Agenda item

This report provides information on the operation of the Community Safety Partnership from October 2017, which summarises the findings of the strategic assessment. This report provides information on the proposed plan to cover the period from 2016 – 2020.

Discussion:

The Chairman welcomed the partners of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) to the meeting.

The Committee discussed the following topics:

·         Crime statistics for Medway  - In response to a question concerning the 35.7% increase in the level of recorded crime in Medway, Chief Inspector Marsh informed the Committee that following a Crime Data Integrity Inspection, changes had been made to the way crimes were recorded. Where previously there would have been one crime report per incident which covered all elements, under the new procedure individual elements were required to be assigned an individual crime report. Therefore, although the number of crime incidents may not have increased, the number of crime reports related to the incidents would have increased.

In addition, as a result of recent cases in the media surrounding sexual exploitation and historic child abuse cases, this had led to an increase in the reporting of this type of crime and through the work of the various agencies involved, there had been a higher level of reporting of domestic abuse, which for many years had largely remained hidden.

Chief Inspector Marsh stated that it was likely that as the new recording procedure became established, there would be a plateau effect over the coming years.

·         Levels of anti-social behaviour in Medway – In response to the statement that the number of incidents of antisocial behaviour (ASB) continued to fall in Medway, a Member expressed concern that this decrease could be attributed to people failing to report incidents. In response, Chief Inspector Marsh confirmed that from the crime reporting received on a daily basis, he was confident that people were continuing to report incidents of ASB. He referred to the various methods by which individuals could report crimes.

·         ASB Team – A Member paid tribute to the work of the Council’s ASB Team and questioned whether there were plans to expand this team at a future date. In response, the Chairman of the CSP advised that ideally he would like to expand the team but funding was not currently available. He advised that he was currently exploring the possibility of sourcing increased funding via other agencies.

·         Policing of Town Centres – In response to concerns as to the visibility of Police Officers in Town Centres, Chief Inspector Marsh advised that specific funding was not available for the provision of Police Officers dedicated to Town Centres. However, in recognition of the benefit of having Police Officers within Town Centres, Officers had been deployed to Town Centres from other areas of Medway. In addition, PCSOs were also available to patrol town centres.

·         Kent and Medway Gangs Action Plan – A Member referred to the Kent and Medway Gangs Action Plan appended to the CSP Action Plan and congratulated the agencies on the work being undertaken. The Chairman of the CSP confirmed that bids for additional funding were being progressed.

Aeilish Geldenhuys outlined the approach taken by Public Health in working with schools to enable the delivery of training programmes by school staff to those pupils who were at risk of joining gangs. Cynthia Allen from the Community Rehabilitation Company confirmed that statutory agencies were working together on this issue.

Members expressed appreciation that the issue of ‘gangs’ had been taken on board and addressed by the CSP and stressed the importance of ensuring that gang related activity was not permitted to escalate.

·         Social Isolation – In response to a question as to how the Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Service progress the social isolation agenda, Mick Jackson advised that following a restructure in April, an officer had been designated responsibility for safeguarding and isolation.

He outlined the training put in place for Fire and Rescue staff and the ways in which staff could identify individuals who were of concern and refer them to other agencies for help and assistance.

·         Inclusion of historical data in the CSP Plan – The Chairman of the CSP advised that the CSP Plan covered the period 2016 – 2020 and therefore some of the data included in the plan was historical. Appendix 2 provided the relevant information for 2018.

It was suggested that in future the appendices to the CSP report be re-ordered so that the strategic assessment is the first item.

·         Additional Police Resources  - Chief Inspector Marsh informed the Committee that Kent Police were in the process of recruiting 200 additional Police Officers across Kent. However, they would require training before they were patrolling the streets.

·         Update on rough sleepers – In response to a question as to the work being undertaken to reduce the number of rough sleepers in Medway, the Chairman of the CSP confirmed that the CSP had been successful in securing funding from a range of sources. As a result, a Rough Sleeper Coordinator had been engaged to link with partner agencies, existing support services and volunteer partners to agree a support plan for those known to be sleeping rough in Medway. He advised that to date approximately 40 rough sleepers had been re-housed and another 10 – 12 had been reconnected with their home areas.

He advised that a number of rough sleepers had drug, alcohol or mental health issues and advised that the CSP was now investigating a further scheme in conjunction with MHS to help these individuals.

He also referred to the work undertaken in Rochester Town Centre with local traders and residents to encourage individuals to support collections which direct funds to agencies providing assistance and support to rough sleepers.

He stated that there was no evidence that rough sleepers were being attracted into Medway as a result of the work being undertaken.

Decision:

The Committee thanked the various partners of the Community Safety Partnership for attending the meeting and:

a)            requested that in the future, the Strategic Assessment be placed as the first appendix to the CSP report.

b)            noted the findings of the strategic assessment.

c)            supported that, in light of the strategic assessment findings, the Community Safety Plan priorities remain unchanged.