Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct the minutes of the meetings held on 17 July 2012 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2012 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Borough Commander will give a verbal update.

The Borough Commander, Metropolitan Police advised the Committee that during the Olympics and Paralympics the police had received no intelligence of criminal activity nor recorded any significant crime during this period. Over the period he could only identify four crimes which could very loosely be associated with the Olympics.

The structures which were in place had proved to be robust.

The Borough Commander praised the work of the Royal Military Police who had worked closely with the police during this period and this had assisted in heading off any problems.

Before the Olympics started he had been promised additional resources, but this had been limited. What additional resources he did receive were utilised to deal with known offenders.

The legacy from the planning would be used and incorporated in planning for future events.

The report was noted.

The Borough Commander will give a verbal update.

The Borough Commander advised the Committee that there had been no change since the presentation to the all Members back in September. The Metropolitan Police were working closely with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MoPAC) on the planning, but as yet there had been no agreement about the sharing of services. An update would be given once details were available. The timescale for the commencement of the changes was from April 2013.

The Committee were concerned that Havering would not continue to be well policed. The Borough Commander stated that on paper the model made sense, however, with out details of the resources which would be available locally it was impossible to say. In his opinion he believed Havering would see little difference.

Following the presentation it appeared that changes were likely at senior level, i.e. the possibility of a shared Borough Commander. Would this have an effect on supervision? In response the Borough Commander informed the Committee that this was being looked at. In the County’s senior officers tended to supervise less staff: this would change in London. He did not believe this would have a serious effect on the quality of policing in the borough.

The Committee were informed of discussions which had taken place at the Police and Crime Panel in its scrutiny of MoPAC. The Police and Crime Panel had been provided with a list of boroughs were there would not be a shared Borough Commander: neither Havering, Barking & Dagenham nor Redbridge was on that list. If there was a shared Commander there would be a senior officer available in each borough to ensure Partnership work would continue.

The other key issue was the possible closure of police stations. The Committee were advised that across London a third of floor space was unused. The mayor had given a re-affirmation of his commitment to ensure that where counters were closed they would be replaced locally, possibly by sharing space with other partners.  The key was to ensure response times were maintained and that public access was available as many citizens needed the face to face contact and the attraction of deterrence.

The Committee noted the report and awaited further information.

The Borough Commander, Chris Drew will give an oral update.

Chris Drew, Borough Commander, London Fire Brigade, advised the Committee that the brigade’s core business was on the decrease, but the ancillary business was on the increase. During the Olympics Havering had not been affected. The pre-planning and partnership work had been excellent. The planning and efficiency of the Borough Olympic Control Centre had been tested during the Olympic Torch relay when the brigade had received two calls which would normally require the use of roads closed for the relay. The pre-planning and use of alternative routes plotted in advance had ensured there was no delay in tackling the fires.

The committee was provided with details of the latest statistics on the work of the Fire Brigade locally, comparing figures to last year. With most indicators the numbers were down on last year, the exception being accidental fires in the home. This was probably accounted for with more people being at home and working from home than in previous years.

The Committee were informed that both Queens Hospital and St Georges continued to be the source of numerous false alarms. The brigade was working with the hospitals to reduce this problem.

The Committee asked if there was any truth in the rumours that one of the boroughs fire stations would be closed. They were given an assurance that even through the London Fire Brigade needed to identify £65m of savings there were no current plans to close a fire station in Havering. The model being used to develop plans to achieve savings was based on attendance times, not call rates and this worked to the boroughs advantage. Current proposals included the relocation of nine appliances from Inner London to Outer London.

The proposals for savings would be made available for consultation after 21 November.

The committee were advised that there were no compulsory redundancies proposed, any savings in salary would be achieved by natural wastage and there was a freeze on recruitment.

The report was noted. If there were any significant changes proposed in the consultation a further report would be brought to the Committee.

Report attached.

The Committee were provided with details of how the Community Safety Fund had been distributed in 2012-13. The Community Safety Partnership had been allocated £110,412.80 by MoPAC to be spent in the current financial year. This money had been divided and allocated in accordance with the Strategic Assessment 2012/13 priorities and associated action plans. It was proposed the money be spent on the following projects.

Details of how the money was allocated against these themes was provided.

The Committee questioned the make up of the Area Initiatives and how they linked up with the existing structures such as ward panels, CPCG, etc. Officers agreed to provide members with the answer after the meeting.

The Committee noted that the Central Community Safety Group had allocated £3,036 to provide security for the Deeper Lounge and £500 for Drug Itemiser consumables. At this time the Deeper Lounge was continuing to operate from a stall on the market, but hoped in the near future to have a more secure location.

The Borough Commander advised that the drug itemiser was now in constant use. The Police had adopted a pre-planned approach based on risk assessments.

The Committee noted the report.

An oral update will be given.

Since the Topic Group had been established and the Scoping Report agreed the Topic Group had met once and attended the Women’s Aid Refuge AGM.

At the first meeting the Topic Group had received a briefing on the Troubled Families programme and how it connected with work to help the victims of Domestic Violence. The initial research had identified 850 individuals who could be considered as part of the Troubled Families agenda. Of these 350 had been identified as at risk from Domestic Violence.

The Topic Group had identified two areas of concern which they wished to look at in more detail, these were education and housing. Representatives from Homes & Housing and Education had been invited to the next meeting. Family Mosaic had also been invited to that meeting which would take place on 22 October.

The visit to the AGM had allowed members to see where victims were housed in a safe refuge. A major issue for Women’s Aid was finance and they would be invited to a future meeting to talk about the problems they faced.

The report was noted.