Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all to the meeting and all members of the board introduced themselves.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 April 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

Apologies received fromLatoya Rich - Victim Support, Fiona Bateman - Independent Chair, Barnet Safeguarding Adults Board and Tamara Djuretic – Director Of Public Health and Prevention substituted by Luke Kwamya, Head of Public Health.

None.

The Metropolitan police gave an overview on performance up until May 2023 which included highlights:

·         In the 3 months of March 2023 to May 2023 (incl.) there were 480 cases of Residential Burglary in Barnet

·         In the 3 months of March 2023 to May 2023 there were 165 cases of Non-Residential Burglary in Barnet

·         In the 3 months of March 2023 to May 2023 there were 180 cases of Robbery of Personal Property in Barnet

·         In the 3 months of March 2023 to May 2023, there were 587 cases of Violence with Injury in Barnet

·         There were 2310 cases of Violence with Injury in Barnet in the 12 months up to May 2023. In the 12 months prior there were 2302. This is an increase of 0.3%

·         In the 3 months of March 2023 to May 2023, 2023, there were 23 cases of Knife Crime with Injury in Barnet

·         In the 3 months of March 2023 to May 2023 there were 3 cases of Gun Crime Lethal Barrelled Discharged in Barnet

·         In the 3 months of March 2023 to May 2023 there were 199 cases of Domestic Abuse VWI in Barnet

·         In the 3 months of March 2023 to May 2023 there were 191 incidents captured by CCTV in Barnet

·         There were 15 Prevent referrals in Barnet over Q4. In the same quarter in the previous year, there were 25. This is a decrease of 32%

In response to questions asked, the Police confirmed that the clear-up rates of domestic burglaries had improved as had the number of burglaries solved. It was noted that with regards to Personal Robbery, Barnet were the 9^th safest Borough in London. There were a number of prolific perpetrators of knife crime in specific areas, but these were not necessarily residents of Barnet. The Police had made targeted attempts to disrupt criminal activities in specific areas of the Borough; Operation Dakota had seen 38 arrests in its first week which subsequently increased to 67 arrests. There was a link with regards to the geographical locations of gun crime and knife crime which were most prevalent in two specific areas of Barnet. Extensive amounts of Police resources had been allocated to the area and efforts would be made to ensure that a ‘vacuum’ would not be created whereby perpetrators have been imprisoned, leave an open market.

Matt Leng, Community Safety Manager, outlined that Anti-social behaviour cases issues warnings and CPNs have been successful.

Altaf Patel, Community Safety CCTV and Intelligence Manager, provided the board with an update on CCTV:

• 191 incidents were captured on CCTV.
• 13% of those captured incidents were in Edgware and related to public disorder.
• 11% of those captured incidents were in Finchley and Church end and related to welfare concern.
• 10% of those captured incidents were in Burnt Oak and were related to welfare concern.
• Most CCTV incidents were reactive and required police presence.

The Board noted the contents of the report and presentation.

Rob Gibbs and Marc Cash gave a verbal update to the board which included some personnel changes within the police service such as the new police superintendent. Wider operational work includes three extra pathways – safer neighbourhood team or response. It was reported to the board that nearly all wards have 2 PCs; Colindale North have 3 PCs. Much of the update was covered in Item 5. It was noted there will be as seasonal violence plan for autumn nights.

The Chair thanked them for the update.

It was noted that the update was included in the reports pack (pages 31-33).

Diasmer Bloe presented the Serious Violence Needs Assessment and explained that it compiled to analysis on the causes and context of serious violence.

The report highlighted the at-Risk Population for Violence Predictors, which included the following:

• Adverse childhood experiences

• Experience educational difficulty / truancy

• Children of young mothers

• Children of unemployed mothers

• Come from disadvantaged households (experienced poverty, have family struggles   low supervision, substance abuse, etc.)

• Live in high crime areas

• Live in disadvantaged neighbourhoods

• Have positive perception of violence

• Have previously committed violent crime (2+)

It was explained that the research had been completed in London and the United States and had been based on predictive factors. In response to questions asked it was noted that Hate Crime figures were not included in the needs assessment; the representative from Barnet Group explained that as Housing Providers and Registered Social Landlords, they were obliged to report incidents of Hate Crime. The representative from Barnet Mencap stated she would provide updated Hate Crime Figures to be included in the data.

The Chair thanked the officer for their contribution and urged other Board Members to submit any relevant data. The Board noted the contents of the report.

Maggie Higton Brown, Head of Community Safety, Enforcement, CCTV & Intelligence, provided the board with an overview of the report outlining that it links to the work of the Safer Communities Partnership Board (SCPB) and the Barnet Safer Communities Partnership Community Safety Strategy 2022 – 2027.

The recommendations of the report were:

1.    That the Safer Communities Partnership Board agree to the progress being made against the five priorities set out in the Community Safety Strategy 2022-2023.

2.    That the Safer Communities Partnership Board agree that the Annual Report for 2022-2023 is an accurate record of the outcomes and work programme for that year.

3.     

The reasons for the recommendations of the report were:

1.    The Annual Report describes the work of the Safer Communities Partnership Board for 2022- 2023 and the outcomes and work undertaken for that year towards the priorities set out in the Community Safety Strategy 2022 – 2027.

2.    It is a constitutional requirement for the Safer Communities Partnership Board to produce an annual report of its programme of work each year.

Section 2 of the report outlines the 5 priorities:

1.    Tackling and reducing anti-social behaviour.

2.    Early intervention and prevention of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.

3.    Reducing offending including violence, vulnerability and exploitation, with a focus on acquisitive crime.

4.    Safeguard and support those vulnerable to radicalisation.

5.    Access to justice for those affected by hate crime.

Section 4 of the report (4.1) outlined the outcomes of the priorities:

1.    Ensure victims understand how to report the different types of ASB to the right service to get the best possible response to their complaint.

2.    Ensure victims are aware of the Community Trigger and how to initiate it.

3.    Provide a more visible Police and council officer ‘on street’ presence.

4.    Maintain the multi-agency response to ASB using the Community Safety Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (CS MARAC) process.

5.    Increase the use of the ASB tools and powers related to the partnership activity to tackle ASB.

6.    Tackle environmental crime in all its forms.

Tina McElligott, Director Early Help & Children’s Social Care, reported to the board that the Family Services Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) Annual Report had previously been presented to the board. It was reported that there was continuous work happening to deliver the Barnet Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2022- 25. It was further noted that the upcoming year would focus on safe spaces for women and children as well as delivering a pilot scheme to address domestic abuse in a cultural context.

The Chair thanked all those for their hard work and noted the report.

The Board discussed the Forward Plan programme and were urged to notify the relevant officer of any items they wished to be included on the Forward Plan.

It was agreed by the Chair that item 11 is moved up to item 5.

The Overview and Scrutiny Manager provided the board with an overview of the updated Governance arrangements. It was explained that responsible authorities would be invited to attend to Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 7^th November for Crime and Disorder Overview and Scrutiny. The Committee would review and scrutinise decisions made by the board. The Safer Communities Partnership Board (SCPB) Annual Report 2022/23 and the Performance Review Dashboard 2022/23 would also be reviewed. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee Members would have the opportunity to question responsible authorities and/or relevant board members on the 2022/23 performance as well as priority areas for 2023/23 and beyond.

The verbal update was noted.

The new proposed dates for the SCPB 2023/24 were noted and agreed apart for the proposed date of the 31^{st of} May 2024 which is instead 7^th June 2024.

27^th October 2023

24th November 2023 10am

The meeting finished at 11:28am