This week marks the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, where over eight thousand Bosnian Muslims were killed. It is also an opportunity to remember the many thousands of women and girls who suffered rape, sexual abuse and torture at this time.

 

This was one of the most horrific events in Europe over the last seventy years and we need to remember it, not just to mourn those who suffered and were murdered, but to also help us to understand how this was allowed to happen.

 

The trading standards team at Barking and Dagenham Council has been recognised for its excellent work in anti-counterfeiting enforcement at the annual Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) Awards.

It’s been a successful year for the team with a significant number of seizures and prosecutions, both online and in physical premises, with one case seeing officers recover over 60,000 items of fake clothing.

Despite the lockdown, residents of Barking and Dagenham can still apply for a range of jobs including care work, nursery officers, apprenticeships and graduate entry positions with the police and other roles.

Residents will be pleased to know that they can now access all the jobs available from the job shops on the council’s website.

Although not open to the public as there are no face-to-face appointments, the service is still supporting local people via email, telephone or Skype.

Young people aged 19 to 23 years old, living in Barking and Dagenham are being offered the opportunity to apply for a Railway Engineering Traineeship.

The seven-week programme will require trainees to attend for three days a week from 10am to 3pm. Applicants must be in receipt of out of work benefits such as Universal Credit, Job Seeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Employment Support Allowance.

Valence House in Dagenham has received a grant of £27,489 from Arts Council England’s Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund for a project called ‘Valence House: A New Digital Dimension’ which will help them to develop an educational online offer.

Does your child use Snapchat? If so, Barking and Dagenham Council are encouraging parents to make sure they make their children aware of a new Snapchat scam.



The new scam has seen criminals taking over people’s Snapchat accounts and extorting money by threatening to reveal private photos. Fraudsters often contact the victim through an already hacked account so it appears that the user knows the person and then they will use different stories to try and influence them.

Lockdown will be easing further on Saturday (4 July) with pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and others opening their doors for business and enforcement officers from Barking and Dagenham Council and the police will be working closely with them to ensure they’re following government guidance. 

Cross service working at Barking and Dagenham Council, has seen noise nuisance officers catch and fine residents for fly tipping and littering in the borough. 

While out attending a noise complaint about a party on Park Avenue, Barking in the early hours of Saturday morning (27 June), officers became suspicious of a male and two females carrying black bags while heading towards a fly tipping hotspot at Faircross Avenue in Barking.  

Barking and Dagenham has a proud tradition of community spirit and civic activism, which has been mobilised rapidly in response to Covid-19. At the core of that support offer is BD CAN, a community network which involves a partnership between the social sector and the council to coordinate practical assistance to residents who need help.

Since lockdown began, it has provided practical support to over 1700 people through nine hubs across the borough run by local community organisations and supported by 400 volunteers who signed up to help.

A man who assaulted council officers and the police has pleaded guilty to assault and was given a six weeks prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Ryan Smith was seen drinking alcohol in London Road car park, Barking last Thursday. After being advised to stop and dispose of his alcohol as it was a public car park, Mr Smith got aggressive, swearing and ultimately spitting at the officers.