The Leicestershire and Rutland Safer Communities Strategy Board met on Friday 25 September 2026 to discuss progress on the LLR Hate Crime Strategy, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner's work, and performance data for safer communities. Key decisions included noting the refreshed Strategy for Tackling Hate and endorsing its continued delivery through existing partnership arrangements.

LLR Hate Crime Strategy and Delivery Plan Update

Superintendent Stephen Bunn of Leicestershire Police presented an update on the refreshed Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Strategy for Tackling Hate (2026-2029) and the updated Terms of Reference for the LLR Strategic Hate Crime Group. The strategy, which will be reviewed annually, now places a greater emphasis on victim feedback and adopts a more data-driven, evidence-based approach to improve effectiveness. The Board noted the refreshed strategy and updated Terms of Reference, and endorsed the continued delivery of the strategy through existing LLR partnership arrangements.

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Update

Sajan Devshi from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) provided an update on the office's activities. This included details of Community Safety Partnership (CSP) funding allocations and expenditure, with a note that two CSPs, Oadby and Wigston and Harborough, had not yet begun spending their allocated funds. The report highlighted the statutory duty of the Police and Crime Commissioner to engage with the public, detailing 34 engagements in the first quarter of the year and a total of 457 engagements since May 2024. Common themes from these engagements included a desire for more visible policing, concerns about anti-social behaviour, young people involved in crime, victim confidence in reporting violence against women and girls, drug and alcohol misuse, and road safety. The OPCC is working with the Chief Constable to increase visible patrols and foot patrols in market towns. The report also detailed the Protect and Prevent events held in Charnwood, which aimed to address neighbourhood crime and feelings of safety by distributing home security items. These events were well-received, with 99% of surveyed residents reporting an increased feeling of safety. Further events are planned for Hinckley and Bosworth, and Leicester City. The Board noted the content of the report.

Victim First Update

Chloe Thatcher presented an update on the work of Victim First, a service commissioned by the OPCC and delivered by Catch22, which supports victims and witnesses of crime across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Victim First celebrated its 10th anniversary and has introduced a Victim Pathway Team to improve the handling of domestic abuse referrals. The service is focusing on enhancing its data collection and analysis capabilities, including the development of heat maps to identify crime hotspots and enable targeted responses. Victim First welcomed suggestions to access more crime and victim data from Leicestershire County Council's Business Intelligence section and to establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for their work. Lisa Bateman has been appointed as the Restorative Justice Lead, and a Restorative Justice forum has been launched in Leicester city, with services available across the entire LLR area. The Board noted the contents of the report.

Safer Communities Performance

Anita Chavda, Projects and Planning Officer for the Community Safety Team at Leicestershire County Council, presented the Safer Communities performance dashboard for Quarter 1 of 2025/26. The report indicated that while overall crime and violence with injury have improved over the last two years, and burglary and vehicle offences are lower than last year, there has been an increase in total anti-social behaviour (ASB) figures, particularly in personal ASB. Hate crime and racially or religiously aggravated crime have also risen compared to the previous year. The percentage of MARAC repeat referrals has decreased slightly and remains within the recommended range. The Board noted the 2025/26 Q1 performance dashboard.

Anti-social Behaviour System - ECINS

Gurjit Samra-Rai, Strategic Lead for Safer Communities at Leicestershire County Council, provided a verbal update on the ECINS (Early Case Information Network System) anti-social behaviour case management system. While the system is not yet fully operational as business as usual due to some outstanding issues with the provider, it has been improved with the ability to record domestic abuse within a home and links to hate incidents. The recruitment for an Anti-social Behaviour System Governance & Co-ordination Officer is underway. The Board noted the update and requested a further update at the next meeting.

Risk Ready Programme

Mark Warden, LLR Resilience Forum and Resilience Partnership Manager, presented an update on the Risk Ready Programme, a community resilience initiative designed to help residents, community groups, and local organisations understand local risks and prepare for emergencies. The programme, which launched in March 2026, includes webinars, workshops, and local engagement activities. Board members were encouraged to promote the programme and connect Mark Warden with any community groups that could benefit from its engagement. The Board noted the contents of the report.

Community Protection Warnings and Community Protection Notices

Inspector Shaun Wilson of Leicestershire Police provided an update on efforts to improve the awareness, consistency, and use of Community Protection Warnings (CPWs) and Community Protection Notices (CPNs). These tools are part of the anti-social behaviour toolkit used to address persistent unreasonable behaviour. While there has been a significant increase in the use of CPWs, the use of CPNs has decreased. Further awareness-raising activities are planned, with the hope that the new ASB Co-ordinator will assist in this. The Board noted the contents of the report.