Agenda item

The Board received a background paper informing it’s discussion topic: ‘Likely Impact of the Recession on Community Safety in Haringey’.

The impact of the current recession upon crime was likely to be different to that of previous economic downturns. Recently collected data showed that unemployment was rising more quickly in the west of the Borough and that young people were the most seriously effected at present.

The Board discussed this issue and how the Partnership could act to minimise the impact upon community safety in the Borough. It was reported that the Fire Brigade had recorded a slight rise in the number of arsons being carried out over the last three months. However, it was not clear whether this was as a result of the economic climate.

It was noted that Voluntary and Community Sector organisations were often approached for advice in the first instance and that there may a significant increase in the number of people accessing Social Security Benefits who had no previous experience of the system.

It was suggested that the Council and Job Centre Plus should work with the Voluntary Sector to identify individuals who may be suitable candidates for initiatives aimed at people who had recently become unemployed. There was agreement that officers from the Council’s Community Safety Team and Economic Regeneration Team should liaise with Voluntary Sector organisations on this issue and that the Board should receive an update at the next meeting on progress.

The Board discussed the wider issue of volunteering and the role that this could play in helping individuals who became unemployed. There was agreement that partners should contact the Council’s Economic Regeneration Team if there were opportunities within their organisation for volunteering so that these could be included within the Partnership’s wider approach to tackling the recession.

It was noted that the ‘black market’ and fraud generally increased during an economic downturn and this was being monitored by the Police. At present it was not known whether levels of Council Tax and Benefit fraud had been effected.

The Board was advised that the Council had established a Steering Group to look at options around the establishment of a Credit Union. This would help reduce the number of people using ‘loan sharks’ and other expensive means of credit and help prevent people turning to crime to obtain cash.

The Chair requested that a quarterly report should be received by the Board setting out how the economic downturn was impacting upon crime and how the measures discussed were being taken forward.

RESOLVED:

1. That a quarterly report should be received by the Board setting out how the economic downturn was impacting upon crime and how the measures discussed were being taken forward.

2. That officers from the Council’s Community Safety Team and Economic Regeneration Team should liaise with Voluntary Sector organisations to identify opportunities for assisting people who had recently lost their jobs access schemes and initiatives available and that the Board should receive an update at the next meeting on progress.

3. That partners should contact the Council’s Economic Regeneration Team if there were opportunities within their organisation for volunteering so that these could be included within the Partnership’s wider approach to tackling the recession.