We have all been shocked and saddened by the recent violence and aggression affecting Mosques, other places of worship, immigration charities, advisers and others in recent weeks. Keir Starmer has cancelled his summer holiday and the Government is still on high alert after violent outbreaks across the UK, including Southport, Rotherham, Southampton, Sunderland and Hull. These riots are being led by far-right activists and masked thugs, who claim to be protesting at the recent murder of three little girls at a dance workshop in Sunderland.

Charities are crucial to our communities, offering hope in difficult times and unity in the face of division. Nobody recognises this more than the Charity Commission, which has recently issued a statement providing sources of advice and support for charities and others affected.

The Commission acknowledges that some charities are responding to unfamiliar circumstances and unclear risks, including being targeted on social media. Many charity leaders find themselves weighing up the importance of their day-to-day activities against the challenges of keeping beneficiaries, staff, volunteers and premises safe from harm. Key areas for charities to consider in these circumstances include safeguarding and operational practices.

Safeguarding

The recent statement provides a useful reminder of how to handle safeguarding incidents or threats, including to beneficiaries and staff. Your first port of call should be your internal safeguarding policies and procedures. If faced with a safeguarding concern or threat, trustees should act quickly to prevent or limit any further harm. The threat or harm should also be reported to all relevant third parties, including filing a serious incident report with the Charity Commission. It is also a good idea to have a pre-drafted statement that can be released to the media and the public where appropriate.

Operational practices

These are unique circumstances, which are prone to rapid change. This makes it difficult to carry out risk assessments for every potential scenario. What is best for one charity may not be best for another. However, there are some specific points to consider as set out in the Commission’s statement.

• Are you operating in a geographical area that has seen or is at risk of unrest? If so and you wish to continue to operate, what changes could be made to mitigate any risk to your staff, visitors or beneficiaries?
• Review the access points to your property for weaknesses and consider making entry more secure.
• Ensure that any alternative exit routes from the property are communicated to staff and visitors.
• Ensure that staff/visitors are briefed on what to do to stay safe in the event of an incident.
• Consider having first aid-trained staff or volunteers onsite.
• Do you need to contact your local police force to agree on contact points for sharing specific risks or seek advice and guidance on operating?
• Ensure that someone is responsible for reviewing and monitoring the latest advice, guidance or alerts from the police or Home Office and monitoring of social media channels.

Do not hesitate to call emergency services if your staff, volunteers or beneficiaries face abuse, feel threatened, or are in danger.

The Home Office is offering mosques in particular greater protection in light of the current riots and violent behaviour.

Both the Charity Commission and Companies House are willing to consider requests from charities affected by these circumstances to temporarily remove information from their registers in connection with safety concerns. If you require further information on requesting such a dispensation or any other points raised in this article, please contact the Geldards Charities team.