Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct the minutes of the meetings held on 29 August 2017 and the 30 November 2017 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meetings held on the 29 August 2017 and 30 November 2017 were unable to be agreed due to the meeting not being quorate.

The committee received police resourcing information on the number of shifts where minimum staffing strength had been met.  Shifts where minimum strength was met for Havering Response Teams was above 90% for October, November and December 2017.  The last week of January 2018, 100% of shifts had met the minimum strength.  Havering was in the top seven of the thirty two London boroughs for safety.

The committee were presented with data on the number of working days lost to aid abstractions from ring fenced roles and Neighbourhood Officers abstracted by rank.  Where the Police Authority had made the decision to abstract officers out of the borough, the Local Authority were informed. 

The percentage of Dedicated Ward Officers (DWOs) time spent on ward, during October to December 2017, was received.  It was explained that there would continue to be variance due to leave and sickness.  

Members received data on the percentage of I and S grade calls that were reached in target time, and the local authority received data on a weekly basis.  In Quarter 3 of 2017/18 there were 1,150 Computer Aided Dispatches (CADs), which had an opening code which related to Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in Havering.  Of these, 701 CADs were ‘closed’ as ASB.  None of these 701 related to traveller incursions.  There had been a steady increase in response times since September 2017, with over 90% of call achieving target in December 2017 and 100% of domestic violence calls having achieved target. 

Further scrutiny of all calls received over Quarter 3, 2017/18 and comparison of the local authority’s record of traveller incursions revealed that 15 calls received were in relation to two incursions, one call for an incursion in Rise Park Boulevard, and another 14 calls related to an incursion at Grenfell Park / Roneo Corner.  A number of vehicles had been ceased from these locations as a consequence of flytipping.

Members were provided an update on issues which related to the night time economy in Romford. 

Non Domestic Violence with Injury accounted for 7% of Total Notifiable Offences for Havering, with a year on year increase being recorded since 2014.  However, the speed of increase had diminished significantly over recent years, with 2016-17 showing a 2% increase.  It was explained that the increase was not solely due to the night time economy, but included offences such as shoplifting.  Romford Town Centre remained a crime hotspot in Havering, especially with the influx of people into the area at weekends and the night time economy.

The Safe and Sound Night Time Economy Partnership in Romford continued to operate and was supported by the Metropolitan Police Service, Trading Standards, Licensing and Streetscene.  The Partnership recently won the Pubwatch of the Year Award and had been shortlisted as a finalist for the Outstanding Security Partnership UK OSPAs.

The Town Link Radio Scheme was in operation to protect victims, by locating vulnerable people and to communicate with concerned parties such as the Police or Street Pastors, and to share information with each other.  Furthermore, door supervisors were in receipt of weekly briefings by the Police.  Taxi marshalls operated the rank in Romford town centre during peak times to assist with the dispersal of people from the town centre.  The mandatory use of Scan Net had been included as a condition on all licensing applications and/or review of on-licensed premises in Havering.  However in recent months, it had been identified that some fake ID cards were getting through the ID scanner. The Street Triage scheme in South Street was funded by MOPAC and assisted with the reduction in unnecessary ambulance calls.  The Drugs itemizer was frequently used in licensed premises in the town cente not as an enforcement tool, but as an educational tool.  The use of detection dogs had been funded as part of a recent night of action. 

A number of counter terrorism workshops had taken place over the last year and an emergency evacuation exercise, which would involve the night time economy, would take place later in the year. 

In January 2017, Romford was successful in its application to the Home Office as part of its second round of Local Alcohol Action Areas.  The Romford area was changing, with an influx of residential dwellings into the town centre and large restaurant chains being attracted to the area.  This subsequently added to the pressures on the police town center teams as the coverable space increased.

Night Czar Amy Lamé, appointed by the London Major Sadiq Khan, had visited Romford in February 2018 to view the nightlife scene in greater London. 

Members received a report on from BCU Commander Sean Wilson on response time performance. 

Despite many challenges due to early structuring and the number of team members across the three boroughs, since September 2017, I and S call performance for the Basic Command Unit (BCU) had improved significantly.

Officers had been issued with tablets and keyboards to enable them to complete reports outside of the police station.  However, some signal black spots in Havering had proved to be an issue.

The Basic Command Unit (BCU) model was at the stage to be rolled across the Metropolitan Police, with the 32 boroughs merging into 12 BCUs.

Neighbourhood policing had seen an increase in ring fenced dedicated ward officers, in addition to town centre officers.  With the expansion of demand in the Romford Town Centre and reduced funding, consideration was being given by the London Chamber of Commerce to the expansion of the Metropolitan Special Constabulary.

Scope had been given for initiatives such as Operation Mexico, whose focus was burglary and which had proved successful, with 52 suspects having been arrested since the 2^nd January 2018, with 54 offences having been charged, which included 31 charges for burglary.

BCU Commander Sean Wilson was requested to provide an update on the community contact sessions to members at a future meeting. 

In response to questioning, it was noted that proposals for ward hubs in fire stations, schools and supermarkets were underway and that a full update would be provided once a decision had been taken. 

A discussion on the access of the hub at the corner of Farenden Road and Straight Road and the difficulties community officers were experiencing in accessing the premises pursued.  This would be followed up by the Basic Command Unit.   During discussion, the option of ‘pull ups’ was suggested.

Members received the 2017/18 Annual Report of the Sub-Committee. The report summarized the work of the Sub-Committee during the 2017-18 municipal year.

The approval of the final version of the report would be delegated to the Chair, for submission to Council in March 2018.

At its meeting on the 24 September 2015, the sub-committee agreed to establish a topic group to look at how people with mental health issues were supported by the Justice System.  The sub-committee had indicated that information should be sought from the North East London NHS Foundation Trust, the Clinical Commissioning Group, Public Health as well as obtaining an understanding of what happens in the custody system and how magistrates handle complex cases. 

Members received a report which detailed the scrutiny work undertaken by Members in reaching its recommendations. 

The approval of the final version of the report would be delegated to the Chair, for submission to the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

At its meeting on the 28 July 2016, the sub-committee agreed to establish a topic group to scrutinize the number of places originally provided in Havering for Travellers, how this had grown and how it was predicted to grow in future as well as the reasons behind these changes.

Members received a report which detailed the scrutiny work undertaken by Members in reaching its recommendations. 

The approval of the final version of the report would be delegated to the Chair for submission to the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The meeting was not quorate therefore those members present were unable to take a decision as to whether to exclude the press and public.

To approve as correct the exempt minutes of the meeting held on the 29 August 2017 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The exempt minutes of the meeting held on the 29 August 2017 were unable to be agreed due to the meeting not being quorate.

Members received the Strategic Assessment 2017, which was approved by the Havering Community Safety Partnership on the 16^th January 2018. 

The contents of the assessment included performance and recent trends, Crime Harm Index, Community Safety Problems and suggested priorities and recommendations.

The assessment highlighted an increase in robbery, sexual offences, weapon enabled crime, motor vehicle crime and serious youth violence.  Youth violence rate per 1,000 had seen Havering move from the 9^th worse in London to the 8^th worse.  The CSE rate remained the 2^nd worse in London; and the taking of motor vehicles had seen a 47% increase on the previous year, moving Havering from 12^th worse in London to 4^th worse.

Burglary dwelling and domestic violence with injury had both seen less than 1% change on last year’s level.  The burglary dwelling rate had improved on the previous year, from 8^th to 19^th.

There had been a 10.6% reduction in violence with injury, 26.4% reduction in hate crime and 41.8% reduction in business crime, despite a rise in shoplifting.  Other areas which had increased included burglary non-dwelling, violence without injury and damage to dwellings.

Those in their mid-teens to mid-thirties were at greatest risk of victimisation from harmful and high risk problems, with the greatest increase in the 14-17 age group.  30 and over were at greatest risk of household / home based acquisitive crimes.  Domestic abuse and sexual offences were more likely to be reported by females, whereas serious wounding and robbery were more likely to be reported by males.  The overall breakdown of all violence was 35% female and 65% male.  Domestic abuse had the highest level of repeat victimisation, at 28.8%.  Cash, phones, credit cards and jewellery continued to be the most stolen items, with iPhones accounting for 60% of the phones stolen in all crime types.  Ford were the most stolen, and stolen from, vehicles.

Crime offending rates were above average for those aged 14-39, with the peak offending age being between 16-24.  For more serious violence and sexual offences, the predominant age range was 16-30, but for domestic abuse the predominant age range extended into the forties.  Males accounted for a total of 80% (suspected) offenders, ranging from 68% - 95% depending on the category of crime.  Categories of crime where offenders were most likely to know victims were sexual offences and domestic abuse.

Top categories which had impacted across Havering were domestic violence, violent crime and youth violence, burglary, sexual offences and anti-social behaviour.  Top contributory factors in the commission of crime were alcohol harm, drug use/misuse and domestic abuse perpetration.

The key priorities identified from the assessment were:

·      Protecting vulnerable individuals/victims.

·      Support the most prolific and/or high offenders.

·      Create safer locations.

·      Community engagement and public confidence.

The recommendations from the assessment were:

·      To retain the strategic priorities agreed for Havering the previous year.

·      To maintain a strong focus on reducing re-offending, especially for adults and those involved in gangs.

·      To  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.