A round table has been held with leaders of 11 Mosques in Northamptonshire to discuss how Police can increase trust and confidence and remove barriers to community engagement.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone, Deputy Commissioner Marianne Kimani and Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet met with representatives of the Muslim community at Darby House in Wellingborough on Tuesday (May 6).
It follows on from a similar round table with black church leaders that was held back in March.
The meeting gave Danielle and Marianne the opportunity to discuss the Commissioner’s Safe and Sound public safety plan, and for Ivan to highlight his new Policing Plan – both of which propose to make policing more accessible and visible to local communities.
Mosque leaders spoke about the need for improved communications channels with senior leaders in the Police and about concerns they had on community tensions and hate crime.
Danielle Stone said: “I am on a mission to make communities safer and to improve the relationships between all our communities and our Police and Fire Services.
“All of our local faith groups are very good at putting services in place that help and protect people, and they are hugely influential in their respective communities.
“Bringing us all together will help to forge a strong partnership, and it will take a collective approach to tackle the shared challenges we face across the county.
“We have now held round table discussions with local church leaders as well as our Mosque leaders. The Chief Constable and I know there is a lot to do to increase trust and confidence. So we are open to speaking with any faith or community groups so we can further strengthen the partnerships we have across the whole county.”
During the meeting, Mosque leaders were informed of the newly relaunched grants fund that the Commissioner offers, which offers grants to community groups that can reduce harm or offending, improve community engagement or support vulnerable people across the county.
Other subjects of conversation included anti-social behaviour, theft and drug use in town centres, Neighbourhood Policing patrols, and the desire to increase diversity in the Police and Fire Service.
Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet said: “This meeting was valuable for me in helping to understand the barriers that are in place when it comes to engagement with our Muslim communities, and how we can help to build trust and confidence.
“We recognise that Policing currently doesn’t reflect the communities that we serve as much as it should. Hopefully this meeting is the start of a process that will help to build better lines of communication.
“We want to reach a point where the Muslim community trust that their concerns are being dealt with, and that they see a Force in which they feel truly represented. I will do everything in my power to achieve that.”
Reflecting on the meeting, Inam Khan (pictured above), chair of the Kettering Muslim Association, said: “It was a good meeting, and we thank the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief Constable for listening to us and allaying some of our concerns. It was useful in terms of helping to build the trust and confidence that we have in Policing, and we hope that this can continue in the future.”
Alaa Abouzanad (pictured below, centre), chairman of Northamptonshire Council of Mosques, added: “This was the first time that all our Muslim leaders in Northamptonshire have met with the Commissioner and Chief Constable. We hope this is the first step in helping to improve the relationship we have with the Police, so that together we can tackle problems in our communities.”
