Agenda and minutes

 …Subject to the following amendments, the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2012 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

• Minute 8 – fourth paragraph amended to read ‘ 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.’
• Minute 9 – first paragraph, last sentence amended to read ‘The timescale for the commencement of the changes was from April 2013.’
• Minute 9 – second paragraph, first sentence amended to read ‘The Committee were concerned that Havering would not continue to be well policed.’
• Minute 9 – third paragraph, second to last sentence amended to read ‘ In the Counties senor officers tended to supervise less staff: this would change in London.’
• Minute 10 – penultimate paragraph amended to read ‘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.’

Lucy Satchell-Day, Assistant Chief Officer (ACO) for the London Probation Trust attended the meeting to deliver a presentation regarding Integrated Offender Management (IOM). Lucy had filled the position of ACO since July 2012 and was responsible for both Barking & Dagenham and Havering.

IOM was supported by the Ministry of Justice and Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MoPAC) and built on the work with Prolific or Priority Offenders (PPOs). The approach aimed to extend multi-agency work to a greater number of offenders. Using this approach it was anticipated that the incidence of re-offending would be reduced by aligning and streamlining responses by different agencies, identifying gaps and achieving efficiencies.

Under the IOM system the Investment in Community approach to working with Offenders was adopted, rather than relying on short term custody. This is on the basis that offending is a community issue, not just an issue for the Criminal Justice System. It is about a local response to local problems and as such it is a key priority in the Havering Community Safety Plan.

In Havering there were currently 52 Offenders in the IOM Cohort. These were selected using criteria agreed by the Havering Reducing Reoffending Group. The main targets were those who were at risk of re-offending. The criterion used to identify high risk offenders was regularly reviewed.

The Committee were advised that the program had delivered:

• 51 positive engagements with 10 Young Offenders;
• Provision of emergency accommodation to 8 clients, 6 of whom were now in stable accommodation, one who had been recalled to custody and the eighth had moved back in with his parents;
• Running a Fathers’ project with 8 clients;
• Provided diversionary activities such as life skills training, cooking, etc.

The Committee were concerned at how those offenders with mental health issues were dealt with given recent information that between 15% and 20& of the prison population had mental health problems. Lucy accepted there was a problem but believed with the right partners on board they should be able to make the right referrals.

The Committee agreed that the issue of prisoners with mental health issues be referred to the Health OSC and Health and Wellbeing Board.

A number of challenges for IOM were identified. These included;

• The need to expand beyond the PPO offenders.
• The need to identify gaps and avoid duplication. In Havering the gaps included work with women, gangs and those with mental health issues.
• Getting partners around the table and facilitating access to services.

Whilst Havering did not have a gang problem the challenge was to ensure one did not develop. Other boroughs did move gang nominals into the borough. The Council needed to work with these individuals to ensure they did not import the gang culture in to the borough.

The Committee noted the presentation and thanked Lucy for her time.

The Borough Commander advised that there was no update on the new Policing Model. Discussions were on-going between the Metropolitan Police and MoPAC and it was unlikely any decisions would be made until December. If there were any significant changes before the Committee’s next meeting a special meeting could be arranged.

Officers provided the Committee with an overview of the recent Havering Community Safety Partnership (HCSP) work programme to prevent older people becoming victims of crime in Havering. The statistics provided showed that with the exception of the 50 to 54 age group the percentage of victims in all age groups older than fifty was less than the percentage of population. Even with the 50 to 54 age group it was only 0.04% higher that the percentage of residents. Of these victims 31.5% were victims of burglary with a further 11.9% being victims of theft from a motor vehicle.  During the year from 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2012 there had been 32 distraction burglaries of which 23 of the victims were female.

Whilst distraction burglary was not a priority in the Community Safety Plan all victims received a high level of support from both the police and victim support.

The initiatives developed by the HCSP included:

• Older people’s Safety events – these had been held at Queens Theatre in Hornchurch and in Harold Hill;
• Crime prevention Road Shows – these were held regularly across the borough when purse chains, personal alarms and property marking kits were handed out;
• Drama productions – in 2009 the Community Safety Team had commissioned ARC Theatre to produce a new drama entitled ‘By Appointment’ dealing with the issue of distraction burglary. This had been performed at Luncheon Clubs and other places where older people meet.
• Banking Protocol – This had been developed by the Council in partnership with local banks, the Metropolitan Police and Age Concern. The focus was on prevention and early intervention.  By the date of the meeting 22 banks had signed up and it was proposed to roll it out to Harold Wood and Collier Row in the winter.  This had already proved itself a success and had won an award. In June the scheme had been commended in the MJ Achievement awards and in September had won the best public/private partnership in the APSE Service Awards 2012.
• Nominated neighbour – This scheme had been launched in 2004 to protect vulnerable members of the community from bogus callers. Under the scheme a vulnerable individual could direct any unexpected callers to a nominated person living close by.
• Havering Safe at Home Service – originally introduced to help residents over the age of 60 in 2008 the scheme was extended to all victims of domestic burglary. In 2011/12 there had been 2527 referrals to the scheme which included target hardening, minor adaptations without delay and minor repairs. The scheme was funded to March 2013 and Community Safety were working with Age UK to secure funding from March 2013 onwards.
• Buy with Confidence – Trading Standards had  developed the Buy with Confidence Scheme which allowed people to find a reputable trader when looking for goods or services.

The Committee noted the report.

The Committee were provided with a verbal update on the work of the Domestic Violence Topic Group since the last meeting. The Topic Group had received presentations from Pupil Services and the Homelessness Team in Housing. The Topic Group heard of the obstacles which faced parents when they moved to a refuge and then to a secure location. For many children this meant moving school at least twice.

The Homelessness Team advised the Topic Group of the procedures they followed when they were approached by a victim of Domestic Violence. This depended on whether the victim was a Social Housing Tenant or a private house owner/lessee.

It became clear that there was no communication between Housing and Pupil Services to ensure victims are treated in a holistic way.

The Topic group also received a brief presentation from Family Mosaic.

The Committee heard that the Topic Group would be visiting the Family Centre in Croydon and inviting representatives from the London Borough of Hackney to the next meeting to discuss the work of their Triage Centre.

The report was noted.