Barnet Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee convened on Thursday, July 16, 2026, to scrutinise the Safer Communities Partnership Board's annual report for 2025-26. The meeting, chaired by Councillor Lucy Wakeley, delved into various aspects of community safety, including efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse, serious violence, radicalisation, and hate crime.
The committee received updates from partner organisations including the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade, and the Integrated Care Board. A public question from Ben Samuel raised concerns about the council's response to an event in Edgware and the policing of that event, highlighting a report by Netpol titled One Day in Edgware.
Councillor Sara Conway, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Community Cohesion, and Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, presented the Safer Communities Partnership Board's annual report. She acknowledged the challenging year for the borough, particularly in light of international conflicts impacting community cohesion. Conway highlighted the Connecting Communities
campaign, which received national recognition, and the Clear, Hold, Build
initiative on the Grahame Park Estate. This initiative, branded as 'Love Grahame Park Community', has evolved to include a resident-led participatory grant-making program. In July 2025, nine local organisations received funding for activities such as sports for young people, arts and gardening projects to combat isolation, and boosting employment skills. An additional 'Space to Grow' grant was given to four local organisations delivering youth activities. The initiative was also selected as a finalist for the Municipal Journal national awards under the Community Engagement category. The evaluation showed that approximately 300 people benefited from the funded activities, the project was delivered under budget, and generated an additional £18,000 from external sources.
The Metropolitan Police, represented by Acting Superintendent Paul Condren, reported that Barnet remains a safe borough, with decreases in burglary and vehicle crime. However, hate crime, particularly antisemitic incidents, has been a significant concern. In April 2026 alone, Barnet accounted for 51 out of 140 antisemitic offences recorded in London. These incidents included attempted arson attacks on synagogues and community facilities, and a stabbing incident in Golders Green declared a terrorist incident. To address this, the Metropolitan Police have launched a new community protection team with dedicated officers to help protect key communities, particularly in Barnet and Hackney, by providing protective security to those most at risk. This team is funded by new money and new posts, allowing other officers to refocus on local ward issues. The expected impact is to improve engagement and contact with the Jewish community, professionalise the response to antisemitic hate crime, and free up other officers to focus on crime fighting and neighbourhood policing. The funding for this team is secured for three years as a first phase.
Regarding the Great Israeli Real Estate event
in Edgware, Acting Superintendent Paul Condren explained the limitations police face when policing private events. In terms of a private event that has gone through Parliament, that has not been deemed to be unlawful and to be breaking a law, then the police have no powers to intervene to stop that private event that hasn't deemed to be unlawful,
he stated. He added that the police's job is to turn up there to keep people safe whilst it's going on, and deal with any offences that are apparent whilst we are there by the people who are present.
He also mentioned that policing sort of freedom of speech events are notoriously quite difficult. And it's trying to get that balance between allowing people to exercise their personal views and also our job is to keep people safe.
The police did impose conditions on the assembly to try and keep people safe and made 14 arrests at the event.
The London Fire Brigade provided an update on their work, including plans to register all four fire stations in Barnet with the Safer Havens
project. Borough Commander for Barnet, Rob Davis, stated he is very, very close to signing up all four of my fire stations in Barnet to the Safer Havens project, which is a great public outlet for somebody, whether it be through abuse or they're not feeling safe. So watch this space for the launch of that for my four fire stations.
The exact types of support offered through this project were not specified in the meeting.
Updates were also received from the Integrated Care Board regarding safeguarding responsibilities, and from Public Health on the Combating Drugs Partnership. The partnership noted an increase in drug-related deaths in London by 34% and in Barnet by 69% in 2024. The primary drivers mentioned are the growing impacts from heroin, cocaine, and synthetic opioids, particularly nitazenes, which are more potent and increase overdose risk. Barnet Public Health is updating its Synthetic Opioid Preparedness Plan and developing a Drug and Alcohol Death Review Panel. They are also strengthening clinical pathways for ketamine use, particularly among young people, and expanding prevention and communication activity.
The Youth Justice Service reported strong performance, with a sustained 0% custody rate and a reoffending rate reduced to 28.6%, outperforming London and national averages. Beyond these metrics, the service has seen significant progress in prevention and diversion, with an increase in Out of Court Resolutions and early intervention programmes. They emphasize embedding a 'Child First' approach, ensuring children's voices, needs, and strengths are central to practice. Strong multi-agency governance and partnership working, including effective scrutiny processes, are also key. Children and families report high levels of satisfaction, with 86% of children happy with how their order was delivered, 90% finding sessions helpful, 95% feeling listened to, and 83% feeling involved in decision-making. Parents and carers reported 100% feeling listened to, treated with respect, and kept informed.
The full report can be found in the Public reports pack.
