Agenda item

To provide Members with an update on Community Safety Partnership work at a local and county level (report of the Assistant Director – Communities and Housing Services enclosed).

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

The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery), the Safer Communities Manager (Operations), the Group Manager – Safer Communities and the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection were in attendance in person for this item, and Lincolnshire Police Inspector Ian Cotton attended virtually.

The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery) introduced the report which provided a comprehensive update on community safety activity across South Holland during the 2024/25 financial year, and which included the following key areas:

• Strategic developments at both local and county levels;
• Enforcement actions and surveillance data;
• Partnership priorities such as tackling anti-social behaviour, drug-related crime, and fear of crime;
• Updates on staffing structure and operational delivery; and
• Future priorities and planned improvements in reporting mechanisms and public engagement.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

·         Members asked for the definition of “cuckooing”

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery) explained that it referred to criminals taking over the homes of vulnerable people as a base for criminal activity.

·         Members queried the drug dealing statistics and raised concerns regarding such activity in their wards and the lack of police response to a specific report made by a Councillor.

o   Inspector Cotton apologised for the lack of feedback to the reported incident and added that:

o   The specific matter raised would be followed-up directly with the Councillor after the meeting and that the email address of the Inspector would be circulated to members; and

o   Intelligence was used to build enforcement cases with work being undertaken in Spalding and Boston to tackle activity across County Lines.

·         Members raised concerns about the underreporting of incidents due to lack of feedback/response from the police.

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery) acknowledged the issued which had been recognised as a priority by the South & East Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership.

·         Members queried the number of Section 59 warnings that had been issued.

o   Inspector Cotton would provide the information after the meeting.

·         Members discussed CCTV statistics and differences across districts.

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Operations) responded that whilst South Holland and Boston had the same number of cameras, South Holland had fewer incidents. East Lindsey had more cameras in operation due to the larger geographical area; and

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery) responded that activity was data-driven and future reports would reflect broader coverage.

·         Members queried whether cross-departmental initiatives were in place to reduce the fear of crime in town centres and in more rural areas across the district.

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery) responded that work was ongoing with the Town Board and the local BID group to tackle problems. Resources were available for cluster areas and problem hotspots, but these needed to be identified through reporting.

·         Members requested more information relating to the Town and Parishes alternative CCTV systems stated at page 120 of the agenda pack or whether this could be investigated.

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Operations) responded that private parish council CCTV systems were not linked to the council’s CCTV system and therefore any information could not be obtained or confirmed by the service.

·         Members referred to the ‘How you can help us’ information on page 101 of the agenda pack, and asked how this page/format could be circulated within the district.

o   The Group Manager – Safer Communities  responded that the document was produced by the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership and that enquiries would be made regarding further sharing.

·         Members raised concerns about domestic abuse statistics and how success was measured.

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery) responded that success was measured by victim outcomes.

·         Members queried the reporting of Cybercrime.

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery)  responded that the report focussed on the link to CCTV and Cybercrime statistics were not included.

·         Members queried whether improvements to CCTV evidence processing had been considered and suggested that live links would be beneficial.

o   Inspector Cotton responded that cloud-based systems were being explored to reduce the processing time and that footage was held for 30 days.

·         Members asked how widely the strategy was known.

o   The Safer Communities Manager (Partnership Delivery) confirmed that the strategy was published online and promoted regularly; and

o   The Group Manager – Safer Communities added that statutory partners also had a responsibility to share the strategy.

·         Members raised concerns about potential police budget cuts and emphasised the need for better system responses to encourage reporting.

Agreed:

1)    That the content of the report be noted; and

2)    That the comments of members be noted for inclusion in future reports.