The Enforcement Forum sounds like something from a superhero comic book... think Justice League of America or S.H.I.E.L.D.
Batman had Robin, the Green Hornet had Kato, and even loners such as Superman, Daredevil and Spiderman knew when to buddy up with others for the common good.
Likewise, our breed of heroes uses the Enforcement Forum to team up and make a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The work may be less glamorous than saving the world, but to locals and visitors, it makes a real difference.
Those who imagine a menacing civil enforcement officer stroking a white cat as he slaps another ticket on a poor, unsuspecting motorist might picture an Enforcement Forum held in a hollowed-out volcano, complete with shark-pool, lava pit and henchmen. The reality of intelligence sharing over coffee and buns is less glamorous, but very effective for decent district domination.
Regular meetings of our forum took a different shape recently with an ‘Enforcement open day' to raise profile and build support. Open to all, the scene was set with enforcement information stalls showcasing environmental health, audit, benefits, housing, building control, refuse and planning, and a presentation from each team on role, followed by Q&A and networking sessions.
Team pride and desire to be the best overcame presentation nerves in front of an independent guest judge, and chocolate prizes. Results were impressive, proving our heroes' real passion for team working and missions accomplished... Our empty homes team and planning enforcement officers serving an untidy site notice on an empty home to help bring it back into a habitable state; building control notifying licensing of applications to change properties which might indicate a change of use, ensuring licences are correct; environmental health working with benefits to standardise legal paperwork and streamline legal action; planning enforcement using surveillance skills of benefits investigators to prove breaches of planning enforcement notices.
