Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein.

Apologies had been received from Rachel Lissaur and Bev Hendricks.  

The Chair will consider the admission of any items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be considered under Item 10 below).

There were none.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2023 as a correct record.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

Noted

Presentation by Emma Cummergen.

Ms Jackie Difolco presented the item.

The meeting heard that:

·      Further clarity was needed on what role the Police could play in intervention with young people as repeated contact with Police with young people could often be negative and consistent positive experiences would be more beneficial for future development. 

·      The Action Plan for the Youth At Risk strategy was being refreshed and this could help understand some of the behaviour of some young people in the community.

·      The Council was unlikely to struggle for referrals. There would be a focus on younger siblings or associates of those already known who were not within the criminal justice system already.

·      Conversations with senior community partners could be held regarding specific issues in the borough.

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be noted.

Presentation by Joe Benmore.  

Mr Joe Benmore presented the item.

The meeting heard that:

·      Communicating to people in small groups would be more useful than simply placing information up on the website.

·      It would be useful to speak to people who lived on council estates and other places to talk to people about their experiences of community safety.

·      There were issues of homelessness and drug dealing and it would be useful for people to worked in housing to discuss community safety issues.

·      Elderly people were often not part of the target groups and were also often targeted for scams.

·      Many people did not feel safe in the borough partly because of people inside their own home or those in conflict inside their own home environment. People also safety issues then kind of when travelling from their front door or to another part of the area where they lived.

·      The Police Commissioner's turnaround plan and his new performance priorities for the coming year would come into effect properly from 1 April 2023 and this would have a significant impact on how the Police focused their resources and what areas were worked on. 

·      There was a general acknowledgment in the met that historically we focus quite a lot of high impact and the Police needed to gain more focus on issues such as residential burglary, theft of motor vehicles and other ward-based crime.

·      The Commissioner had been clear across various of forums that focus would be placed on more trust, less crime and higher standards. For example, public attitude survey, stop and search would fall under the ‘more trust’ area.

·      Ms Haines, Mr Malcolm and Councillor Jogee would be putting together a group to discuss the turnaround plan.

The Partnership thanked the team for working on the project and as it was an important responsibility on the borough.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

Presentation by Sandeep Broca.

Mr Sandeep Broca presented the item. 

The meeting welcomed the presentation and heard that:

·      It was important to bear in mind the early age risk factors such as mental health substance misuse in the family and there was already existing work such as youth at risk, community safety strategy, violence against women and girls and other strategies. It was important to ensure that all areas were cohesive and not duplicated. It was possible utilise existing work and include those within the needs assessment and the strategy.

·      Public Health had the data on the Joint Need Strategic Assessment but there was also data from the Youth Justice Board so it would be useful to make sure these were morphed together and definitely link in the overall strategies.

·      The VIU had stated that it was acceptable for the borough to align the Serious Violence Duty to existing strategies. It was important to ensure that the action plan that came out of the strategy was aligned to the action plans that came out of Youth At Risk, Community Safety, Combating Drugs and other strategies in development.

·      In looking at needs assessments, it may be useful to talk to the people running Children's Centres, Early Years Centres and the family hubs. Taking a public health approach and looking at it in the widest context would lead to a lot of quantitative and qualitative data.

·      Public Health colleagues were developing a needs assessment for us for the family hubs program in conjunction with the Early Intervention Foundation.

·      Community Safety Partnership was the allocated governance for the work being involved. It was also relevant to the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board and Community Safety.

·      It was important that responsibility was joined collectively between health, Police and local authority, but it was important that no agency was left to undertake the work by itself.

RESOLVED:

1. That the Board note the contents of the accompanying report which provided an overview of the new Serious Violence Duty.

2. That all partners agree to support the Serious Violence Duty strategic needs assessment development by encouraging engagement, data and information sharing across internal and external networks stakeholders and partners.

3. That all partners agree to contribute to the strategy and action plan as they develop, following completion of the needs assessment.

Councillor Jogee stated that the Co-Chairs would be examining ways in which to make the Community Safety Partnership more practicable and visitations could be made other similar meetings in the UK. 

Councillor Brabazon stated that that a more thematic style and there were some things that meeting did not typically discuss such as Licensing and its impact on neighbourhoods.

The next meeting would be held at around June 2023.