Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct the minutes of the meetings held on 14 July 2011 and the Joint meeting held on 28 July 2011 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2011 and of the Special meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees held on 28 July 2011 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Presentation by the Metropolitan Police.

Chief Inspector David Hay attended the meeting to give a presentation on the future of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams. He advised the Committee that the outcome of the review was that:

1. Safer Neighbourhood Teams would maintain their existing structure, with the ability to temporarily flex resources across ward boundaries in response to specific problems;
2. the principle of 2 PC’s and 3 PCSO’s (6 PCSO’s on enhanced wards) would remain unchanged.
3. the default geographic area covered by every Safer Neighbourhood Team would continue to be the ward unless there were exceptional reasons to amend these boundaries so that they met local needs.
4. All Safer Neighbourhood resources will work to a shift pattern that meets local needs but which, in particular, will reflect Safer Neighbourhood demand and the desire of Londoners to have an appropriate number of officers on duty during evenings and weekends.
5. Frontline leadership of teams will be provided by Safer Neighbourhood Sergeants, who will cover either a team or teams depending on the need, demand and complexity of the policing environment.
6. Crime reduction and tackling Anti-Social Behaviour were objectives of Safer Neighbourhood Team activity.
7. Across London the number of Safer Neighbourhood Team Sergeants will reduce by 150.

For Havering this meant a reduction of 4 Sergeants, as a result of which the following wards would be paired and supervised by one Sergeant:

• Mawneys/Havering Park
• Pettits/Squirrells heath
• Hacton/Elm Park
• Upminster/Cranham.
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Issues around the selection of the Sergeants and what happens to the four losing their positions were addressed by the Borough Commander and Chief Inspector David Hay.  Chief Inspector Hay informed the Committee that staffing levels would remain the same and recruitment had taken place to bring them up to level.

One of the Councillors raised the issue of Will Perrin Court, he was given an assurance by the Borough Commander that the correct procedure to ensure the Metropolitan Police views were available to the Planners was followed.

The Committee thanked Chief Inspector Hay for his presentation and noted the report.

Presntation by Clive Cumbers, Community Safety Analyst, London Borough of Havering.

The HCSP Analyst delivered a presentation outlining the Havering Community Safety partnership priorities for 2011/12. The targets and progress to date were:

The Committee were advised that the Fire Brigade was not concerned at the number of fires during this period as this was the peak time for fires and previous experience showed there would be a drop off over the remainder of the year.  

Details were given of the comparison with neighbouring boroughs and our

I-Quanta family. In response to a question officers explained that the peak period for residential burglary was December and January, and it was during this period that the Partnership concentrated there efforts.

Details were given of the work in the Harold Hill Dispersal Zone and the boroughs comparative performance in respect of alcohol. Whilst there was a perception that there was a drinks culture in Romford Town Centre, the borough copes better than most areas.

Concern was expressed at the figures for Domestic Violence. The borough had a high sanctioned detection rate. However, experience showed that a victim would be victimised 30 to 35 times before it was brought to the attention of the police.  Officers informed the Committee that repeat families were monitored at the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC).

The Borough Commander informed the Committee that over a weekend, i.e. Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night on average less than five people are victims of a criminal action in Romford Town Centre.

The Committee noted the report.

Report attached.

The Committee were advised that £220,188 had been made available to the Havering Community Safety Partnership from the Community Safety Fund. The Partnership had identified 9 Strategic Themes and allocated a pot of money for each theme. Decisions on what projects should be funded are recommended by individual working parties and approved by the Implementation Action Group.

The Committee asked how many Licence reviews had resulted from the under age sales work. Officers undertook to obtain this information for members. Officers advised the Committee that Havering has the highest rate of prosecutions for underage knife sales.

Funds had been made available to the Safe Haven project, run by the Street Pastors, to provide 2 door supervisors and a town link radio for the Deeper Lounge scheme. Unfortunately the Safe Haven had had to close on Saturday whilst new premises were found.

Officers informed the Committee that within one month of the launch of the Banking Protocol a rogue trader had been caught through the vigilance a bank teller.

Concern was expressed that the use of body cameras by the police could encourage violence. The Borough Commander advised the committee that there was no evidence to support this, and the cameras provided vital evidence to support prosecutions.

The Committee were advised that there had been a very low level of anti-social behaviour at Halloween due to the partnership work during this key period.

All projects were evaluated at the end of the year and given the reduced funding which would be available next year officers and the Partnership would need to look closely at priorities and ensure projects delivered value for money.

In the last two weeks £10,000 had been approved to support targeted work against scrap yards.

The report was noted.

Report to Havering Community Safety Partnership attached.

The Community Safety Manager informed the meeting of the action taken by the Council and partners in response to the Public Order Disturbances which occurred in August of this year. The quick and positive response of the local police, council and partners ensured that Havering did not suffer the levels of unprecedented levels of public disorder and criminality seen elsewhere in London and the United Kingdom. Quick response to perceived problems, good intelligence and excellent communications enabled the police to head of any trouble before it started.

The Council were carrying out a review with partners of what happened and were looking to identify the cost to the Council of their response and the cost to local businesses. The Council would also be applying to the Business Compensation Fund to assist local businesses.

The Borough Commander advised the Committee that there were 24 arrests in the borough, and 25 crimes were reported. On the Monday 60 to 80 people turned up in the Town Centre, however, most were there as spectators. Only a small number were looking for trouble.

The report was noted.