fifteen hundred companies nationwide have already signed up.
Called ACT Awareness e-Learning, the training covers how to spot the signs of suspicious behaviour and what to do if a major incident should take place. Free to use, the package can be divided into short sections to suit business or service needs. However, it takes just three quarters of an hour to complete – 45 vital minutes that could save lives.
Last year 36 people were killed and many more were injured in five separate incidents in London and Manchester. One of the attacks involved a group of worshipers outside a mosque. One man lost his life and many others were injured.
Police are now asking leaders of all faith institutions – especially those who host large congregations – to encourage staff and volunteers to take part.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D’Orsi, national lead for Protective Security, says: “There is no specific intelligence to say that places of worship are particularly at risk but sadly we have seen that attacks can take place anywhere at any time. All locations that attract large numbers of people should take steps to help protect their staff and visitors.”
Manchester suffered the largest loss of life in last year’s attacks, when 22 people died in an explosion at a pop concert. The city’s cathedral was one of the first organisations across the UK to sign up to the scheme.
The Dean of Manchester, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender, says: “The online training shows staff in simple terms what to look out for and what to do if the worst should happen.
“It’s basic and free advice that could save lives. I would encourage others across all faiths to ask their employees and volunteer workers to take part. We all need to play our part in helping to keep our communities safe.”
Organisations wanting more information, or to apply for registration, should visit the National Counter Terrorism Security Office website - www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-counter-terrorism-security-office
Paul on Premier Christian Radio:
Media Release (4/10/2018):
Faith and Police Together is a new initiative aimed at building links between local police and their local faith communities. We believe that faith communities have a major role to play in bringing about community transformation and cohesion. When the police and faith community’s work together to tackle some of the issues the police are also facing, we will see lives and communities transformed. This, in turn can lead to reduced demand on police services, a valuable contribution to a service that has extensive demands placed upon it. Policing covers a vast ranges of issues within society and it is not always crime that is the problem. We have identified 4 priority areas which we want to concentrate on and to encourage faith communities to engage with over the next year. These priority areas include:-
We want to support the continued growth of strong and effective connections between the local police service, faith groups and local projects; thereby building the Faith and Police network in support of local communities. There are many projects and evidence of good practice already in existence and we hope utilise and work with some of those projects to help give faith communities templates and ideas to assist them locally to meet their needs. We will be promoting case studies and initiatives throughout the year. We want to see safer communities and the most vulnerable cared for and believe that this project will help deliver that ambition.
Deputy Chief Constable for Devon and Cornwall Paul Netherton says “Faith and Police Together is a multi-faith initiative designed to galvanise the support of faith groups to support the police and to help address problems and challenges within our communities. Often faith groups have a high motivation to help within our society but sometimes don’t know how they can help or even how they talk to the police to find out what the problems are or how they can assist. My experience of working with groups and churches is that once you start the conversations you unlock massive social capital that can transform an area or make a real difference to a problem. This could be around Street Angels patrolling the night time economy, drop in centres for young people or cafes where the homeless or lonely can find support. The benefit for the police and all the public sector is significant in terms of reducing demand and finding long term solutions. This is a great initiative and is welcomed by the police and will lead to some transformational change to some of the most challenging social issues across the country.”
Marie Reavey a police officer from Norfolk has recently been seconded to this project to help progress our objectives. If you are keen to find out how you can get involved please check out our website www.faithandpolicetogether.org.uk. If you are working in the 4 priority areas within your community or would like more details about this exciting new project please contact Acting Inspector Marie Reavey on reaveym@norfolk.pnn.police.uk .
Faith and Police Together is a new initiative aimed at building links between local police and their local faith communities. We believe that faith communities have a major role to play in bringing about community transformation and cohesion. When the police and faith community’s work together to tackle some of the issues the police are also facing, we will see lives and communities transformed. This, in turn can lead to reduced demand on police services, a valuable contribution to a service that has extensive demands placed upon it. Policing covers a vast ranges of issues within society and it is not always crime that is the problem. We have identified 4 priority areas which we want to concentrate on and to encourage faith communities to engage with over the next year. These priority areas include:-
- Addiction
- Homelessness
- Youth gang and youth Knife crime (youth related crime)
- Loneliness
We want to support the continued growth of strong and effective connections between the local police service, faith groups and local projects; thereby building the Faith and Police network in support of local communities. There are many projects and evidence of good practice already in existence and we hope utilise and work with some of those projects to help give faith communities templates and ideas to assist them locally to meet their needs. We will be promoting case studies and initiatives throughout the year. We want to see safer communities and the most vulnerable cared for and believe that this project will help deliver that ambition.
Deputy Chief Constable for Devon and Cornwall Paul Netherton says “Faith and Police Together is a multi-faith initiative designed to galvanise the support of faith groups to support the police and to help address problems and challenges within our communities. Often faith groups have a high motivation to help within our society but sometimes don’t know how they can help or even how they talk to the police to find out what the problems are or how they can assist. My experience of working with groups and churches is that once you start the conversations you unlock massive social capital that can transform an area or make a real difference to a problem. This could be around Street Angels patrolling the night time economy, drop in centres for young people or cafes where the homeless or lonely can find support. The benefit for the police and all the public sector is significant in terms of reducing demand and finding long term solutions. This is a great initiative and is welcomed by the police and will lead to some transformational change to some of the most challenging social issues across the country.”
Marie Reavey a police officer from Norfolk has recently been seconded to this project to help progress our objectives. If you are keen to find out how you can get involved please check out our website www.faithandpolicetogether.org.uk. If you are working in the 4 priority areas within your community or would like more details about this exciting new project please contact Acting Inspector Marie Reavey on reaveym@norfolk.pnn.police.uk .