Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Lyn Garner, Mark Landy and Tessa Newton.

To confirm the minutes of the special meeting held on 18 December 2012 as a correct record.

RESOLVED

·        That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 December be agreed as an accurate record.

Matters arising:

·        The Chair confirmed that a letter had been sent to the Mayor’s Office on behalf of the Council setting out concerns with the proposed reduction to 24/7 policing within the borough and the particular need for a 24hr police station in Tottenham.

·        The PMG would be focussing on domestic violence and youth re-offending performance at its April meeting. Additionally, a recent strategic meeting had been held on domestic violence to finalise the Strategy, with a future mapping exercise planned. Quarter 3 performance remain good and on track, with two main ongoing areas of concern remaining youth re-offending and probation and sustainable employment. It was agreed that youth offending should be a focus for the next CSP meeting.

·        It was updated that the options report on the Fire Authority cuts had not included a proposal to close Tottenham Fire Station. Related to this, it was advised that a public consultation meeting was scheduled for 18 April on the draft fifth London Safety Plan, although no significant changes were proposed for Haringey. It was agreed that the Chair and Spencer would help to publicise the event.

To receive an update from the Borough Commander.

The Borough Commander provided a brief overview of planned changes to the local policing model following a review of resources and set against the need for the MPS to achieve 20% budget savings and improve performance. It was anticipated that the model would go live from June as part of the first tranche rollout.

Confirmation was provided that there would be a reduction in police staff employed within the borough under the new model, although the number of Police Officers would remain unchanged. Haringey would receive an additional 9 Police vehicles to the fleet. Performance monitoring arrangements within the borough would also be changing to incorporate 7 targets set by the Mayor, with discussions ongoing to establish target levels for Haringey.

The present situation regarding the portfolio and operating hours of Police stations and counters in the borough was ongoing and in a state of flux. The current provisional position was for a 24/7 front counter at Tottenham Police Station, with standard 40 hrs/week front counter service to be provided at Fishmongers Arms and Hornsey Police Station. A new building would be required for the Tottenham station. The Board expressed serious concern over the likelihood of only one 24hr police station being provided within the borough and the ambitious timescales associated with implementing the changes with the new model. Assurances were sought that a comprehensive action plan would be put in place to cover implementation and that consultation would also be undertaken on the changes with borough residents. It was further advised that the 40hrs/week presence constituted the minimum permitted, and that flexibility was available with regards to how the hours of operation were allocated through the week. It was agreed that the Executive would need to look at the flexibilities around the model and any assistance that the Partnership could provide in relation to implementation.

Confirmation was provided that Muswell Hill Police Station had been earmarked for closure, with the possibility of co-locating in the library currently being looked into. Cllr Newton advised that a proposal had been put forward to the Mayor’s Office that any future developer of the site be required to provide a SNT frontdesk or pay a financial levy.

To receive a briefing from the Borough Fire Commander.

The Borough Fire Commander gave a short overview of the preventative, targeted approach the Fire Service were taking within the borough for individuals at high risk from fire following a statistical modelling exercise undertaken on repeat callers. Seven individuals fitting this profile had been identified within the borough and for which a people centred, tailored approach had been adopted to try to reduce their fire risk such as undertaking home safety visits, the fitting of domestic sprinkler systems etc. Lisa Redfern requested that a list of this cohort group be circulated to her on a monthly basis so that Adult Services could assist the Fire Service where possible to facilitate swift action.

The approach linked into the Safeguarding Adults Board, with a proposal put forward that a high risk sub panel be established under the Board to cover a broader approach to managing high risk adults within the borough. It was agreed that Spencer and Lisa Redfern would discuss this further and report back to the next meeting.

The update was noted.

The Board received a short presentation on the latest draft of the Community Safety Strategic Assessment 2012/13, including the key findings and recommendations identified following completion of the second phase of the Assessment workplan. Key areas highlighted for further focus included ASB, acquisitive crime, violent crime, domestic violence and re-offending. Areas for generating further insight had also been identified for future analysis including mental health and the apparent link identified between alcohol and substance misuse and crime. It was noted that work was already underway in conjunction with the Public Health service to unpack this association in greater detail.

The Chair thanked the CSP for their contributions in the development of the Assessment which would play a valuable role as a resource base for the Community Safety Strategy. Thanks were also passed on to the Strategy and Business Intelligence team for leading in the drafting of the Assessment.    

In relation to common crime locations and hotspots identified within the borough, it was cautioned that the fluidity of these areas needed to be recognised and resources appropriately tailored, for example managing the potential impact of changes to Tottenham Police Station etc. 

It was requested that a copy of the presentation be forward to the Board for information.

RESOLVED

·        That the Community Safety Strategic Assessment 2012/13 be noted.

The Partnership’s comments and feedback were sought on the latest draft of the Community Safety Strategy 2013-2017 which was currently out for the second stage of consultation and which set out the vision, priorities and outcomes for the CSP. Details of the implementation of the Strategy would be contained within an accompanying action plan which would be focussed on adding value as opposed to replicating existing work. The final draft of the Strategy was due for signoff by the CSP in June, and would be subject to annual review.

The Board discussed the wording of the vision statement as it was considered that it should be more definitive to allow outcomes to be measured; ‘Making Haringey one of the safest boroughs’ was agreed.  

In terms of the five identified outcomes, it was agreed that references needed to made to the significant young women gender base in relation to domestic violence and gangs work and to the work of the Health and Wellbeing Board in relation to alcohol and managing substance misuse to ensure sufficient join up. With regards to outcome one, the Borough Commander proposed that the target in relation to increasing community confidence in policing be changed from 58% to 78%over four years to align with the Mayor’s targets.

Confirmation was provided that a communications plan would be drafted to steer the consultation process for the Strategy and which would be circulated to the Board for comment in due course. It was agreed that HAVCO would provide input into the drafting of the consultation document and that the Homes for Haringey resident’s panels could be used as an additional route for consultation.

RESOLVED

·        That the draft Strategy be noted. 

The Board were updated on the borough’s bid for MOPAC funding which had been formally submitted on 13 March. Confirmation was provided that 7 bids had been put forward against the crime prevention funding pot equating to £5m over a 4 year period, with the primary bids focussed on drug intervention, domestic violence, integrated offender management and integrated gangs projects. The Board recognised the added value the bid development process had provided in pulling together work underway across the partnership, and the quality of the final bids submitted.

It was anticipated that the results would be announced next month.

RESOLVED

·        That the update be noted.

The CSP were provided with an update on the work undertaken to respond to the Home Office Gangs and Youth Violence peer review, including progressing the implementation of the recommendations. A task and finish group had been established to lead on this including establishing a shared vision, objectives, performance management framework etc. Creation of an integrated gang unit was also proposed under the integrated offender management model to support a multi-agency team approach as detailed in a bid to MOPAC and which would require the reallocation of a number of staff.

The Board commented on the importance of this piece of work aligning with outcome 2 of the Community Safety Strategy, particularly in relation to having a unified sole vision and outcomes. It was also agreed that the particular issue of young women and gangs needed to be more explicitly covered within the delivery model.

The importance was also emphasised of aligning the Youth Offending Service prevention work into the delivery model to ensure necessary link up.

RESOLVED

·        That the update be noted.  

Dates will be confirmed once the Council’s meetings calendar is agreed.

The next CSP meeting was scheduled for 13 June, 12pm.