16. Peace and Justice
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
There were 87,780 reports of violence against the person in 2019. This has increased by 24.4% since 2018, while the national average increase was 9.4%. In 2019, violence against the person was 30.1 per 1,000 population which is slightly above the England average of 29.1 per 1,000 population.
The number of first-time entrants to the youth justice system in the WM 7 Met. area has decreased from 399 per 100,000 in 2018 to 308. Similar patterns where seen across England with a decrease from 296 per 100,000 in 2018 to 239.
Citizen’s Panel Research Case Study
A new Citizens’ Panel has been set up to help guide the West Midlands’ recovery from Covid-19.
The group, which is made up of 36 people representing the diverse make-up of the region, will spend the next month learning about the impact of Covid-19 on communities and will help guide what recovery plans should focus on.
This community engagement will complement the region’s ongoing economic recovery work, which is being spearheaded by the Economic Impact Group, which brings together business leaders, central government, banks, trade unions and local authorities.
The Citizens’ Panel has been commissioned by the West Midlands Recovery Co-ordination Group (RCG) -a collaboration of senior officials from the region’s local authorities, emergency services and Local Enterprise Partnerships.
The panel will share their experiences, consider evidence on impacts from expert witnesses, and deliberate over challenging trade-offs, before putting forward a set of recommendations to the RCG.
The RCG will use the recommendations of the Citizens’ Panel to help inform the region’s political leaders on their post-Covid-19 recovery plans.
The programme is being delivered by BritainThinks, an independent insight and strategy agency, and is supported by Engage Britain, which is a charity focused on bringing together people with different views, knowledge and experience to help tackle the biggest challenges facing the country.