Author: admincomms@aldenham-pc.gov.uk

Community response to current events in Israel and Gaza – 9/11/23

Please see below this week’s shared information briefing. Each organisation’s social media channels are linked below. Please follow these as trusted sources of information. 

Hertfordshire Constabulary

We continue to receive a handful of calls around incidents linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Over the past seven days in Hertsmere, five antisemitic crimes have been recorded – including one criminal damage, two public order offences, one malicious communications offence and a common assault without injury. One hate incident has also been reported.

We are investigating these offences expeditiously and support has been provided to victims.

We have received no reports around Islamophobia in the past seven days.

Our proactive patrols and community engagement continues, and we remain on hand to respond to any issues or concerns as needed. If you are worried about anything or witness activity which you believe to be suspicious, please get in touch.

X/Twitter: @HertsPolice Facebook @Herts Police

Community Security Trust

For the period 7 October to 7 November, there have been 1,124 antisemitic incidents in the UK. Out of this, 33 have been in Hertfordshire.  In the same period in 2022, there were 183 antisemitic incidents in the UK, of which 7 were in Hertfordshire. This represents an increase of 26 antisemitic incidents in Hertfordshire year on year.

This is still making the community feel vulnerable. We are grateful for the partnership we have with the Police and I know the community appreciate their hard work.

CST_UK | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Hertsmere Borough Council

Interfaith Week

As part of a wider set of events for Interfaith Week, the Hertfordshire Interfaith Forum are running an online ‘Peace through Understanding’ event on 15 November between 6.30pm and 8pm. The event will provide an opportunity to hear about the work done by Inter Faith Groups in Hertfordshire and how through understanding each other, we create the conditions for peace.   This is an online event held via Teams – please use this link to join.

Older Person’s Advice, Learning and Safety Event

Hertsmere Borough Council, in partnership with Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue were pleased to host an Older People’s Advice, Learning and Safety Event on 2 November at the Synagogue. The event was aimed at those over 60, to promote safety amongst older people in Borehamwood.

Representatives from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue, Hertfordshire Police, Trading Standards, Communities 1st and many more joined Hertsmere Borough Council to speak at the event about the services and support available to older people. More than 45 people attended the event.

Mental Health Services

The following services are available to residents of Hertsmere to support their mental health.    

  • The TogetherAll, an online anonymous mental health community monitored by professionals, offers a range of support, courses and advice. Hertfordshire residents over 16 can register for free – just select ‘my area is registered’ and enter your postcode.
  • NHS Every Mind Matters – Get expert advice and practical tips, try the ‘How are you?; quiz or create a tailored self-care plan to support your mental health and wellbeing
  • The Five Ways to Wellbeing – feel happier, more positive and able to get the most from life
  • Jami – provides mental health support to the Jewish Community
  • Herts Mind Network – provide services including peer support, group activities, counselling and a crisis helpline. Provided online, over the phone or from Number 10 on Leeming Road, Borehamwood.
  • Hertfordshire County Council have produced a mental health resource booklet providing information about services available in the community. Should anyone wish to order physical copies of this, please contact services@hertsmere.gov.uk.
  • The Church of England have pulled together a set of 13 reflections to support good mental health.

X/Twitter: HertsmereBC ; Facebook: Hertsmere ; Instagram: HertsmereBC ; LinkedIn  HertsmereBC

Playground works at Phillimore Recreation Ground

🌧☔️🌩Please note due to the poor weather conditions the work to the new playground at Phillimore Recreation Ground has been delayed. Weather permitting work should begin w/c 13 November 2023. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.🌧☔️🌩

Community response to current events in Israel and Gaza – 2/11/23

Please see below this week’s shared information briefing. Each organisation’s social media channels are linked below. Please follow these as trusted sources of information. 

Hertfordshire Constabulary

Over the past week we have seen a reduction in calls to police, but we remain on hand to respond to any issues or concerns as needed.

No hate crime offences have been recorded, but three non-crime hate incidents have occurred in the past seven days and support has been provided by specialist officers from the constabulary.

Six reports have been received regarding concerns from local communities in relation to the ongoing Middle East conflict. Officers were assigned to provide reassurance.

Our proactive patrols and community engagement continue. If you are worried about anything or witness activity which you believe to be suspicious, please get in touch.

X/Twitter: @HertsPolice Facebook @Herts Police

Community Security Trust

As of Tuesday 31 October, CST recorded 893 antisemitic incidents nationally since 7 October. To put that into context, during the first six months of this year, there were a total of 803 incidents. Locally, there have been 23 in Hertfordshire since 7 October.

The community is still feeling vulnerable, and we thank the police for their operational support, including reassurance patrols. We also thank the police for their assistance in policing the various vigils and we recognise the complexities of these operations.

CST_UK | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Hertsmere Borough Council

Housing Support
The Government has announced a legislative change to support British citizens and those eligible for support fleeing the violence in Israel, or the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights (referred to as the Occupied Palestinian Territories or OPT) or Lebanon.  The changes will ensure that UK nationals fleeing from Israel, the OPT and Lebanon can access benefits, social housing and homelessness assistance even if they are not habitually resident in the UK. For further information on eligibility please see the government website here.

Mental Health Services
The following services are available to residents of Hertsmere to support their mental health.    

The TogetherAll, an online anonymous mental health community monitored by professionals, offers a range of support, courses and advice. Hertfordshire residents over 16 can register for free – just select ‘my area is registered’ and enter your postcode.
NHS Every Mind Matters – Get expert advice and practical tips, try the ‘How are you?; quiz or create a tailored self-care plan to support your mental health and wellbeing
The Five Ways to Wellbeing – feel happier, more positive and able to get the most from life
Jami – provides mental health support to the Jewish Community
Herts Mind Network – provide services including peer support, group activities, counselling and a crisis helpline. Provided online, over the phone or from Number 10 on Leeming Road, Borehamwood. Hertfordshire County Council have produced a mental health resource booklet providing information about services available in the community. Should anyone wish to order physical copies of this, please contact services@hertsmere.gov.uk.
The Church of England have pulled together a set of 13 reflections to support good mental health.

X/Twitter: HertsmereBC ; Facebook: Hertsmere ; Instagram: HertsmereBC ; LinkedIn  HertsmereBC  

Community response to current events in Israel and Gaza – 26/10/23

26 October 2023

Please see below this week’s shared information briefing. Each organisation’s social media channels are linked below. Please follow these as trusted sources of information. 

Hertfordshire Constabulary

Our proactive patrols have continued over the past week, to provide reassurance to all members of the public across Hertsmere, including the 18,000 members of the Jewish community. These will continue as we work with our local partners to ensure that people feel safe and supported.

Since 7 October, police within Hertsmere have received 40 reports related to the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

The majority of these concerns have been swiftly dealt with through police engagement, resulting in no offences being identified.

Five of the reports have, however, been recorded as crimes – which include public order and criminal damage offences- and enquiries are continuing at this time, with support being provided to victims.

Two non-crime hate incidents have also been recorded within Hertsmere.

All reports of hate crime are reviewed by a dedicated hate crime officer, who will contact victims to offer support.

We’d like to thank everyone who has reported any concerns to us so far and would encourage people to continue to do so.  

If you believe a crime is in progress or someone is in danger, please call 999 immediately. Any other concerns or information can be reported to police via the non-emergency reporting methods. X/Twitter: @HertsPolice Facebook @Herts Police

Community Security Trust

As of Wednesday 25 October, the CST recorded 704 incidents nationally since 7 October. To put that into context, during the first 6 months of this year, there were a total of 803 incidents. Locally, there have been 16 in Hertfordshire since 7 October.

Please continue to check CST social media for recent incident updates.

The community are still feeling vulnerable, and we thank the police for their operational support, including reassurance patrols. We also thank the police for their assistance in policing the various demos and we recognise the complexities of these operations. CST_UK | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Hertsmere Borough Council

The Mayor’s annual Hertsmere’s Civic Celebration took place on Sunday 22 October.  The event was focussed on celebrating the diversity of our borough with contributions from across the religious and non-faith spectrum to represent our diverse communities.
See our social media post here.

Mental Health Services

The following services are available to residents of Hertsmere to support their mental health.   We are working with partners to see how provision can be bolstered. 
The TogetherAll, which is an online anonymous mental health community monitored by professionals. It offers a range of support, courses and advice. Hertfordshire residents over 16 can register for free – just select ‘my area is registered’ and enter your postcode.
NHS Every Mind Matters – Get expert advice and practical tips, try the ‘How are you?; quiz or create a tailored self-care plan to support your mental health and wellbeing
The Five Ways to Wellbeing – feel happier, more positive and able to get the most from life Jami – provides mental health support to the Jewish Community
Herts Mind Network – provide services including peer support, group activities, counselling and a crisis helpline. Provided  online, over the phone or from Number 10 on Leeming Road, Borehamwood. Hertfordshire County Council have produced a mental health resource booklet providing information about services available in the community. Should anyone wish to order physical copies of this, please contact communityservices@hertsmere.gov.uk.

X/Twitter: HertsmereBC ; Facebook: Hertsmere ; Instagram: HertsmereBC ; LinkedIn  HertsmereBC  

Community response to current events in Israel and Gaza – 19/10/2023

19 October 2023

Following the meeting held on Monday of this week, please see below this week’s shared information briefing. Each organisation’s social media channels are linked below. Please follow these as trusted sources of information. 

Hertsmere Borough Council

A news article has been released by the Council following a meeting of Community and Faith Leaders on Monday:   ‘Hertsmere Together’ – Communities unite in response to the Hamas terror attacks and resulting war – Hertsmere Borough Council

Mental Health Services

The following services are available to residents of Hertsmere to support their mental health.   We are working with partners to see how provision can be bolstered. 
The TogetherAll, which is an online anonymous mental health community monitored by professionals. It offers a range of support, courses and advice. Hertfordshire residents over 16 can register for free – just select ‘my area is registered’ and enter your postcode.
NHS Every Mind Matters – Get expert advice and practical tips, try the ‘How are you?; quiz or create a tailored self-care plan to support your mental health and wellbeing
The Five Ways to Wellbeing – feel happier, more positive and able to get the most from life
Jami – provides mental health support to the Jewish Community
Herts Mind Network – provide services including peer support, group activities, counselling and a crisis helpline. Provided  online, over the phone or from Number 10 on Leeming Road, Borehamwood.
Hertfordshire County Council have produced a mental health resource booklet providing information about services available in the community. Should anyone wish to order physical copies of this, please contact communityservices@hertsmere.gov.uk.

X/Twitter: HertsmereBC ; Facebook: Hertsmere ; Instagram: HertsmereBC ; LinkedIn  HertsmereBC

Hertfordshire Constabulary

The constabulary continues to work in close collaboration with partners at the Community Security Trust and Hertsmere Borough Council, to reassure residents and respond quickly to any behaviour that may be causing a concern.

Additional officers have been drafted in to allow this support to be put in place while daily business is also maintained as usual.

We want to ensure that everyone within the community can continue to go about their lives without fear.

If you have any concerns, these should be reported to police straightaway. If you believe a crime is in progress or someone is in danger, please call 999 immediately. Any other concerns or information can be reported to police via the non-emergency reporting methods.

X/Twitter: @HertsPolice Facebook @Herts Police

Community Security Trust

CST and Police are recording an unprecedented increase in antisemitic incidents and hate crime.

CST are also recording an unprecedented increase in ‘non-incidents’ (that having gone through CST verification process do not include a clear antisemitic motivation) – mainly ‘suspicious behaviour’, demonstrating the vulnerability that the Jewish community are feeling right now.

Mainstream political support for the Jewish community has been excellent.

Operational policing – both in operational support and visibility, and policing of antisemitism and policing of the glorification of proscribed terrorist organisations, has been excellent so far, both in Herts and nationally, and this should continue as is. CST_UK | Instagram, Facebook