Agenda item

Report attached

At the request of the Sub-Committee, Shelley Hart, Chair of Havering Safer Neighbourhood Board gave Members a briefing detailing the progress of the Board since it was established 5 years ago.

The Sub-Committee was informed that Safer Neighbourhood Boards (SNBs) are the means by which the Mayor of London (through the Deputy Mayor and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) holds Borough Police Command Units to account for performance, giving residents and victims a greater voice in setting policing priorities.

The following objectives of the board were outlined:

·         Having a broad remit to reflect the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime’s responsibilities, respecting the view that local people would know best what is needed at the local level.

·         Ensure communities are more closely involved in problem solving and crime prevention.

·         Have greater reach and ensures a more frequent refresh of ideas and views;

·         Achieve greater coherence between different engagement mechanisms, e.g. Independent Advisory Groups (IAG) and Stop and Search Community Monitoring Groups (S & S CMG), so as to provide greater public accountability in policing and crime reduction.

·         Make more efficient use of resources to deliver value for money and target funds at tackling issues of local concern and crime prevention.

It was noted that the board had a good representation at its meetings and at SNB events. Some members have not changed over the years.

The Chair of Havering Safer Neighbourhood Board outlined the following progress since the last update:

1.    Havering Street Watch requested to join the SNB and have now resigned due to too many commitments.

2.    The Neighbourhood Watch Network (NHW) was still very active within the borough. Two meetings have been attended with the National Body to better understand their Strategic Plans for the next 3 years and how it may help at the local level. This also included a seminar on fund raising and the use of Social Media to raise the profile of NHW within our communities.

3.    SNB Community Day and Conference was held in conjunction with the Community Safety day, open to all (residents, workers and visitor’s in the borough) in September 2018. The event allowed SNB to engage with over 350 members of the local community.

4.    School for Scammers was successfully delivered to various audiences around the borough. 

5.    The Board undertook two projects to address knife crime; Street Doctors and No Knives in School Projects. Both of these projects have been very successful and were well received by the target audience.

6.    Twelve days Christmas Pop Up took place in Romford Town Centre and was also supported by several of the Community volunteer teams including The Safer Neighbourhood Board, Community Safety, Street Scene, Road Safety, Romford Town Centre Police, Safer Transport Team, Fire Brigade, Safer Neighbourhood Team, Neighbourhood Wardens, Streetscene, Road Safety, Tapestry, Diabetes UK, Peabody trust, WDP, Neighbourhood Watch and the Havering Youth Service. Safety equipment and items for the Community were given out during the event, which included 1,200 purse chains and bells.

7.    Allotment Watch: The work around the project was ongoing.

8.    Hate Crime/Safe Zone: The work around this issue was ongoing and talks with different partners have taken place.

The Sub-Committee was informed of the following projects that the board proposed to undertake: 

1.    SNB Events

The annual Safer Neighbourhood Board conference scheduled to take place in spring 2020 to be held in conjunction with the Community Safety Partnership. The event would be open to all in the community of Havering, residents, workers and visitors in the borough.

The Safer Neighbourhood Board review, an all-day event allocated to identify and analyse the needs of the borough in line with MOPAC priorities and to create a detailed strategic plan that will support MOPAC’s priorities and help to shape the future of Havering SNB and the projects it delivers.

The Community Safety, Havering Outreach and Roadshow days would be in and around the borough targeting specific areas throughout to reach as many members of the community as possible

2.    Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch to increase the number of Watches in the community and once established erecting new street signage to promote the new scheme in the local community.  

3.    Dementia Booklets

A handy one-stop-shop of relevant information on crime safety numbers, emergency services, safety advice and who and when to call for help. This booklet falls in line with the Mayor of London’s Priority of an Age Friendly London with Havering being the first community to have a Dementia Friendly High Street.

4.    Friend of Faux

Eight very interactive performances delivered by the Arc Theatre Company to at least 50 attendees at each performance.  The performances are aimed at vulnerable individuals who fall foul to rogues and criminals.

5.    Youth Council

The project will be planned and delivered for young people, by young people; consisting of a series of formal debates and panel discussions held at various locations around the borough on the topic of Knife crime.

6.    SNB Admin and Financial Accounting

Since its inception, Havering Council have been providing the administrative support and accountable financial body role for the SNB.

As a result of savings required within the Council’s Corporate and Community Resilience Team, the support would cease from March 2020. The SNB have been encouraged to use part of the MOPAC grant of £5200 to provide alternative administrative support, as any organisation with a constitution can do this.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the briefing be noted.