Agenda item

To consider an update on the Borough’s Community Safety Partnership and  progress against key priorities.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 11 to 24, which provided an update on the work and achievements of the Community Safety Partnership during 2017/18.

The report gave details of the key aims of the partnership which were to reduce crime, substance misuse and anti-social behaviour. In addition to the Council, the partnership’s statutory bodies included the police, probation and health services. The report was presented by Julia Mlambo (Interim Community Safety Partnership Manager) supported by Superintendent Shaun Virtue (Local Police Commander, Bracknell and Wokingham) and Aletta Pretorius (Integrated Early Help and Youth Justice Manager).

The report gave details of performance against the current partnership priorities. These were:

Priority 1 – increasing the effectiveness of multi professional arrangements to encourage the reporting of domestic abuse and responding appropriately. The partnership’s approach was to increase the number of reports of domestic violence as it was a hidden crime, but also to reduce the number of repeat incidents.

Priority 2 – work with the integrated Offender Management Cohort to reduce the likelihood of repeat offending. The aim was to reduce overall crime levels by reducing the activities of the most prolific offenders. The most serious and/or violent offenders were case managed by the Probation Service through other arrangements.

Priority 3 – understand the needs associated with hidden crime and work in partnership to expose hidden crime, reduce offending and support victims. The aim was to increase the number of reports of hidden crime such as hate crime e.g. racial or religiously aggravated crime.

Priority 4 – identify and understand the issues affecting residents of all ages and communicate the work of the partnership effectively to make them feel safer. The aim was to understand key local issues such as the recent increase in residential burglary and to target resources at local priorities.

The report stated that the Community Safety Partnership was in the process of developing new priorities for 2018/21 which were aligned with emerging needs. These were:

Priority 1 – addressing violence against women and girls.

Priority 2 – impacting on organised crime including reducing the effects of county line dealing (i.e. gangs using young people to carry and sell drugs across county boundaries).

Priority 3 – reducing and preventing exploitation and addressing the needs of vulnerable victims and offenders.

Priority 4 – championing the resilience of local communities.

Members focussed on each of the current community safety priorities sought information on emerging local and national trends. During the ensuing discussion Members raised the following points and questions.

Were existing mechanisms for notifying ward Members about local issues effective? An example was given relating to anti-social behaviour and the lack of communication with Members. It was confirmed that steps could be taken to re-establish regular briefings involving Members and the police with a view to sharing information and joining up services more effectively. This would include more targeted briefings on emerging issues and closer working with Town and Parish Councils.

What had been the impact on community safety in the Borough following the reductions in police resources? It was confirmed that Thames Valley Police had seen significant reductions in manpower over the past five years. However, changes in policing (better use of IT) and types of crime made a direct correlation difficult. It was clear however, that the Borough remained a safe place to live. It was also noted that the Police and Crime Commissioner was considering an increase in the precept as a way of finding resources to support local policing.

What had been the impact of the growth in mental health issues on local policing? It was confirmed that the police were now delivering more joint patrols with health colleagues and that more informed decisions were being made about risk and community safety.

RESOLVED That:

1)    Julia Mlambo, Aletta Pretorius and Superintendent Shaun Virtue be thanked for attending the meeting;

2)    progress relating to the current priorities in the Community Safety Strategy be noted;

3)    the focus on emerging issues and development of new Community Safety priorities for 2018/21, as outlined in the report, be supported;

4)    Members support the proposal to re-establish more joined up working, intelligence sharing and communication between ward Members, the police and other community safety partners.