Agenda item

The Committee received a presentation which explored the impact on crime and disorder from the pandemic and the accompanying lockdown, along with information around post-lockdown crime planning. The presentation was introduced by Joe Benmore - Interim Head of Community Safety and Enforcement, and Sandeep Broca - Community Safety Intelligence Analysis Manager. The presentation was set out in the agenda pack at pages  19-26. The following arose from the discussion of this agenda item:

1. HfH commented that the key time slot for anti-social behaviour seemed to have shifted to between 2pm & 4pm and it was suggested that there was an opportunity to look at lighting and CCTV coverage on HfH sites. In response, officers acknowledged this point and suggested that a key takeaway from lockdown was around finding different and innovative ways to engage with the community, including around hotspot locations.
2. Cllr Amin highlighted that Council services were coming into contact with young people who had not been in contact previously, as a result of the pandemic. It was queried whether referrals could be looked at to understand the extent to which those being referred where completely new and what their backgrounds were. In response, officers acknowledged that they were aware that a  spate of robberies in Tottenham in 2019 involved a number of first time offenders. There was a lot of work being done with Children’s Services and there was a child exploitation panel that met daily to look at young people who were vulnerable to criminality. It was acknowledged that more needed to be done, but officers suggested that it was difficult to understand the referrals at this stage. Referrals through Haringey Community Gold were currently taking place. The impact of community trauma from specific events was also highlighted.
3. The Partnership sought assurances around what could be done as a system to look at prevention and early intervention, acknowledging that child exploitation and those with mild learning difficulties and mental health needs tended to be the ones that ended up in the criminal justice system. In response, officers acknowledged the importance of what the service offer would look like and the need to understand weather was it reaching the correct people, in order to properly formulate a partnership level response.
4. The Partnership sought assurances around the extent to which a reduction in crime was sustainable after lockdown and whether it would just bounce back to pre-Covid levels. In response, officers commented that it may well just be a blip and that following an analysis of average crime figures over a three-year period; the expectation was that crime would return to pre-Covid levels. This was unless further actions and interventions was taken.
5. Partners commented that there was an opportunity to develop a collective understanding of how trauma was dealt with by partners across the borough.
6. The role of the Young People at Risk Strategy and Haringey Community Gold was highlighted and the fact that these allowed Haringey to be able to look at young people from an early intervention perspective. One of the key factors going forwards was the need to listen to young people and involve them the shaping of services
7. The Cabinet Member for Communities noted concerns about a potential spike in crime when lockdown restrictions were lifted, as happened in the summer. The impact of a possible decision by the government to remove the benefits uplift was noted as possible area of concern and one that conceivably could have an impact on levels of crime in the borough. The Cabinet Member advised the partnership of the development of a youth hub in Wood Green and the fact that a site had been identified and work was ongoing to set this up. The Partnership was advised that this would be the first dedicated youth work resource in Wood Green for a decade. 
8. Partners raised concerns about the role of the drugs industry as a key driver for exploitation. It was commented that no matter how good partners were at intervening at the back end of the process, and lifting vulnerable children out of crime, until the underlying problem was solved then exploitation would continue. The importance of adopting a whole systems approach was emphasised in this.
9. The Chair commented that she shared the partners’ concerns about a rise in violent crime, noting recent murder incidents involving young people under 18 years old. Partners agreed to the establishment of a task and finish group to discuss how to work together to reduce violence post-lockdown. (Action: Joe Benmore).
10. Officers agreed to bring back on update on this to future meetings as and when appropriate. (Action: Joe Benmore).

RESOLVED

Noted.