Horsham District Community Safety Partnership

The aim of the Harm Reduction Forum is to:

• Contribute to the reduction of domestic violence, sexual violence and hate crime in Horsham District by ensuring that all agencies are working collaboratively and to the agreed action plan.
• Build on existing partnerships to ensure that best practice is being shared across Horsham District.
• Keep up to date with national and local policy, guidelines and changes in legislation relating to domestic violence, sexual violence and hate crime.

The objectives of the Harm Reduction Forum are:

• Working together to achieve the agreed aims of the forum by promoting the sharing of knowledge, relevant resources, good practice, reporting and complaints systems and the dissemination of information in addressing domestic violence, sexual violence, hate crime and violent extremism.
• Working in partnership to ensure input into the domestic violence, sexual violence and hate crime agenda.
• Information sharing protocols and reporting systems of agencies to be understood and used to full effect.
• Training delivered to relevant agencies on all areas of Harm Reduction.
• Map the “customer journey” from agency to agency. Find the gaps in the “customer journey” and service delivery and look to fill them.
• Map what services are offered to victims, perpetrator and children.

Terms of reference:

• Core members of the forum will compromise of: Police, Community Safety Unit (West Sussex County Council), Victim Support, CAB, RELATE, NSPCC, Horsham District Council, RISE, Horsham District Community Safety Team, WORTH Services, Saxon Weald Housing Association, Probation, Social Services, West Sussex Primary Care Trust.
• Representation for the forum will be for each agency to decide, however group members should be in a position to speak on behalf of the agency they represent, make decisions and commit resources.
• Members of the group will be individually accountable for their actions to their respective agencies, but they will be jointly responsible to the forum for helping to implement any Action Plan for Horsham District.
• Wherever possible, each agency represented on the forum shall ensure that the same person attends the meeting.
• Participation will be founded upon mutual trust, negotiation and consensus based decision-making. No one agency can impose its will or agenda on other partner members.
• The forum will agree the terms of reference of the sub-groups and receive reports from them.
• Frequency of meetings will be a matter of the group and the group as necessary may revise these aim, objectives and terms of reference. These terms of reference will be reviewed on a yearly basis by the group and amended as necessary.
• The group will exchange information when requested by a member of the group, however this information is to remain confidential within the group unless stated otherwise by the group.