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Welcome to the first Public Protection Partnership newsletter of 2025. We aim to keep you updated with the latest developments in the public protection arena—thank you to all our partners for their contributions. Edition 16 of the DGPPP newsletter is a bumper issue, featuring special articles on the 16 Days of Activism programme and Public Protection Week 2025.
As a multi-agency group, we are responsible for the oversight, development and delivery of services to the most vulnerable children and adults—those at risk of, or experiencing, harm. If you have any questions about the content in this edition, please reach out to the team using one of the contact methods listed at the end of the newsletter.
Public Protection Week 2025: Building Compassionate Communities
Dumfries and Galloway marked its fifth annual Public Protection Week from 24–28 February 2025 with a packed programme of events under the theme Compassionate Communities.
Across the week, over 160 people took part in a blend of online and in-person events—six hosted virtually and two held face-to-face. A special mid-week conference took place at The Bridge, Dumfries, adding to this year’s impact.
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Online Sessions
Topics covered included:
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Missing People.
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Recovery Communities (supporting recovery from substance use).
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Out of Hours services.
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Safe and Together (promoting family safety and unity).
Each session closed with an optional guided mindfulness break, reinforcing the importance of wellbeing in protective services.
In-Person Events
Two live events offered hands-on engagement:
- A Community Reuse Shop event in Stranraer.
- A Compassion Fatigue workshop at Mountainhall Lecture Theatre, supporting frontline worker resilience.
A dedicated social media campaign helped spread the word in the run-up to the week and throughout the event, raising awareness of the programme and inviting wider community involvement.
Adult Support and Protection Day – 20 February 2025: Shining a Light on Financial Harm and Launching a New Support App
This year’s Adult Support and Protection (ASP) Day focused on two key themes: raising general awareness of ASP, and highlighting the risks of financial harm to older adults.
To mark the day, Dumfries and Galloway Public Protection Committee launched a new ASP App—developed in partnership with the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre. The app offers quick, easy access to guidance and best practice for health and social care staff, police, and other partners—but members of the public can use it too.
It’s part of the Right Decision Service’s “Once for Scotland” platform, making trusted digital tools available across the country.
How to access the app:
- Search for Right Decisions in your app store.
- Select Right Decisions for Health and Care.
- Search Adult support and select the Dumfries and Galloway toolkit.
A press release and social media campaign helped spread the word and encourage people to explore the support and protection available for adults in our communities.
Out of Hours Team: Supporting Public Protection Around the Clock
The Out of Hours (OOH) service took part in Public Protection Week with an online presentation to raise awareness of the vital role it plays in keeping vulnerable adults and children safe—especially outside of regular working hours.
As the central point for receiving and recording referrals, the team plays a crucial part in identifying and responding to concerns about abuse or neglect, working closely with public protection partners.
The session sparked great engagement, especially during the Q+A, with positive feedback from professionals across sectors. Social work students, in particular, expressed strong interest in learning more about how the service operates in real time.
To mark National Adult Support and Protection Day on 20 February 2025, the team also hosted a pop-up event at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. Alongside colleagues from the Adult Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and the NHS Public Protection Team, they shared insights into their roles and how coordinated, least-restrictive interventions can lead to the best outcomes for adults at risk.
The Pink Frog Project: Empowerment Through Purpose and Community
On 27 February, as part of Public Protection Week, visitors gathered at the Pink Frog Cabin—a cosy, welcoming space run by the Community Reuse Shop—to learn more about the transformative work of the Pink Frog Employability Programme.
Open to anyone aged 16–64, the programme supports people through self-referral or partner agencies to build skills, confidence and career-readiness. From warehousing and logistics to gardening, bike repair, admin, and online sales, participants—known affectionately as “Pink Froggers”—get hands-on experience at their own pace in a safe, inclusive environment.
The team offers individualised, one-to-one support, with extra training in place to ensure neurodivergent individuals are fully supported.
The Community Reuse Shop also forges strong local business links, organises social outings and creates a real sense of community spirit among participants.
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After the presentation, guests pulled on high-vis vests and toured the site, including the bike repair area, where donated bikes are restored and redistributed locally—promoting sustainability and reducing waste.
The tour also offered a behind-the-scenes look at warehouse operations, where staff repair, recycle or rehome donated goods. Many items are sold affordably in the shop or gifted to schools and community groups—contributing to a circular economy and supporting those in need.
The team extends a heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and helped share their message of empowerment, sustainability and community-led change.
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Chief Officer’s Conference – 26 February 2025: Shaping the Future of Public Protection Together
As part of this year’s Public Protection Week, a dedicated Chief Officer’s Conference was held at The Bridge in Dumfries—bringing together professionals from across the Public Protection Partnership, including the Council, NHS, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, and Third Sector organisations.
Before the main forum, guests had the chance to network and browse stalls from partner services, including the Fostering and Adoption Team, Change Mental Health, Housing Options and Homeless Services, and the Carers Centre.
The day focused on how agencies can collaborate more effectively to shape the future of public protection in Dumfries and Galloway.
Dawn Roberts, Chief Executive and Chair of the Chief Officers Group, opened the conference. Speakers included:
- Sinead Power and Julie White, outlining the national vision from the Scottish Government and Public Protection Leadership Group.
- Chris Lumb, on the Care Inspectorate’s evolving approach to improvement.
- Shumela Ahmed, keynote speaker from the Resilience Learning Partnership (RLP), who gave a powerful talk on the need to work with people who have lived experience of trauma to build truly trauma-informed systems.
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Further presentations highlighted the critical work of Wigtownshire Women’s Aid and Dumfries and Galloway Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, addressing the real challenges of service delivery in a tough financial climate.
One of the most impactful moments came from a survivor of domestic abuse, who shared her personal journey of leaving a harmful relationship and finding support through Dumfries and Stewartry Women’s Aid.
The day concluded with a strategic look at self-neglect as a rising public protection concern, with a commitment to coordinated local action.
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 Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, including:
“A better understanding of lived experience and how it influences policies and practice.”
“Learned so much—especially from Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis and RLP.”
“The insights on care inspections and trauma-informed practice were invaluable.”
16 Days of Activism 2024: Imagining a Scotland Free from Gender-Based Violence
Every year, from 25 November to 10 December, the United Nations 16 Days of Activism campaign shines a spotlight on gender-based violence. In 2024, Dumfries and Galloway joined the global movement once again—this time under the national theme: “Imagine Scotland without violence against women and children.”
Opening Event – 25 November
The local programme launched at The Bridge, Dumfries, with an introduction by the Chair of the White Ribbon Steering Group. The White Ribbon Campaign, led locally by Police Scotland, calls on men to help end violence against women.
A key moment was the launch of the Strangulation and Sex Choking Campaign, created in partnership with young people and endorsed by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation. It raises awareness of the risks, with a clear message: there is no safe level of pressure.
Students from Moffat Academy, alongside Dumfriesshire and Stewartry Women’s Aid, led a powerful session based on the short film Nurture or Nature, exploring the ripple effects of domestic abuse on children. They hosted an open discussion on how abuse affects the whole family.
There was also an update on the Equally Safe at School (ESAS) programme at Moffat Academy, showcasing how schools can build a culture that actively challenges gender-based violence.
 Webinars and Workshops
Throughout the 16 Days, a series of webinars explored current issues including:
- Commercial Sexual Exploitation, including the launch of the local position statement.
- Stalking.
- Artificial Intelligence and intimate image abuse.
- Violence against women and girls linked to substance use.
Closing Event – 10 December
The programme closed with Wigtownshire Women’s Aid’s Conference: Challenging Attitudes – Changing Lives. This in-person event brought together professionals from across police, fire, health, youth work and support services to share insights and strengthen partnerships.
Highlights included a video presentation from gender justice advocate Natalie Collins, who spoke about how organisations and individuals can better tackle gendered violence.
Workshops led by Police Scotland, Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis, the White Ribbon Campaign and Wee Minds Matter highlighted the real, practical work being done locally. The event ended with moving personal stories from service users and frontline workers—a powerful reminder of why this work matters.
Police Recognition Awards 2025: Celebrating Partnership and Progress
We’re thrilled to share that two members of our Public Protection Team, Rebecca Watson and Karen Brown, have been honoured by Dumfries and Galloway Police Division for their outstanding work in performance management across Child Protection, Adult Support and Protection, and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
Their innovative approach is drawing national attention, with interest from the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Government and the National Public Protection Leadership Group (NPPLG). Rebecca and Karen continue to represent Dumfries and Galloway as lead learning partners in national datasets, building on their earlier success as a pilot area for child protection data with CELCIS.
In 2024, they produced Scotland’s first formal "Violence Against Women and Girls" (VAWG) dataset, a partnership-led achievement recognised as best practice by NPPLG. They’ve also developed performance dashboards to support the new Public Protection Performance and Quality Framework, tracking progress against the 2024–2027 Strategic Plan.
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Innovation Award: DS Murray Richardson, DI Hayley Little and Alison Cosslett
Another highlight was the Innovation Award, presented to DS Murray Richardson, accepted on behalf of himself, DI Hayley Little and Alison Cosslett from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA).
Together, they tackled a key challenge—high volumes of child protection referrals to SCRA. Through collaboration, they developed new referral criteria that maintained high safety standards while reducing unnecessary duplication. The results were significant: monthly referrals dropped to below 20, without compromising support for vulnerable children.
This work has since been highlighted by the Multiagency Senior Managers Group as a model of strong partnership working, and other localities are now exploring how to replicate it.
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Special Recognition Award: Alison Penman
The Local Policing Commander’s Special Recognition Award went to Alison Penman, who dedicated over 30 years to Children and Families Social Work in Dumfries and Galloway.
Alison was instrumental in forging and strengthening police-social work partnerships, and played a vital role in turning the Multiagency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) from an idea into a highly effective service.
Throughout her career, Alison championed national reforms at a local level—from Youth Justice and the Age of Criminal Responsibility to Equal Protection. She was a strong advocate for the development of Bairns Hoose and led Dumfries and Galloway’s involvement as a test site for the Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM)—no small feat in a rural region.
Alison also used her national connections with Scottish Government to ensure the voice of the region’s children was heard. Her deep knowledge, passion and drive have left a lasting legacy in local public protection and across the national landscape.
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Child Protection Coordinators Focus on Preventing Gender-Based Violence in Schools
In December 2024, Child Protection Coordinators from across Dumfries and Galloway came together to strengthen how schools tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG).
The session focused on three key areas, each playing a vital role in promoting respect, safety and gender equality across education settings:
Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP)
MVP is a peer-led programme offered in many of our secondary schools. It gives senior pupils the tools to challenge harmful attitudes and behaviours linked to gender-based violence—safely and confidently.
Being part of the MVP network gives schools access to a wide range of resources on topics like misogyny, incel culture and online safety—helping staff and students navigate real-world risks.
Equally Safe at School (ESAS)
Developed in partnership with schools, ESAS is a whole-school approach to preventing gender-based violence. It supports schools to embed gender equality and respect across every part of school life—from curriculum and policy, to culture and daily interactions.
Key activities include:
- Whole-school assessments to understand local issues.
- Pupil-led action groups.
- Staff training on GBV awareness and response.
- Curriculum-linked teaching resources.
- Policy development.
- Ongoing monitoring to measure impact.
Moffat Academy’s Experience
Moffat Academy has been a key participant in ESAS, integrating it with other initiatives like MVP, Respectme (anti-bullying), and school relationship policy development.
The results are encouraging:
- Pupils feel safe discussing gender-based violence.
- Most staff feel confident to respond to inappropriate behaviour.
- Students report feeling respected and valued in school.
These efforts align closely with wider work in Dumfries and Galloway, including the White Ribbon Campaign, the 16 Days of Activism, and our region’s commitment to preventing violence against women and girls.
Apart from the Community to the Heart of the Community: Change Mental Health Moves to Queensberry Street
Change Mental Health’s Dumfries Resource Centre has officially relocated to the town centre, now open at 10 Queensberry Street—bringing mental health support right to the high street.
After 24 years at Mountainhall as Kaleidoscope, the move marks a new chapter. The space has been completely transformed to offer a safe, welcoming and accessible environment for those affected by mental illness or poor mental health.
Referred individuals can access social support, helping them build confidence, make meaningful connections and reduce isolation. Being located in the heart of Dumfries means users can also access nearby services, activities and amenities with ease.
The new site brings Change Mental Health’s services closer together—just a few doors away is their Employability Support Project at 28 Munches Street, making it easier for people to move between services with a dedicated worker supporting their journey.
The team is passionate about person-centred care, working alongside people with lived experience to ensure support is empowering, respectful and rooted in real-life understanding.
The centre also hosts a Carer Support service, providing planned group sessions, activities and information for unpaid carers, and welcomes outreach workers supporting people from surrounding communities.
While the new location doesn’t have a garden like Mountainhall, the team is making strong links with local green spaces and community resources to encourage mentally healthy connections outdoors.
They’re also building partnerships with local businesses and organisations—including Dumfries and Galloway Council, the Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, and Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway—working together to reduce stigma and create a truly supportive community.
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