Agenda item

This report provides information on the operation of the Community Safety partnership in 2011-2012 and the proposed Community Safety Plan 2012-2013. 

Discussion:

The Head of Safer Communities introduced the report informing the committee that the landscape for Community Safety Partnerships (CSP) was likely to change significantly over the next few years, following the elections for the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) in November 2012. The PCC and the CSP would have a reciprocal duty to have regard to each other’s priorities and work in co-operation with each other to tackle community safety issues.

In previous years there had been a requirement to produce three-year plans, with an annual review, following a strategic assessment of crime and disorder within the area. The regulations had recently been relaxed, and, in recognition of the changing outlook, this year’s plan had been drafted to reflect a single year of operation.

The previous year’s highlights included a 12% reduction in night-time economy related crime and anti-social behaviour achieved through focused, joined up working between the partner agencies. There had also been a 14% reduction in reported flytipping, achieved through tough enforcement and there had also been excellent reductions in young people entering the criminal justice system. However, a particular area of concern was the steady rise in incidents of domestic abuse. The lead on this area of concern has recently passed to Safer Communities and officers would work to establish baseline targets to support victims and target offenders.

The committee’s discussions included the following:

·        enforcement, or removal, of the Alcohol Control Zone in Gillingham

·        work with multi-national retail companies over the display of, and access to, alcohol

·        duties of Community Officers being too varied and not concentrated on their local role

·        increase in targets for fixed penalty notices

·        Licence to Kill campaign

·        lack of funding to continue the services of the SoS bus and the continued services of the street pastor scheme in Rochester High Street

·        how the public and local communities were engaged in compiling the priorities for the partnership

·        the future of funding for community safety issues in Medway following the election of the Police and Crime Commissioner in November 2012.

The committee requested further information on the demographic representation of the various areas within Medway and equality of issues represented at the community engagement event at the Strand Leisure Park in Gillingham. Members also asked how the priorities identified at the event were taken forward into this year’s plan. The Head of Safer Communities advised that to be certain of a completely demographic feedback it would require a series of events across Medway and the budget was not available for this. All the statutory authorities had been represented at the event and it had been advertised, and held as, a “fun day” which attracted people to the event who then responded to more serious topics with open-ended questions for them to respond to.

A Member voiced his concern that it would have excluded people who were at work as it was a daytime event and if this was used as a regular method of public engagement, officers should continually look at how it could be improved upon in order to give evidence to the priorities identified for the plan. The Head of Safer Communities responded that this was not the only way information was obtained for the priorities, as a strategic assessment was also carried out with information provided by all the partners in the CSP.

With regard to Priority 7 – reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in Road Traffic Collisions (page 32 of the agenda) Members recommended that as the figures in Medway dramatically exceeded the national targets, it should be evidenced in the plan to demonstrate how well it was performing in this area, as currently it was being undersold.

Following the launch of the Medway Community Alcohol Partnership in Rainham last year, Members asked where the evidence base was for prioritisation of areas covered by this partnership and would it be extended to the Luton area which was previously denied an Alcohol Control Zone? Officers responded by stating that the Rainham area was seen as an easily containable pilot project and that Luton is already flagged to be included in the scheme in the future.

Decision:

The committee agreed to:

(a)thank officers for the report and for their responses to Member’s questions;

(b)   request that officers give continued thought to how to engage a more varied demographic from across Medway to its statutory community safety engagement event in the future;

(c)   refer its comments and the draft Community Safety Plan 2012-2013 to the Cabinet meeting on 17 April 2012.