Agenda item

To receive a report by the Community Safety Manager (copy attached) to detail the Partnership’s achievement in delivering its 2019/20 action plan and its progress to date in delivering its action plan for 2020/21. The report to include financial sources and the progress made in spending the allocated funding.

 

10:10 – 10:45pm

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved: - subject to the above comments and observations to receive the Community Safety Partnership’s

 

(i)           performance and statistical update for 2019-20; and

(ii)          latest 6-month report on crime statistics and the Partnership’s actions

 

The Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection and Safer Communities introduced the report (previously circulated) whilst the Community Safety Manager explained the detail contained in the associated appendices. They explained that the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) activity and performance report was based on the joint partnership’s priorities as identified in the North Wales audit of crime that is conducted annually. The North Wales Safer Communities Board (NWSCB) agrees the priorities and then draws up an action plan that is monitored by the NWSCB, locally the CSP is tasked with facilitating the delivery of the action plan, analysing what is happening in the local area and implementing local solutions.  Details were provided of each priority area as follows:

 

Priority area 1- Work in Partnership to Reduce Crime and Disorder

 

Overall the performance for the Partnership was acceptable due to the increased numbers of victims of domestic abuse and victims of crime reporting such incidents. The Partnership had improved communication with victims and survivors better understood what support they required. The way the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) worked had changed so that high risk victims were managed more effectively by all agencies. As part of the regional drive the CSP were looking at applying for funding for more non-mandatory perpetrator programmes and applying for Home Office funding for youth support workers in refuges. The work of the Partnership resulted in a number of projects and activities listed in the report. 

 

The Partnership’s work plan for 2019-2020 included additional emerging issues, such as Modern Day Slavery, County Lines, Integrated Offender Management etc.  Area Planning Board meetings had proved to be a worthwhile exercise as partner activity had improved as a result and the communication lines were improving.

 

Over the coming months multiple regional boards would be replaced by four main boards. The objective of this change would be to ensure better communication between linked issues and to mitigate against the risk of matters being missed.

 

Additional work would also take place on County Lines and Modern Day Slavery and on the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) programme. This would be done in conjunction with the Regional Safeguarding Board and new community safety boards.

 

Priority 2- Reducing reoffending

 

Overall the performance for this priority was Acceptable

There had been a slight increase in adult offending and Youth Offending during 2019-20 hence the status only being acceptable.  However, the CSP had invested time in encouraging multiagency attendance at the Integrated Offender Management programme and assisting with the actions of that programme. It intended to continue to assist with the programme, which would also address Organised Crime Groups and County Lines work.

 

Priority 3- Local Priorities

 

Overall performance of the CSP in relation to this priority was Excellent

In 2019-2020 there had been a continued reduction in the number of reports of antisocial behaviour (ASB) and repeat victims of ASB. This success had been achieved through:

 

·         promoting the use of community resolutions to resolve repeat incidents of antisocial behaviour

·         using, when appropriate community protection notices / Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs)

·         control of licenced premises and enforcement and monitoring of taxi licences undertaken by the Licensing Department.

·         operations targeting car washes under modern day slavery action plans

·         working collectively on repeat incidents of antisocial behaviour

·         sharing information about online fraud utilising national campaigns

·         knife amnesty utilising the recycling centres in Denbighshire.

 

The CSP would continue to support the monthly Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) tasking meeting which monitored repeat incidents of ASB and provide a multi-agency response to issues raised as well as taking part in restorative justice conferences and promoting community resolutions and mediation. An internal process had been established in Denbighshire to manage/monitor repeat ASB locations for those issues causing most concern in communities. This was reported corporately via the bi-monthly community safety report to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The CSP would participate in further awareness raising of Domestic Abuse, Modern Day Slavery and County Lines locally.  The direction for this work would from now on come from the newly established Regional Vulnerability and Exploitation Board. Internally the corporate priority on domestic abuse has been split into specific work areas including; Communications (internal and external), training and early intervention. This would complement the work of the region but would provide specific local focus.

 

The Conwy and Denbighshire priority work areas linked to the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Plan and NWSCB community safety agenda all of which were listed in Appendix 1 to the report.

 

Specifically, in relation to the Covid 19 Pandemic CSP activity had initially focussed on managing community tensions during the first 13 weeks of lockdown. Reporting networks had been established with the assistance of the regional cohesion team, the CSP monitored their social network sites and managed any queries from the public and local councillors.

 

Overall 112 reports of tensions/infringements had been received during that period. All were successfully managed by the CSP acting as a coordination point with partners from other organisations. A number of issues stemming from neighbour tensions had to be managed by the CSP due to people being at home.

 

Crime statistics were monitored on a monthly basis so that the CSP were able to react to any unusual activity or spike in any crimes. On a positive note crime mainly reduced over the period and those determined to commit crimes were managed very effectively by the Police.

 

Stalking and harassment figures increased during the first 6 months of 2020/21 in comparison to the same time the year before. Under new Home Office counting rules, as of April 2020, coercive control now features within the Stalking & Harassment category and was adding 10 crimes a week to stalking and harassment category. The CSP was aiming to raise awareness of Stalking, Harassment and Coercive Control by taking part in national campaigns. ASB also increased during this same period.  Following a data analysis exercise the reasons for this increase in the number of incidents related to the reporting of breaches of COVID-19 restrictions (lack-of social distancing, large gatherings, people travelling into North Wales from outside the area etc.).  Denbighshire had not seen a large increase of reported ASB, but what increases there had been were attributable to the infringements of COVID regulations.

 

The following points were raised and answered during the discussion:

 

·         areas such as Rhyl West which had a disproportionate number of HMOs, were known problem areas at times. When ASB and other incidents did arise meetings between all relevant bodies were organised to discuss the challenges and these usually dealt with concerns which were raised.

·         various forums existed were discussions took place in a bid to resolve crime and disorder matters.  The lead agency for each forum would depend on the matter being discussed e.g. for crime the lead agency would be the police.  in addition, there would be varying levels of such forums depending on the nature and interest of the matter being discussed i.e. local area, county area, regional area.  The challenge in relation to HMOs was the fact that they privately owned and if the owners were abiding by the law, there was not much the authorities could do in relation to them. The challenge was always if people were moved, to where would they go.  Public authorities would not choose to cause more homelessness or move the problem to another location.  It was therefore important to try and tackle the root cause of the problem.

·         the method for recording repeat victims of crime had been changed in recent years therefore the numbers appeared to have increased significantly when this was not the case.  Previously multiple calls reporting crimes against the same individual were not recorded as individual incidents, this had since changed, hence the increase in the reported figures.

·         With a view to reducing the number of repeat victims of crime and domestic violence work was taking place regionally on devising and delivering perpetrator programmes which were aimed at addressing the root cause of the crime i.e. alcohol/substance abuse etc., and develop support programmes for the perpetrator and the victim

·         assurances were provided that knife related crime was not an issue of wide-concern across the region, however education programmes were run in conjunction with schools.

·         Each local authority’s relevant lead member represented their authority on the Safer North Wales Partnership Board.  There were no elected member representatives on the Vulnerability and Exploitation Board (Managed by the Safeguarding Board) or the other Boards listed in Appendix 2 to the report due to the operational nature of their work. Any issues would be reported to elected members; and

·         It was confirmed that the Police and Crime Commissioner attended meetings of the Safer North Wales Partnerships Board.

 

Resolved: - subject to the above comments and observations to receive the Community Safety Partnership’s

 

(i)           performance and statistical update for 2019-20; and

(ii)          latest 6-month report on crime statistics and the Partnership’s actions