Medway’s Keep Safe DayFeedback

Presentation to; Bromley’s Learning Disability Partnership Board

Friday 17th July 2009

Where did we go?

• On Monday 23rd March we went to Medway’s ‘Keep Safe’ day

• The event was held at the King Charles Hotel organised by Medway’s Partnership Board

Who was there?

Representatives from;

• Arriva (the bus company)• South Eastern Railways• Kent Police• British Transport police• Brighton’s Partnership Board • Medway’s Partnership Board• and us!!

Why did we go?

• The government says that hate crime against people with learning difficulties is a ‘hidden problem’

• Organisations like the police don’t always record information about incidents that effect people with learning difficulties

• They may not find out if victims have learning difficulties

• So, people with learning difficulties face the major challenge of changing centuries of negative attitudes

What did we do?

• We shared ideas about keeping safe

• We talked about some of the problems we have been having with keeping safe in Bromley

• We talked about some of the work being done in Bromley by Bromley Mencap around bullying

• We watched a film made by members of Medway’s Partnership Board called ‘living in fear’

• We looked at some case studies which helped us to come up with some useful and simple ways we can help each other to keep safe

What did we do …continued?

• We talked to representatives from the bus company, the transport police and the community police, they all want to help us to be safe in our boroughs

• We made plans so that the keeping safe work carries on

What was the point of the event?

• To build on the positive work being done around hate crime

• To talk about new reporting methods for people with learning disabilities

• To build relationships with key agencies such as the transport police,the community police and the bus company

• To talk about some new travel training programmes for people with learning difficulties

What did we learn about the problems in Medway?

1. 100 people with learning difficulties in the borough of Medway were asked if they had been bullied, 75 people said ‘yes’

2. Like people in Bromley, most of the people who said they’d been bullied said that most of the trouble they had experienced happened while travelling on busses and trains

3. Most of the bullying was being done by young people

What do we do now?

• Medway have designed their own accessible form for reporting hate crime (please see copies of it on your tables)

• People with learning difficulties do not have an accessible form to report crime in Bromley but we need one

• Medway have asked us to show you their form at our partnership board

• We will now pass this form onto councillor Ellis and David Barnett in the hope that we can design one for Bromley

Thank you for listening.Does anyone have any questions?