Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct the minutes of the meetings held on 11 September 2018 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting of the Sub-Committee held on the 11 September 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Sub-Committee received information on performance against indicators during Quarter 2 (July – September 2018).

The Sub-Committee received, and noted, the number of working days lost to aid abstractions from ring fenced roles and data on neighbourhood officers abstracted by rank and officers abstracted for aid, court and training, as detailed in the report.

It was highlighted that January to March had seen the lowest levels of abstractions in the year. There had been a significant amount of postings in June, due to a significant sporting event placing demand on police resources. July saw a particular increase for PC’s regarding ‘Aid’ abstractions, however this reduced in both August and September.

There was currently a shortage of police officers and a disproportionate number of non-deployable staff in Havering, however this was being addressed by a recruitment drive.  The Sub-Committee requested a breakdown of reasons for non-deployability.

For the week commencing 24 September 2018, Havering had seen a reduction in the number of I calls reaching the target time with a rate of 76%, which was slightly below the overall BCU improvement which saw response rates of 81.4% for the week.

The rolling averages since September 2017 for S-grade calls were 81.7% met within an hour, against 78.3% for the BCU; and for Domestic Abuse S grades this figure was 79.2% against 78.4% for the BCU. There was concern that the grading of some ‘as soon as responses’ had been graded inappropriately and these would be challenged.  It was expected that the recruitment of new call centre staff and training would lead to an improvement in the classification of calls.

With regards to anti-social reports relating to traveller incursions, there had been two calls made in Pettits ward, two in Emmerson Park ward, two in Gooshays ward and two in Havering Park.  One report in Havering park reported links to nuisance vehicles whereby quad bikes were being driven through the park.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report, be noted.

The Sub-Committee received a report which requested they agree the terms of reference for the Serious Group Violence and Knife Crime in Havering topic group.

RESOLVED:

That the terms of reference for the Serious Group Violence and Knife Crime in Havering topic group, be agreed.

The Sub-Committee received an update on the Traveller Injunction by the Local Authority and the Policing of Traveller Incursions by the Metropolitan Police.

Members were taken through the legislation that applied to traveller incursions as outlined in the report.  It was noted that the Police Authority and the Local Authority were working closely together to ensure that the Court had the evidence needed to make an informed decision on whether to grant the Traveller Injunction. It was explained that if granted, the injunction would provide the local authority with civil powers to remove certain travellers immediately from public areas.

Members questioned the inconsistencies in decision making of officers in respect of traveller incursions and it was explained that the decision was based on individual circumstances at the time and was often based on the officer’s subjectivity and discrepancy.

The Sub-Committee took the opportunity to thank officers for their work towards securing a traveller injunction in the borough.

RESOLVED:

That the update on the Traveller Injunction and the Policing of Traveller Incursions, be noted.

The Sub-Committee received a report which outlined hate crime in the borough, in line with the Hate Crime Problem Profile as commissioned by the Havering Community Safety Partnership (HCSP). 

Although Havering was ranked relatively low in the volumes of crime for most of the five hate crime motivations, and Havering had the third highest rate per 1,000 Muslim populations for Islamaphobic Offences behind, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea.  Despite Havering having the third highest rate, it had the smallest Muslim population; therefore it was evident that Muslims were over represented as victims of Hate Crime in Havering.

There also appeared to be a correlation when a national event occurred, such as terrorism, to an increase in Hate Crime in Havering over the following month.

The Prevent and Hate Crime role sat within the Corporate and Community Resilience Team who were carrying out a number of wide-ranging community engagement events around Hate Crime with different communities.  There have been roadshows in the night time economy around LGBT hate crime and a Hate Crime stall was at Romford Pride in July.  It had also sought to educate young people in the borough about Hate Crime through the Junior Citizen Scheme and highlighted how social media could play a role.  It was essential that people’s confidence to report crimes was built on.  Councillors were encouraged to talk to residents and provide them with reporting information. 

It was explained that Hate Crime came under the Police’s emergency response team and depending on whether victimisation was involved, might come under Community Safeguarding. 

The Sub-Committee requested that data be provided from 2017 to enable any trends to be identified.  Unfortunately it would not be possible to provide this data as the MOPAC data was unavailable back to 2017, however the MOPAC website link would be provided on future reports. The level of Hate Crime in Havering compared to other boroughs was relatively low with 675 incidences reported in Barking and Dagenham, 843 in Redbridge, 1,202 in Hackney and 620 in Havering.  In respect of homophobic hate crime incidences, 63 incidences had been reported in Havering, 59 in Barking and Dagenham and 81 in Redbridge.  There had been 4 reports of antisemitism in the borough over the past 14 months, compared to 308 reports in Barnet.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Sub-Committee reviewed the work programme for 2018-19 and agreed that the following reports be presented to the next meeting:

·         Quarter 3 Performance Report

·         Annual Strategic Assessment

·         Serious Group Violence and Knife Crime in Havering Topic Group Report

·         Homelessness and Rough Sleeping

·         Sub-Committee Work Programme