Agenda item

The Head of Community Safety and Protection will give a presentation updating Members on the Community Safety Plan.  The Commission is recommended to receive the presentation and pass comments to the Head of Community Safety and Protection.

The Head of Community Safety and Protection gave a presentation updating the Commission on the Community Safety Plan.  A copy of this presentation is attached at the end of these minutes for information.

It was noted that the Safer Leicester Partnership had established a multi-agency group for each priority in the Plan and each group had a list of operational actions identifying what was being done to address its priority.  Funding associated with the actions was tracked and at the end of the financial year an assessment was made of what had been successful, what had not been successful and whether the priority remained relevant. 

Within this, it was recognised that different aspects of the priorities created a need to consult different people or groups on how they should be addressed.  This consultation needed to clearly differentiate between the priorities, so those being consulted could respond in a meaningful way.  This was reflected in discussions on how membership of the Community Gold meeting should be set.  For example, there could be a core attendance, with other people attending by invitation for specific issues. 

The Partnership also worked to encourage the community to take an active role in helping itself.  One way in which it was hoped that information about community safety could reach the community was through the Community Gold meeting, but it was recognised that this did not always happen.  Other ways included visiting schools and encouraging the children to do work they could take home and share with adults, (for example, creating posters).

The Partnership also undertook a lot of community engagement, including working with organisations such as Streetvibe and b-inspired.  A full list of organisations with which the Partnership worked was being compiled.

The Commission noted that the way in which Police Joint Action Groups (JAGs) operated had changed in some neighbourhood policing areas.  Some were now closed meetings, in order to deal with complex cases, but Neighbourhood Police Officers still came to events such as Ward Community Meetings.  If a Councillor wanted a matter raised at a JAG meeting, they could make the request through their Neighbourhood Police Officers.

Members welcomed the Celebrate Safely campaign, stressing that it should be considered as something to be aware of all year, not just those times of the year when religious festivals and cultural events were taking place and evenings were darker.  The Head of Community Safety and Protection advised that an event was being held at the Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre on 19 September 2018 to let people know how they could help themselves to stay safe.  The initiative also continued to be promoted through religious establishments.

There was some concern that people sleeping rough were using the landings of flats and maisonettes.  The Head of Community Safety and Protection advised that it was not uncommon for people to use these areas.  Whenever individuals were identified as rough sleepers, consideration was given to the support those individuals received, as well as using enforcement powers to stop them sleeping in particular locations.  For example, in the past letters had been given to people advising that they could not continue to sleep where they had been, but also explaining where they could find help.  In addition, funding recently had been approved for the Council’s Housing services to employ four rough sleeper co-ordinators, to help relieve the situation.

It was noted that some businesses were reporting that criminals were entering their properties using rear entrances.  However, alley gates were not always successful, as they got left open and the locks got broken, making them expensive for the Council to maintain.  Businesses with this concern were invited to identify what they needed to protect themselves and the Police and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce could visit and advise further.

Councillor Sood, Assistant City Mayor with responsibility for Communities and Equalities, noted that reporting domestic violence and child sexual exploitation could be problematic.  These were complex and sensitive issues, which could be exacerbated by, for example, cultural issues.  The Head of Community Safety and Protection advised that organisations working in these areas were aware of under-reporting.  Services currently were being recommissioned, so a report could be made to this Commission on how domestic violence and sexual abuse would be addressed in the future.

AGREED:

1)     That the Head of Community Safety and Protection be asked to arrange for each member of this Commission to receive a copy of the Leicester Community Safety Partnership Plan;

2)     That the Strategic Partnership Manager be asked to send Members a list of which Police Joint Action Group meetings have open attendance and which have closed;

3)     That the Head of Community Safety and Protection be asked to present a report to this Commission at an appropriate time on how services for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse are to be recommissioned and established; and

4)     That Members be invited to send responses to the questions set out on slide 9 of the presentation (see attached) to the Scrutiny Policy Officer for him to compile in to a formal response from the Commission.