Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from the following:

Niall Bolger                            - substituted

Dave Grant

Kate Gilbert

Marion Morris                        - substituted

Barbara Nicholls

Pamela Pemberton              - substituted

To consider any items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be considered under Item 18 below).

There were no new items of Urgent Business.

Members of the Board must declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests with respect to agenda items and must not take part in any decision made with respect to those items.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2010 as a correct record.

Prior to the confirmation of the minutes the following points were raised:

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2010 were confirmed as a correct.

To appoint a Chair for 2010/11.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Bernice Vanier be appointed as Chair of the Safer Communities Executive Board for 2010/11.

To appoint a Vice-Chair to the Board for 2010/11.

RESOLVED:

That Dave Grant be appointed as Vice-Chair of the Safer Communities Executive Board for 2010/11.

To appoint a representative to the HSP Standing Leadership Conference for 2010/11.

RESOLVED:

That Rev. Nims Obunge be appointed as the Safer Communities Executive Board’s representative on the HSP Standing Leadership Conference for 2010/11.

To confirm the Boards Membership and Terms of Reference for 2010/11.

The Board received a report that sought confirmation from Partners of the Safer Communities Executive Board (SCEB) Membership and Terms of Reference for 2010/11.

The Board discussed it’s membership and it was noted that the Community Police Consultative Groups (CPCG) were usually included within the membership of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP). Over the previous two years the Director of Haringey CPCG had been a member of the SCEB by virtue of her appointment as HAVCO’s representative.   

There was a general consensus that, given that the CPCG played a key role in fostering public confidence and that improving this was a key priority for the Police, it would be appropriate for the SCEB’s Terms of Reference to be amended to allocate a place to the CPCG.

In addition the following amendments to the Terms of Reference were also agreed:

• The MPA’s status as a statutory partner for CDRPs should be reflected and one observer place should be retained
• The membership of the SCEB Performance Management Group (PMG) should be amended to include the Probation Service
• That reference to the Government Office for London (GOL) as an observer be removed

It was also requested that consideration was given to offering a place on the SCEB PMG to HAVCO and the Chair noted that this would be discussed by the PMG.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the amendments set out above, the Membership and Terms of Reference for the SCEB be confirmed for 2010/11.

A presentation will be given.

A presentation was given on

The Board considered a report that provided an overview of performance against key community safety targets and areas of responsibility during 2009/10.

The Board was given an overview of the key highlights and successes achieved during the period including:

Overall level of recorded crime – this had dropped by 6.2% overall in comparison with figures recorded during 2008/09 and was the seventh consecutive year that had seen a reduction in overall crime.

Serious acquisitive crime -   this had dropped by 10% in comparison with the figures recorded during 2008/09 and had acceded the associated LAA target by 3%.

Personal robbery – this had dropped by 4.7% in comparison with the figures recorded during 2008/09 and this was the forth consecutive year where there was a reduction. Haringey continued to perform in terms of the sanctioned detection rates with respect to personal robbery and this was directly attributable to the investigation process adopted in Haringey.

Domestic violence – both of the Stretch Targets with respect to this had been met.  The number of sanctioned detections had exceeded the target by 8.4% and the number of instances of domestic violence recorded had been one hundred and ten, which was under the target of one hundred and forty-two.

Preventing violent extremism – it was noted that measures including training had been rolled out, in line with Home Office Self Assessment Framework, in order to achieve Level 3. An independent evaluation and further measures were being planned to improve work in this area.

First time entrants into the Youth Justice System – performance in this area had been good and the prevention work undertaken by youth offending staff work in Custody Suits, as part of the triage programme, had been key to this. Further intensive prevention programmes were being developed as part of the Challenge and Support scheme and Intensive Intervention Project.

Serious violent crime – the LAA target with respect to this, an overall reduction of 4%, had not been met and during 2009/10 and as of the end of Quarter Four a total increase on 14.7% had been recorded. It was noted that, despite this, the level of serious violent crime had reduced and an overview was provided of the measures being undertaken to improve performance in this area.

Drug users in effective treatment – to date 1,015 people had been assisted against the LAA target of getting 1,068 people into treatment. It was unlikely that the target would be met as the number of new clients coming into treatment had dropped significantly.

Treatment Effectiveness – the LAA target of 82% had been exceeded by 6% and this was also higher than the London average of 84%.

Alcohol related admission rates – provisional figures for the first half of 2009/10 indicated it was unlikely that the LAA target with respect to this would be achieved. New investment to address this became available in September and the impact of this was unlikely to be felt until 2010/11.

The Board discussed the report and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

The Board received a report that set out the draft Partnership Priority Plan for 2010/11. The plan built on the previous iteration and included thirteen key priorities with and actions.

It was noted that improving public confidence was a key priority for the Police and there was agreement that this should be reflected in the Plan.

RESOLVED:

That the Partnership Priority Plan for 2010/11 be noted.

The Board received a report that presented a draft Communications Plan for the Partnership.

The Board was advised that ‘Communicating for Confidence’ was a Home Office expectation and locally adopted priority. Although progress had been made in this area there was a need to form an agreed approach for communicating the work of the Partnership and the Plan set out how this could be approached over the forthcoming year.

Support was expressed for strengthening the way in which the Partnership communicated it’s work. It was noted that provision would need to be made to ensure that duplication did not occur and the Board was advised that existing mechanisms within the respective Partner organisations would be use where appropriate to avoid this.

In terms of the funding required to support the Plan the Board was advised that the Council would meet the costs attached to the ‘quick communications’ outlined in the Plan; in addition statutory partners were asked to make a contribution of £4K towards the publication costs attached.

The Board discussed the how the information would be disseminated and it was recognised that when a target group was identified consideration would need to be given to the way in which they would be most likely to access the information. This was particularly important in reaching young people and there was agreement that consideration should be given to using Social Networking sites and other data platforms in addition to leaflets and poster campaigns.

RESOLVED:

1. That statutory Partners should consider making a contribution of £4K during 2010/11 towards the publication costs attached to the Communications Plan.

2. That a Communications Working Group should be established and that Partners organisations should be nominate a representative to sit on the group.

The Board considered a report that set out the work carried out to date as part the Haringey Reducing Re-offending Programme (HARRP).

It was noted that, since the previous meeting, the following actions had been undertaken:

• Reducing Re-offending Action Plan - as suggested by the SCEB Children and Young People’s Services were consulted
• Reducing Re-offending Conference – this had highlighted the absence of mental and physical health services and these agencies were now being engaged with
• The Haringey Reducing Re-offending Network (HARREN) – this was established in April 2010 and thirty organisations had been engaged with as part of this and a ‘Working Level Agreement’ and online forum had been established
• Recruitment of Caseworker – unfortunately this had been delayed due to the HR processes that had to be undertaken. In the meantime the Reducing Re-offending officer was taking on a small cohort of prisoners leaving Pentonville Prison.

In response to a query as to how this fitted in with the work of the Probation Service the Board was reminded that the Probation Service did not work with offenders serving sentences of less then twelve months and that the Programme was specifically targeted at providing support to this group.

The Board discussed the wider context within which the programme sat and how it would be integrated with new initiatives such as the Total Place agenda, Diamond Districts and existing DAAT services. It was noted that the Police and Probation Service would continue to be consulted as the programme developed to ensure that work was properly integrated.  

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board received a report a report setting out the key risks against key service objectives and Local Area Agreement targets.

It was noted that each Thematic Board was required by the HSP to adopt a Risk Register in order to manage the risks attached to achieving the LAA targets within their responsibility. In assessing the risks attached to each outcome a risk rating had been reached in conjunction with colleagues from NHS Haringey and the Police.

The Board discussed the document and it was contended that the emphasis placed on financial risk was too heavy and that the impact upon residents and communities should be given increased weighting.

It was noted that gang related crime and violence had a particularly significant impact upon local communities and it was contended that local intelligence suggested that the likelihood of a major incident happening in the Borough was high.

The Board was advised that Police in the thirteen worst effected Boroughs (of which Haringey was one) in London had been instructed by ? to hold weekly meetings to review knife and gang relate crime and the intelligence received with respect to this.  At present Haringey was the only one of the thirteen Boroughs that was making progress in this area. This was due to the proactive approach that was taken in targeting known gang members; the continuous pressure that was placed on these individuals played a significant role in reducing the level of crime they were able to commit.

It was noted that the targeted work that been undertaken to prevent young people becoming involved in gang crime had been effective; however, this had meant that, amongst the slightly older age group of eighteen to twenty-four year olds, there had been an increase in the level of gang related crimes recorded. In addition the recent incident at Victoria Station had been the first murder of its type where none of the people charged had any previous convictions or were known to the Police.

This demonstrated the ongoing need to analyse knife and gang related crime and target……. ………

RESOLVED:

1. That the Risk Register be adopted.

2. That consideration be given to revising the weighting attached to financial risk and incorporating a set of risks to recognise the impact upon local communities.

The Board received, for information, the Action Plans for each of the Sub-Boards for 2010/11.

It was noted that the Action Plan for the Other Violent Crime Board had been omitted from the agenda and pack and there was agreement that this should be circulated with the minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the Action Plans presented by noted.

The Board received, for information, a report setting out the measures being taken to raise public awareness around the preparing for emergency situations.

It was noted that ‘z-cards’ had been produced setting out a list of things that people should do in the event of an emergency. These would be distributed through Libraries, Leisure Centres and Council Customer Service points throughout the Borough. In addition posters and leaflets, available in a number of languages, would also be distributed.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

A verbal update will be provided.

The Board received a verbal update with respect to the three year Partnership Strategy.

It was noted that the new Partnership Strategy was being drafted at present to replace the existing strategy which would come to an end in 2011. The Plan was being developed in conjunction with the Police and a range of other partners and there would be a series of targeted consultation events in the autumn. The issues arising would form the basis of the strategy.

It was anticipated that the first draft of the strategy would be completed in January and brought to the Board for discussion; the final version would then be brought back to the Board for approval in April.

RESOLVED:

That the update be noted.

To consider any new items of Urgent Business admitted under Item 2 above.  

No new items of Urgent Business were raised.

To discuss any items of AOB.

The following items of AOB were raised:

Council Budget

It was noted that the new coalition Government had announced that Local Government grants would be reduced by approximately £1.2B this year. The reduction of funding that Haringey would face was estimated to be between £6m and £9M and this would be split between both revenue and capital budgets.

It was anticipated that the Area Based Grant would be heavily reduced as it was one of the most flexible streams of funding. The Board was advised that the HSP Executive had agreed that it would hold a dedicated session (in July, once the Government’s emergency budget had been announced) to develop a process and criteria against which priorities for funding could be established. It had also agreed that no new financial commitments should be made.

Once further information was available each of the Thematic Boards would be advised.

Police Budget

It was noted that the Police Service was also expecting significant cuts to funding as of the current financial year. At present the Government was being lobbied to give an indication of the funding available prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review in the autumn.

Once further information had been received the Board would be advised.

Problem Solving Awards

It was noted that this event was being held at the end of the month and partners were asked to advise the MPS of any initiatives or examples of work that they felt should be recognised.

The Board was advised that Haringey had put forward a problem solving project on burglary.

National Peace Week

The theme for this year’s Peace Week would be ‘giving back’ and was intended to highlight the message that everyone had something to give back to their communities. This would be targeted at nineteen to twenty-six year olds.

The Chair requested that more information with respect to this was circulated once it became available.

Young Haringey Hero Awards

This event was being on 9 July at the Bernie Grant Centre and members of the Board were welcome to attend. Further details could be obtained from Jennifer James.

It was noted that this would be last meeting that Eliza Meechan would be attending before she went on Maternity Leave in August. The Board wished her well and thanked her for contribution.

RESOLVED:

To note the items of AOB raised above.

To note the dates of future meetings set out below:

• 7 October 2010, 11am, Council Chamber, Civic Centre
• 27 January 2011, 11am, Council Chamber, Civic Centre
• 21 April 2010, 11am, Council Chamber, Civic Centre

The dates of future meetings, set out below, were noted: