Responding to racist violence in our communities

Hi all

I just wanted to get in touch as we return to work after the violent events we have witnessed this weekend, across the Country, and the shocking events in Rotherham and Hull.  I want to offer reassurance and support to anyone feeling concerned or worried at this troubling time and set out what action we are taking to stay informed of the continuing situation.

You may have been affected by this directly, at home or at work, or you may know someone that has. Let’s be clear what we have witnessed, these are not protests, but acts of racism and hate.  We stand against racism, and we stand together and united against acts of hate in our communities.

We utterly condemn the violent disorder perpetrated over the last week.

At Community VISION (merger of ERVAS and VANL), our primary concern is the safety and wellbeing people across East Riding and North Lincolnshire including our staff, volunteers, clients and especially those communities that have been targeted by the racist riots across the UK; namely Muslim communities, migrant communities and the refugee and asylum seeker community.  We stand in solidarity with these communities: we are stronger together.

Let me outline what we are doing to monitor information and ensure support is in place:

Community Safety

We are a member of the Humber Local Resilience Forum (LRF), the Voluntary Community Sector Emergencies Partnership (VCSEP) and other partnership groups within the Humber area and will update you with any further information or guidance provided as and when we receive more information.

The advice from Humberside Police is that if you have information to share that requires a Police response please call 101, or if anyone experiences threatening behaviour, or is concerned for their safety, please call 101.

As always, the advice is to call 999 in an emergency.

If you have information regarding these incidents or future incidents please contact 101 quoting Operation Executive. Information can also be passed directly to the Investigation Team and will be dealt with in the strictest confidence through the Major Incident Public Portal. Visit the portal here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/16HQ23M43-PO1.

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Organisational Support

The Charity Commission will be releasing guidance, please keep an eye on their website. We will also share the guidance on our social media and website once received.

Safety and security of your staff, volunteers and the people you support is paramount, the VCSEP have pulled together a few basic suggestions that partners may want to consider:

Prioritise your people –  

  1. Communicate with them, raise their awareness and make sure you give them up to date guidance on how to keep themselves and others safe
  2. Consider travel times and routes
  3. Be careful about your brand and how that brand identity may put your people at risk
  4. Review your policies, contact details and emergency plans

Protect your properties –

  1. Review your business continuity plans
  2. Consider guidance on what makes your buildings safer – recognising some are quick fixes, but many may take longer to implement
  3. Don’t forget the vacant buildings – these can be easy targets

We hope the following resources are helpful:

For the longer term – The NaCTSO Counter Terrorism Crime Prevention Toolkit is aimed at small organisations. It contains helpful, low-cost solutions to deter crime and counter terrorism e.g. making it difficult to gain access to premises, increasing chance of detection and reducing access to contents and victims.

A 5-step process for risk management is outlined here: ProtectUK Risk Management Guidance | ProtectUK– including guidance around CCTV, doors and locks, windows, shutters and grilles – as well as how to develop a security culture.

The E-learning package E-Learning | ProtectUK is a good place to start with developing understanding and practice in this area. They have also provided guidance for staff work (Run Hide Tell) https://www.protectuk.police.uk/advice-and-guidance/response/run-hide-tell.

Understanding what is happening and how you can stand united against hate

Finally, with all the misinformation on social media, I would recommend the Hope Not Hate website as a source of information and education around what is taking place and how to organise in solidarity with others around actions that represent hope.

https://hopenothate.org.uk/2024/08/02/a-weekend-of-unrest-dozens-of-protests-planned-in-the-wake-of-southport/

Kind regards

Sian

 

Sian Broughton ACMA, CGMA, DChA, MAAT

Chief Executive Officer

Community VISION CIO

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