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The Forum Open Meeting took place on Tuesday 15th February at the Gorton North Neighbourhood office. The main speaker for the evening was Supt. Brinnand of Greater Manchester Police. The meeting was well attended, despite the late appearance of the Newsletter due to technical problems, which meant a last minute rush with flyers to publicise the meeting. Thanks to all the volunteers involved.
After opening the meeting, the Chair introduced Supt. Brinnand who, after thanking the Chair for the invitation,  went on to outline the implications of the Crime and Disorder Act. He pointed out that it is now accepted by all concerned that the problem of Crime and Disorder is one for the whole community, including the Police, Local Authority and members of the community, with everybody playing a role. The purpose of the act is to prevent and reduce crime with the emphasis being on reduction, particularly by children and young people and the speedier administration of justice. He noted that not so much emphasis is being put on detection of crime, although this is still important.
Local authorities are being made aware of the implications of policies from a crime point of view, issues such as designing out problems in housing, problem solving at local level, looking into the causes of problems. It is considered that police attendance is a short term solution and that more long term solutions are required, such as directing young people into more productive things than criminal activity.
The legislation has resulted  in an audit leading to a published strategy. This has outlined a partnership structure which comprises an Executive Partnership, Sub Divisional Partnership and at ground level, the Local Area Partnership.
The LAP is now operating and has formed a number of Task groups aimed at various aspects of Crime and Disorder. (see article below)
Jack Straw has stated that the important thing is not the structures, but results. The act has brought about the introduction of new powers. Anti Social Behaviour orders and Child Curfew orders (Under 10 year olds) can be used against anti-social behaviour. The Local Authority is not pursuing the latter  at the moment, as it is seen as a last resort, although this policy is flexible for the future. The Curfew would cover whole areas and be difficult to enforce at this level, so other avenues, such as targeting individuals are being explored first. New powers to deal with Truants are in force, the 'Final Warning' has been brought in to tighten up the cautioning scheme which has fallen into disrepute. There will now be 1 reprimand, the next offence warranting a court appearance. Speedier Justice aims to bring the interval between arrest and sentence to a maximum of 72 days.
Crime and Disorder Strategy is targeting the following areas;
Reduction in violent crime, Burglaries, Anti Social Behaviour, Car Crime, Drugs Crime. With that Supt. Brinnand invited comments and noted that he was pleased to see so many people attending, commenting that while groups continue to meet, there is hope for the future.
There followed a question and answer session in which concerns from the floor were addressed by Supt. Brinnand and Dennis Wellington, LAP Co-ordinator, who had accompanied Supt. Brinnand to the meeting. This was followed by a short break for refreshments.
After the break, Lucy Hall of Homestart gave a short talk about her organisation and its aims. This was received with interest (for more information, see the February Newsletter).
The remainder of the meeting dealt with matters arising from the previous open meeting. Dennis Wellington gave a short run down on Best Value and Ward performance plans, there was a short discussion about the plans for the district centre, it was pointed out that the plans which had been in circulation were not official and that there were no indications as to what will happen on the redevelopment front. Cllr. Jackie Pearcey announced that there would be a public scrutiny meeting on 28th February at which the Council budget would be discussed. This is the first time this has happened and several members of the Forum stated their intention to attend. The meeting closed at 8.55pm.

  Local Area Partnership
An exciting new partnership is making Gorton a safer and more attractive place to live. The Local Area Partnership, or LAP for short, has seen the Police and the City Council team up with Gorton Community Representatives as part of Manchester's drive to cut crime and disorder. Its job is to identify the problems that local people face, and then come up with practical solutions to put things right.
The partnership is checking out areas of Gorton where local people feel unsafe when they are out and about. This may be because of poor lighting, overgrown bushes or derelict buildings, or there could be street corners where groups of people get together and intimidate residents.
You can help by telling the partnership about crime hotspots you know about and by saying which areas you want tackled first. Tell us how YOU would make Gorton a safer place to live. Join the fight against crime and disorder. Let's give the criminals no hiding place.
Contact Crimestoppers on telephone number 0800 555 111.
Any information you give will be treated confidentially.