Agenda item

To provide members with an update on Community Safety Partnership work at a local and county level (report of the Assistant Director - Wellbeing and Community Leadership enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Wellbeing and Community Leadership which provided members with an update on Community Safety Partnership work at a local and county level.

The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager introduced the report which included an update on the following areas:

• South and East Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership which included: anti-social behaviour (ASB); hate crime; safer streets and night-time economy; the safety of women and girls; and vulnerability and safeguarding;
• SHDC anti-social behaviour enforcement team activity which highlighted an increase in complex cases;
• Community Warden role;
• CCTV;
• Neighbourhood Policing;
• Public Space Protection Order (PSPO); and
• Safter Lincolnshire Partnership (SLP).

The following information was appended to the report:

• Community Safety Strategy Action Plan 2023-2024 at Appendix A;
• 7 Minute briefing Violence Against Women and Girls at Appendix B;
• ASB in South Holland at Appendix C;
• Annual CCTV Report 2022-2023 at Appendix D;
• SHDC Parishes CCTV Performance Data Q1 and Q2 at Appendix E;
• Neighbourhood Policing Commitment Booklet 2023 at Appendix F; and
• Safer Lincolnshire Partnership Report at Appendix G. An updated Appendix G (appended to the minutes) had been made available since the publication of the agenda which detailed key actions in the following areas:
  • The ASB Core Priority Group - progress continued with the Task and Finish Groups in respect of noise nuisance;
  • The Crime and Disorder Core Priority Group – partnership work with Trading Standards and Lincolnshire Police had led to the installation of 80 call blocker units in 2022/2023 and had resulted in direct financial savings; communication and engagement activities also sought to raise awareness of online criminal traders;
  • The Reducing Reoffending Core Priority Group  - funding had been secured to progress the Lincolnshire Women and Girls Strategy and the development of a Women’s Centre Approach for Lincolnshire;
  • The Drug and Alcohol Core Priority Group; and
  • The Serious Violence Core Priority Group.

Regarding the recommendation of the report in the respect of complex cases, the Community Safety and Enforcement Manager relayed the following:

• An increased and cyclical trend in ASB cases had been identified relating to drug, alcohol and mental health concerns; and
• Opportunities to explore best practices was called for, in order to resolve the issue and help ongoing cases.

Members considered the update and made the following comments:

• Members referred to 3.7 of the report which showed a map of reported ASB incidents in the district and asked why all incidents had not been included. Members asked to be informed of trends in their wards.
  • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager responded that:
    • Work was underway with the software provider to ensure that all incidents were mapped;
    • The mapping exercise deliberately located reports to a general ward zone, rather than being zoned at street level, so that individuals could not be identified; the reporting of incidents/trends to members whilst ensuring anonymity was therefore challenging however possibilities would be investigated; and
    • The map could be used by members to encourage reporting where concerns had not been raised.

• Members stated that a CCTV response had not yet been forthcoming regarding an ASB incident reported by a Parish Council and that police access to local CCTV footage, held at the Boston facility, needed to be easily and locally available.
  • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager would request a response from the CCTV Manager however the following response was given:
    • Work was being explored regarding the transfer of information;
    • Volunteers were now in place at the Boston facility to view requested camera footage which could be relayed to officers in Spalding; and
    • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager would liaise with the member concerned regarding the reported incident.

• The following discussion took place regarding dangerous driving:
  • Dangerous driving in residential areas had been reported to members by residents; mobile speed cameras needed to be deployed in known speeding hot-spots;
  • Members acknowledged the work of Community Speed Watch (CSW) which, supported by the police, had collated speed camera evidence to successfully reduce speed limits and change behaviours;
  • Some members highlighted the limitations to CSW which could not prosecute and stated that behaviour changes were encouraged though penalties; and
  • Members were encouraged to relay issues to Inspector Nick Waters who responded to issues; and to engage with CSW to enable future change;
    • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager responded that reported issues were acted upon and resulted in specific police speed reduction campaigns.

• Members recognised that the comprehensive report included details of multiple workstreams in place to address crime and disorder issues however long-term problems sustained and trends increased. Members questioned whether the current approach would yield results and how success would be measured.
  • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager responded that:
    • A strategic approach to dealing with crime and disorder was being taken;
    • Analysts provided information so that issues could be targeted;
    • Clear actions and outcomes were in place;
    • Many issues were complex and affected the whole country; officers liaised with other district councils and best practices were shared;
    • The SHDC Community Safety team worked directly with various panels and individuals at a local level where impact was evident; and
    • The achievement of measurable outcomes would be reported in the next Safer Lincolnshire Partnership report and presented to the panel in summer 2024.

• Members stated that public confidence in the police system was low, and whilst the reporting of incidents was encouraged, members asserted that the reporting system was not fit for purpose and this effectively disincentivised the reporting of crime. The following main points were raised:
  • Long call answering times to the non-emergency 101 telephone service had led to the abandonment of report attempts;
  • The online reporting system was difficult to use and required improvements; automated replies often indicated that no action would be taken;
  • As a result, a true picture of crime in the area was not being captured and this impacted negatively on the assessment of required resources;
  • Whilst members expressed confidence in the commitment of police officers, their resources were inadequate, and the Member of Parliament (M.P.) and the Police and Crime Commissioner (P.C.C.) had not been successful in securing sufficient funding to address the issue; and
  • Members debated whether an invitation be extended to either a police representative or the M.P. to attend a future meeting to discuss the issues raised however both were ruled out at this stage. Nonetheless, members did agree to individually lobby the MP for necessary improvements to the reporting system.
    • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager responded that ongoing issues should be reported to the Community Safety Team. The team met regularly with the local policing team where local issues were relayed and solutions discussed.

• Members expressed concern that complex cases received support whereas ASB issues, which impacted the wider community, were considered minor and therefore not prioritised.

• Members referred to the CCTV data at point 4.1 of the report and stated that this was a positive development.

• Members referred to the Safety of Women and Girls progress commentary within Appendix A and noted that further CCTV installations awaited BT fibre upgrade works. Infrastructure improvements were therefore required in order to reduce crime. Members suggested that the S&ELCP lobby BT for urgent action in this area.

o   The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager would relay members comments to the CCTV manager and report back to the committee.

• Members suggested that the South and East Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership review the provision of youth services in order to address issues in communities.

AGREED:

After consideration of the Crime and Disorder Report by the Performance Monitoring Panel:

a)    That the contents of the report be noted;

b)    That the exploration of opportunities to assist with complex cases was supported;

c)     That the annual report come forward to the Performance Monitoring Panel in May/June so that annual data from the previous financial year could be provided; and

d)    That the comments of the Panel be noted and feedback relayed, by the Community Safety and Enforcement Manager, to relevant parties.