Agenda item

Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) are under a duty to produce a Community Safety Plan to formulate and implement a strategy to reduce crime and disorder, combat substance misuse, and reduce re-offending.

This report provides information on the operation of the CSP from October

2021, which summarises the findings of the strategic assessment. This report provides information on the Community Safety Plan covering the period from 2020 to 2024.

Discussion:

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

The Committee discussed the following topics:

Probation Service representation, crime rates and policing reductions -

A Member asked why no Probation Service representative was present at the meeting. They also asked whether Medway was considered to be a safer or less safe place since 2015/16, in the context of incidents of violence having increased by 12.5%, sexual offences 22.5% and burglary 7.5%. It was also asked what consultation had been undertaken in relation to reductions to town centre and school policing teams and what the expected level of reductions to the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Medway was.

Superintendent Marsh considered that Medway was a safer place than it had been ten years ago. Kent Police was committed to crime data integrity and accurate recording of incidents. There had been significant work in relation to safety initiatives such as work to reduce violence against women and girls and preventative work in relation to sexual offending and the night time economy. Kent Police had faced staffing issues in answering calls and officers had needed to be reassigned from other areas. This included 35 Police Officers, 26 of which had been working in schools. There had not been time for consultation with schools and this had been addressed subsequently. It was considered that the eight or nine officers who had been working in Medway Schools had made a significant impact. As part of remodelling work being undertaken a child centred policing team would be established. Schools would be allocated named officers to maintain and build on the strong relationships previously established.

In relation to town centres, it was considered that the PCSOs based there had done a fantastic job. In future, each ward in Kent and Medway would have a named police officer and the remodelling work would see a significant increase in neighbourhood officers, the exact numbers were not currently known but there were due to be a total of 4,145 police officers across Kent and Medway by March 2023, which would be the highest ever level. It was acknowledged that call responses for the 111 non-emergency number had been unacceptable. Work was taking place to address this, including encourage callers to use a live chat function, but it was acknowledged that this was not suitable for everyone.

Publication dates and Strep A – A Member asked when a report looking at serious youth crime would be published and when the Combatting Drugs Partnership would publish its Needs Assessment and Strategic Action Plan. The Member also asked how Public Health was responding in relation to the current outbreak of the Strep A bacterial infection. The Public Health Principal and Head of Public Health said that information had been provided to schools in Medway, including signs and symptoms, what to do and how to get support. Close working was taking place with the Health Protection Authority to track numbers and information being shared with partner organisations. The Combatting Drugs Partnership was due to meet in early January to agree the priorities that would form the initial Action Plan. This would be a live document, both the Needs Assessment and Action Plan would be continually updated. There was also a regular item at Community Safety Partnership meetings to share information from the Combatting Drugs Partnership.

The Portfolio Holder for resources added that the Combating Drugs Partnership, which had met twice so far, was Medway focused. The Serious Youth Crime report was ongoing work that would be published in due course.

A Member requested that a briefing note be provided to the Committee to provide an update on the work of the Combatting Drugs Partnership.

Vulnerable people and communities – A Member highlighted cost of living issues and their impact during the winter. He also highlighted the good work of the Medway Task Force and how this could be rolled up, particularly in relation to vulnerable groups and communities.

Superintendent Marsh said the Task Force worked with vulnerable communities across Medway and that a challenge was to ensure that vulnerability continued to be addressed when the Task Force work moved to another area. The new Neighbourhood Policing Model moving forward would support that through use of named ward officers. Tackling vulnerability was a team effort through the Community Safety Partnership. In relation to 16 – 18 year olds there was a focus on wider engagement with there being plans to involve more young people from groups across Medway. The Child Centred Policing Board also engaged with various groups.

The Kent Fire and Rescue Service Area Manager said that the Service worked through the Community Safety Partnership and through its own education programme in schools. An Early Intervention Framework had been introduced which shaped interventions with youths and young adults. It targeted those who would benefit the most. The referral routes had been commended and fire crews had received a high level of training to enable them to identify young people who could benefit from intervention.

The Public Health Principal and Head of Public Healthsaid that the Medway Domestic Abuse Partnership were working hard to ensure that the voices of victims and survivors were heard. Council officers from Housing and Public Health had been meeting these groups to understand the challenges that they faced. Themes had included the cost of living and ability to flee domestic abuse. A multi-agency conference had recently been held to understand how to facilitate access to support. Communication tools were being developed to signpost survivors to available support. An example of such support was people fleeing DA being able to access free train travel. The Portfolio Holder added that he considered that the threshold for young people being able to access mental help support from Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was too high and that the Community Safety Partnership had funded mental health mentors for the last two years through the Council’s Youth Service. In response to a further question that asked how the availability of free train travel was publicised, the Public Health Principal and Head of Public Health said that this was promoted through Women’s Aid. Public Health were producing an information leaflet which would also include details.

Regular updates on progress – A Member proposed that the Committee be provided with a six monthly briefing note to update the Committee on the work of the Community Safety Partnership. The Director of Place and Deputy Executive agreed that this should come forward to the Committee. This would be provided to the Committee between the Partnership’s annual attendances.

Town centres and police responses – A Member asked how responses to town centre incidents would be managed in the future when there were fewer PCSOs and more Police Constables. The Member also asked what could be done to help people to feel safe in town centres and considered that Police surgeries had been ineffective. He highlighted that on three occasions he had been advised that feedback would be provided but none had been. The Member also highlighted the poor level of service that he considered had been provided by the 111 non-emergency number.

Superintendent Marsh said that PCSOs had done fantastic work while deployed in town centres. It was anticipated that the new model would include PCSOs and that there would be increased numbers of police officers undertaking neighbourhood policing duties. He said that budgetary constraints necessitated the changes and reiterated that there would be the highest ever number of police officers in Kent by March 2023. There was no intention for resources to be removed from town centres. The Superintendent undertook to establish why follow up contact had not been made with the Member following police surgeries and encouraged the Member to continue attending the surgeries.

In relation to feeling of safety, the Superintendent said that work had been undertaken in the last year around promoting safety and making Medway a safer place. Officers were deployed in town centres on Friday and Saturday night and there had been feedback that people felt safer as a result of the work undertaken. There were numerous examples of officers having helped vulnerable people to travel home safely. The Member was advised that an opportunity was available for him to join a town centre night time patrol, which could include attending a Walk and Talk event taking place in Rochester on the evening after the Committee meeting. Superintendent Marsh highlighted that the Crimestoppers service enabled anonymous reporting of crime and that further messaging of the options available could be considered. A community engagement Tool, My Community Voice was currently being promoted and further work on this, particularly in Rochester, could be considered. In relation to the 101 services, extra resources had been made available and it was considered that there had been a significant improvement in ability to answer calls. It was disappointing to hear concerns that the Police did not care about issues raised and Superintendent Marsh offered to speak to the Member about this following the meeting.

The Medway Task Force Manager (Kent Police) highlighted work undertaken as part of the Safer Streets initiative. Around £500,000 of funding had been provided for this work. This included lighting projects, the Medway Safe Spaces Scheme, which involved businesses across Medway being able to provide safe spaces for people. HollieGuard vouchers had been provided to victims of stalking and Active Bystander Training had been provided to local businesses and people working in public spaces. There had been street scene work around graffiti and rubbish removal. Extra radios had been provided to businesses. This work was helping to make Medway safer than it already was. Engagement was a significant part of the work, including with the Fire Service, the Department for Work and Pensions, Medway Council and Victim Support.

Domestic Abuse Support – It was asked what could be done to support people who had concerns and did not necessarily want to involve the Police and whether more could be done around prevention. The Portfolio Holder said that there had been a presentation at the last meeting of the Community Safety Partnership about remote interviews that the police were offering these to victims of domestic abuse. These took place via mobile phone. These enabled the victim to maintain privacy and avoid Police attendance at their home.

The Public Health Principal and Head of Public Health said that victims of Domestic Abuse were not always aware that they were victims as the coercive and controlling behaviour could build gradually. A range of support was available, including a one stop shop, held at the Sunlight Centre, Gillingham on Tuesday mornings. A range of organisations were represented by this service. The Domestic Abuse Service, Oasis, provided a helpline and there were a range of national helplines available. Leaflets and information were also available and in November, ‘16 Days of Action’ had seen a range of conferences and training sessions take place. A number of people had come forward for support as a result. Work was also taking place to embed Domestic Abuse Champions in organisations across Medway who could then signpost to support available.

Superintendent Marsh said that the police often identified coercive and controlling behaviour during engagement with victims and that this could be investigated without there being any evidence of physical abuse. The use of Domestic Violence Protection Notices and Orders were powerful tools that could help break cycles of abuse and enable access to support services. The use of evidence led prosecutions were important as this could enable a prosecution to go forward under appropriate circumstances, even where a victim did not consent to this.

Concern about response provided to public disorder – A Member expressed significant concern that there had not been an effective response to an incident of serious disorder in Strood that had involved a large number of people. He expressed concern that the Police had not been willing to attend a public meeting and in relation to the attitude of an officer at a surgery he had attended. The Member advised that a formal complaint had been submitted to Kent Police. It was stated that a meeting would be held between the Police and the Member to discuss the issues raised.  

Feeling of safety – in the context of increasing rates of offences, such as sexual offences, hate crime and theft and handling, a Member asked what action was being taken in Medway to make people feel safer. She highlighted residents being isolated because they did not feel safe to go to Gillingham or Chatham town centres. The Member also asked whether the funding for the Task Force was in place in the long term and whether there was confidence that Medway would be allocated sufficient resources by Kent Police.

Superintendent Marsh said that existing town centre officers would remain in post until the remodel had been finalised. From June 2023, there would be an increase in the number of police involved in neighbourhood policing of town centres and from this point there would be a named officer in each ward who would be able to work on addressing why people did not feel safe. Close working would take place through the Community Safety Partnership and Medway Task Force. Superintendent Marsh believed that the new model would provide reassurance and safety in communities. He was confident that there would be sufficient resources for Medway and for the Task Force.

Community policing – A Member expressed concern that the police would only have capacity to focus on serious and violent crime and that the reduction in the number of PCSOs would amount to a weakening of neighbourhood policing as PCSOs played a valuable role in engaging with the public and dealing with low level issues before they could escalate. The Member asked who would be undertaking this valuable community work under the new model. They also expressed concern that some of the older PCSOs would chose not to apply to become s police officer and that valuable local knowledge and experience would lost.

Superintendent Marsh considered that the public generally had no issues raising issues directly with Police Officers. He said that the work of the Medway Taskforce demonstrated that police officers could undertake effective community policing and that the new model would see increased resources allocated to neighbourhood policing in Kent and Medway. He considered that it amounted to a strengthening of this provision. A meeting was due to take place shortly with PCSOs to encourage as many of them to become police officer as possible. There would be a fast track system to enable those who applied to not have the go through a full police recruitment process.

Police surgeries and information from local Councillors – A Member said that they had also had a poor experience of attending a police surgery and suggested that consideration be given to a more senior officer attending future events. It was also suggested that following the local elections in May 2023, the Police should contact local Councillors to obtain their feedback on local issues they had become aware of while campaigning.

County Lines – A Member requested information about County Lines. Superintendent Marsh said that there had been excellent results with drugs having been taken off the street. There was evidence of a reduction in harm due to this work to reduce drugs coming into Medway. It was suggested that a presentation could be given to the Committee in relation to County Lines. The Portfolio Holder highlighted the importance of also reducing the demand for illegal drugs in Medway.

Decision:

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

a)    Noted the findings of the strategic assessment.

b)    Supported the refreshed CSP priorities in light of the strategic assessment findings.

c)    Scrutinised the activity of the Community Safety Partnership, over the past year, in connection with the discharge by the responsible authorities of their crime and disorder functions.

d)    Requested that reasons be provided as to why the Probation Service had not been represented at the Committee meeting.

e)    Requested that a briefing note be provided to the Committee in January 2023 on the work of the Combatting Drugs Partnership,

f)      Requested that a briefing note be provided to the Committee six months after the Community Safety Partnership’s attendance at Committee and annually thereafter.

g)    Requested that Councillors feedback their views on priorities to the Community Safety Partnership.