Issue - meetings

Community Safety Partnership Update

Meeting: 11/03/2019 - Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 59)

59 Community Safety Partnership Update pdf icon PDF 784 KB

To receive an update on the Community Safety Partnership.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 21 to 38, which gave details of progress against the priorities established by the Community Safety Partnership.

 

Graham Ebers (WBC Deputy Chief Executive and Co-Chair of the Community Safety Partnership) attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

 

The report reminded Members that Community Safety Partnerships had been established with a statutory duty to implement a partnership strategy to reduce crime, substance misuse and anti-social behaviour. The Community Safety Strategy was informed by a strategic assessment of crime and disorder related needs in the local area.

 

The report gave details of progress relating to the current Community Safety Partnership priorities as follows:

 

Priority One: Addressing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

 

The VAWG Strategy was designed to enable WBC to meet its statutory duties in relation, for example, to the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014. The main role of the Community Safety Partnership was to hold the Domestic Abuse Strategic Group to account in relation to delivery of the Domestic Abuse Strategy.

 

The Borough’s main domestic abuse service provider was Berkshire Women’s Aid (BWA). BWA provided a range of services including outreach, a family support programme, one to one support for victims, a helpline and refuge provision. BWA also worked closely with Children’s Services to ensure that children at risk of domestic violence received support.

 

Priority Two: Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour, Harmful Misuse and Organised Crime

 

These issues were often interlinked and the priority aimed at preventing residents from exploitation and their involvement in anti-social behaviour and misuse escalating to involvement in serious organised crime.

 

The report stated that there had been growing concern about instances of anti-social behaviour across the Borough. The Community Safety Partnership and Thames Valley Police were working together to identify the causes through a Problem Solving Task Group. Neighbourhood Policing Teams had also launched initiatives aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour hotspots.

 

The report stated that, nationally and locally, rates of organised crime, specifically county line dealing, had impacted on the increased levels of crime in the area. The police had been proactive in addressing county line dealing through initiatives such as Operation Stronghold which reduced the risk from organised crime by reducing vulnerabilities and criminal opportunities.

 

Priority Three: Reduce and Prevent Exploitation and Address the Needs of Vulnerable Victims and Offenders

 

The report stated that the Police and Crime Commissioner had recognised that vulnerability of both victims and offenders had an impact on demand for police and other emergency services. Supporting victims, particularly repeat victims, improved their resilience whilst support for vulnerable offenders reduced the risk of them reoffending. Vulnerable offenders had more than average levels of substance misuse, physical and mental health needs and were more likely to have lower rates of engagement in education, employment and training.

 

Priority Four: Empower and Enable the Resilience of Local Communities

 

The report stated that the focus of this priority was the relationship with the wider community to reduce the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59