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Talks with Muslim leaders will build trust - police

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Office of the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner A group of men and woman are sitting behind desks, They include a man wearing a flat cap, a man with a pink and purple Kufi hat, a woman with long dark hair wearing a black jacket, Danielle Stone with white hair and glasses, Ivan Balhatchet in a black police shirt, and a man with a white beard wearing a grey gilet. They are sitting in front of glass panels with white line patterns.Office of the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner
A Mosque leader said it was the first time all Muslim leaders in the county had met the chief constable and PFCC

A chief constable said a meeting with Mosque leaders helped him to understand "how we can build trust and confidence".

Northamptonshire's most senior police officer, Ivan Balhatchet, recently met leaders of 11 Mosques with the county's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), Danielle Stone.

They discussed community tensions, hate crime and ways of improving communication.

The chair of Kettering Muslim Association said the talks would help to "build the trust and confidence we have in policing".

The "round table" in Wellingborough followed a similar event with black church leaders in March.

Stone, the Labour PFCC, said: "I am on a mission to make communities safer and to improve the relationships between all our communities and our police and fire services.

"All of our local faith groups are very good at putting services in place that help and protect people, and they are hugely influential in their respective communities.

"Bringing us all together will help to forge a strong partnership," Stone added.

The discussion included anti-social behaviour, drug use in town centres and increasing diversity in the police and fire services.

Danielle Stone with medium-length white hair, wearing a top with a white, black and red pattern. She is sitting in a large room with tables and plastic chairs behind her.
Danielle Stone, the PFCC, said the meeting "would help forge a strong partnership"

The Mosque representatives were also told about the PFCC's relaunched grant fund for community groups.

Mr Balhatchet said: "We recognise that policing currently doesn't reflect the communities that we serve as much as it should.

"Hopefully this meeting is the start of a process that will help to build better lines of communication.

"We want to reach a point where the Muslim community trust that their concerns are being dealt with, and that they see a force in which they feel truly represented.

"I will do everything in my power to achieve that."

Office of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Inam Khan with short dark hair and a white beard and glasses, wearing a dark jacket, light-coloured shirt and dark blue tie, wearing a name badge. He is sitting at the corner of a wooden table with papers and a cup in front of him. There is a wooden door and whiteboard behind him.Office of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
Inam Khan, from the Kettering Muslim Association, also said the meeting would help to "build trust and confidence"

Inam Khan, chair of the Kettering Muslim Association, said the meeting was "useful in terms of helping to build the trust and confidence that we have in policing, and we hope that this can continue in the future."

Alaa Abouzanad, chairman of Northamptonshire Council of Mosques, added: "This was the first time that all our Muslim leaders in Northamptonshire have met with the commissioner and chief constable.

"We hope this is the first step in helping to improve the relationship we have with the police, so that together we can tackle problems in our communities."

Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner A group of people including both men and woman. Some are Muslim leaders while the others include the PFCC, the Deputy Commissioner Marianne Kimani, and the Chief Constable.Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
One Muslim leader said he hoped the meeting would be "the first step in helping to improve the relationship we have with the police"

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