Monday
It’s the beginning of another week and I’m still working mostly from home. The first thing I do is catch up on any emails that might have come in late on Friday or over the weekend. Some of these will be from our customer service team advising that customers have been in touch to let us know about a community safety issue. This could be anything from assault or arson to domestic abuse and stalking.
Me and my colleagues in community safety receive a lot of queries from colleagues for advice too. So I set aside time to check in with housing and customer services to make sure that between us we’ve covered everything.
In the afternoon I join colleagues from other areas of the business for a virtual ‘huddle’. This is a dedicated time to talk about any issues there might be in one of the patches we work in and to find ways to solve them.
Before logging off for the day I join my team for a quick cup of something warm and a chat on Teams.
Tuesday
To start the day I’ve scheduled a call with a customer who has reported domestic abuse to us. My two boys are at school, so I’ve got plenty of privacy to do this at home. When I first call the resident, I check that it’s safe for them to have a chat and then together we complete a risk assessment.
After the call I get to work on determining additional safety measures that we can put in place to keep the resident safe at home. I also set a meeting with an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor who can provide additional insight into the case and make any suggestions they feel appropriate.
In the afternoon I put together a case for a management move. These are for an individual or family who are unable to stay in their current home due to safety concerns. So I contact all of our partner agencies to request supporting letters outlining the risk, which I will then compile and send to our Housing Manager for a final decision.
Wednesday
Today I have a child protection conference to attend. It’s my job to represent housing and make sure that we consider anything the family needs. This is a key part of my role and finding the right solution for everyone involved is really important.
Once this is finished, I set to work on completing any actions from our last internal Domestic Abuse Steering Group, which I chair. It’s all about involving our colleagues in our work and raising lots of awareness of community safety.
Taking care of personal wellbeing in this role is really important. One of the ways I do this is by experimenting with cooking. I’m a big fan of trying new recipes so after work I rustle up a tasty meal for my children and I!
Thursday
Today I’m prioritising follow-up calls with customers I’ve been supporting for a while. I do this to make sure they’re ok, answer any questions they might have about their care, and collect any updates about how things are at the moment.
I’m fortunate to live near some very pretty woodland so on my break I pop my earphones in and go for a walk. It’s a great way to clear the cobwebs.
After I’ve done all my calls for the cases I’m working on I attend a virtual Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference. I join representatives from children’s services, local police and mental health organisations to review a case that has been recognised as high risk. Together we put an action plan together for the person involved.
Friday
It’s Friday! I catch up on any cases that have been logged by our customer services team, as we have a duty to respond within 24 hours of a case being logged.
Our team are preparing for 16 days of activism about domestic abuse. To help our Communications team create social media assets and articles I spend some time putting together some pointers for them on the key areas that we want to highlight.
Before switching off I join the other Community Safety Officers for a virtual catch up on Teams. We let off steam and check in on each other’s wellbeing, before signing off.
As the working week draws to a close, I check in with my brother, who I care for, and give my kids a big cuddle. It’s the weekend.
Community Safety Officer
