Agenda item

A presentation will be given by the Chairman of the Community Safety Partnership updating the committee with details of the outcomes of last year’s priorities and issues for the forthcoming year. 

Discussion:

The Chairman of the Community Safety Partnership, Councillor O’Brien, gave a presentation to the Committee, which included the following highlights:

·        Community Safety Partnerships became responsible for the establishment of multi-agency domestic homicide reviews following a domestic violence homicide. There had been five in Kent in the last year, two of which were in Medway.

Priority 1 – tackling substance and alcohol abuse

·        Establishment of Medway Community Alcohol Partnership (MCAP) to reduce the impact of underage drinking and related crimes

·        Work on the Chatham Town Centre plan with EU funding secured to help this process

Priority 2 – improving the local street scene

·        Love Medway App has received almost 9,000 reports

·        Improved perception of cleanliness of streets by residents

·        Enforcement action against enviro-crimes with 30 successful prosecutions, including a successful joint operation with Kent Police targeting individuals carrying waste illegally

·        Joint work with Kent Probation and the prison service with offenders due to leave prison working on unpaid community clear-up campaigns with most of the debris collected being recycled

Priority 3 - Reduce Youth Offending

·        A significant and sustained reduction in those entering the youth justice system

·        Three year ‘Diversion from court’ pilot scheme between the Youth Offending Team (YOT), Kent Police and Health services  - with very low numbers going on to commit a further offence

·        The YOT Management Board had a target that less than 50% of young people within the system should continue to offend six months after their order was completed. This target has been exceeded

Priority 4 - Reduce night time economy related crime and disorder

·        Joint operations continued throughout the year with officers from a variety of agencies visiting convenience stores, licensed premises and night clubs

·        The Neighbourhood District Team continued to patrol the High Street on Friday and Saturday evenings

·        Kent Police’s dedicated officers link in with door supervisors, Street Pastors and CCTV and Rochester town centre had a dedicated PC working the night shift over the weekend period

·        Criminal damage has reduced by 24.6% and violence by 5.7%

·        Latest figures show overall satisfaction with Kent Police at 78%

Priority 5 - Working with vulnerable adults to reduce harm and repeat victimisation

·        In Medway, more than 4,000 domestic abuse incidents were reported to Kent Police equating to an average 11 reports a day

·        Domestic violence was being targeted by the Community Safety Partnership as a priority, together with the Medway Safeguarding Children’s Board

·        There are three independent domestic advice advocates, created to assist victims. The Partnership would be reaching out to other partners involved in tackling domestic abuse including schools and health services

·        A sub-group of the Partnership had been established to lead on Medway’s response

Priority 6 – reducing theft and shoplifting

·        Joint scrutiny of metal theft reports between Kent Police and Medway Council which has helped to identify illegal waste carriers, resulting in twelve fixed penalty notices and three successful prosecutions

·        Dedicated town centre policing teams have had a significant impact on the High Streets, CCTV had monitored persistent offenders and, in partnership with the Safer Community Partnership, have issued 29 Town Centre Banning Orders

·        Overall there had been a reduction of 9.7% on the same period last year

Reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in Road Traffic Collisions

·        This was a new priority for 2011/2012 the three year rolling average target of 77 by 2010/2011 was met and exceeded both the last government target of 40% and the stretched second Local Transport Plan target of 45%

·        A number of projects were successfully held including a joint initiative at Mid Kent College that focused on the danger of drink driving linked to alcohol awareness. Another multi-agency project offered training for those using motorbikes

·        Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) had produced a detailed analysis of casualty data so the Partnership could address the issues raised

·        There had been a number of focused campaigns such as ‘Licence to Kill?’ held by KFRS. In 2011 this was attended by 1218 students and 2012 bookings exceed this number

·        The Walk 2 Count Challenge and the Golden Boot Challenge were walking initiatives to encourage school pupils and staff to leave the car and walk to school

·        KFRS also delivered a campaign called ‘Carmageddon’ which took place at Buckmore Park, aimed at the night time economy where partners could engage with young people by talking to them about risks and safety strategies

·        KFRS would shortly be opening a Road Safety Centre in Rochester.

Members asked the following questions:

·        That, in future, there is more information in the report in order that the Committee could effectively scrutinise the work of the Partnership, such as measurable targets within the Community Safety Plan

Officers undertook to provide more information in the future.

·        The rehabilitation of offenders – what schemes took place within Medway, such as inclusion in football teams

Councillor O’Brien advised that he was aware of football teams for young offenders and the Youth Offending Team Manager advised of an arrangement with Charlton Athletic Football Club and a cricket scheme operated by the Police.

·        Drug and alcohol issues – was there any data that could be made available to the Committee

Officers undertook to provide this information via a Briefing Note.

·        Did the Police intend to employ more Special Officers to work alongside the Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) as they had more powers

Acting Superintendent Arnold advised that Special Officers were volunteers and not paid officers. However, it was planned to have more Special Officers in the future, as it was a route to becoming a full time Police Officer for people interested in this career. There would also be trials of a Police Cadet scheme for 14 – 17 year olds.

·        The non-emergency 101 number – Members gave examples of problems that had been encountered with getting through to an operator, being cut off and the advice given when reporting a problem and asked if there were resource issues. The Committee was pleased to see that crime and anti-social behaviour had fallen but did not want this to be because people were not bothering to report it due to problems with using this number

Acting Superintendent Arnold advised that the 101 number had been more successful than originally thought but that resources were now being put in place to meet the demand. This was the first time he had heard about people being cut off whilst waiting to speak to an operator and he would investigate this.

·        Had officers seen any difference since the cessation of the service of the night time SoS bus used in Rochester High Street

Acting Superintendent Arnold advised that it had not made a difference operationally but it was missed as a visible presence in the High Street. He was unable to comment about the health aspects of the service previously provided on the bus. Councillor O’Brien also advised that the Street Pastors were still very effective in this area.

·        The Committee advised it was pleased to see that domestic abuse was a priority area for the Partnership and asked how the message was being relayed to vulnerable families

Councillor O’Brien advised that there was a training programme for staff, doctors’ surgeries, the hospital, etc to bring this to the attention of the appropriate agencies. Officers were also working on setting up a new website and phone number to provide information and advice. It was a significant challenge but the Partnership was aware of this and was working on this issue. However, there was still the option to phone the Council’s Customer Contact Centre on 333333 or the Police non-emergency 101 numbers and the call would be put forward to the appropriate department. Partners and agencies should encourage people to come forward and report the crime.

·        A Member asked whether the Alcohol Control Zone was effective

Acting Superintendent Arnold advised that data was not collected on the Alcohol Control Zone, other than arrests made and Section 27 notices issued.

Decision:

The Committee agreed:

(a)   to thank the Chairman of the Community Safety Partnership, Acting Superintendent Arnold, Assistant Director Bone-Knell and the Manager of the Youth Offending Team for attending the meeting and providing the detailed presentation and answers to Members’ questions;

(b)   to note the seven priorities for 2012/2013;

(c)   to request that a more detailed report shall be submitted for consideration in future years.