Agenda and minutes

Venue: Hendon Town Hall, The Burroughs, London NW4 4BQ. View directions

Contact: Michael Kelly 020 8359 5621 Email: michael.kelly@barnet.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome and Introductions pdf icon PDF 33 KB

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed the Board to the meeting and thanked them for their attendance.

 

2.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 51 KB

Minutes:

Subject to a spelling correction from “Murrant” to “Mariner” (p4, para 3) the minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2013 were agreed as a correct record.

 

Board noted actions taken since the 19 July meeting.

 

ACTION: Ash Tadjrishi to circulate Localised Policing presentation to all SCPB Members.

 

3.

Governance Structure, Membership and Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 170 KB

Minutes:

Cllr Longstaff, Cabinet Member for Safety and Resident Engagement introduced a paper setting out proposals and recommendations for developing the work of the Barnet Safer Communities Partnership.

 

Board Members considered the report and its recommendations.

 

ACTION: All recommendations approved as presented, subject to the following amendments:

 

R1 – to include representatives from Community Barnet; Victim Support; and, Middlesex University as Board Members.

 

R2 – to include the Assistant Director for Early Intervention & Prevention as a formal observer, removing Community Barnet (as now included in R1)

 

It was noted that reports and presentations should be written in plain English and free from jargon where possible.

 

Board also noted that the new Safer Neighbourhood Board would be independent and that the Safer Communities Implementation Group would escalate matters  directly to the SCP Board.

 

4.

Performance Update pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Minutes:

The Board received a presentation from Adrian Usher, Barnet Borough Commander giving an update on crime performance across Barnet.

 

The board were told that Residential Burglaries were down year-on-year (-7.7%). However the data historically evidenced a tendency for burglaries to spike at this time of year. This was believed to be due to the darker evenings making empty houses easier for criminals to profile.

 

Police were focusing on raising awareness of deterrent measures that residents could take such as using timed lights, rear security lights and anti-climb paint.

 

The number of Non-Residential Burglaries were also going down, however the target for this area had not been achieved (-1.2% against a target of -6.5%). The Borough Commander highlighted that whilst this included commercial property a high-proportion of non-residential properties targeted were sheds and building sites.

 

Board noted that Robberies had reduced by 21.8% since last year. Following a question from Dr Simon Harding, the Borough Commander advised that, whilst current profiling data was unable to give a clear picture of who the most at-risk student would be, many robberies related to theft of mobile phones from young people. It was suggested that students were more likely to be a victim of robbery in the first two months of joining University than at any other time. Board supported a proposal from Kiran Vagarwal, Head of Community Safety for LBB, to consider ways in which the Strategic Crime Needs Assessment could include analysis of this data under the priority of ‘Keeping Young People Safe’.

 

ACTION: The Strategic Crime Needs Assessment, under keeping young people safe, to consider including further analysis of victim profile data to aid efforts in reducing crime and victims of crime in the borough with a particular focus on young people (Kiran Vagarwal, Head of Community Safety for LBB)

 

Knife and Gun crime was noted as being very low for the borough, though difficult to completely eradicate.

 

Domestic Violence was noted as having the second lowest rate of repeat victims in the borough at 7%. The Borough Commander attributed some success in this area to increased convictions supported by evidence recorded by body-worn cameras.

 

Nicola Francis, Director of Family Services at LBB requested that there be more detail given on the Marac level of repeat victims.

 

ACTION: Peter Clifton to provide additional analysis of Marac data.

 

Anti-Social Behaviour was reported as reducing - an indicator that the new neighbourhood policing team were having a positive impact. The Borough Commander expressed a need to promote this message to the wider public to address their concerns in this area.

 

Offender Management data showed that the three key measures for reoffending rates in the Borough had improved; total reoffending was down from 8% to 6%, there had been a drop in expected reoffending levels, and Barnet now ranked 5th best of all London boroughs (from a position of 15th around 18 months previously).

 

Assistant Director for Early Intervention & Prevention (LBB), Duncan Tessier, reported that Youth Offending rates had fallen. The number  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Burglary Intervention Update pdf icon PDF 640 KB

Minutes:

Richard Bell (Community Safety Team LBB) updated the Board on the ‘Winter Burglary Awareness’ campaign that had been launched recently. Leaflets highlighting simple steps that could be taken by residents to protect themselves against burglary were being distributed to around 200,000 residents across the borough and at the University. Four afternoon sessions on burglary prevention were being held to support the campaign and around 8,000 residents would be identified to receive fire surveys and assistance with smoke alarms or other home protection as needed.

 

ACTION: The Board to receive an update from Dr Simon Harding, Chairman of the Burglary Group, together with any action plan in April 2014.

 

6.

Questions and Comments from Members

Minutes:

None.

 

7.

Interserve Pilot Proposal pdf icon PDF 108 KB

Minutes:

Members were asked to note that the item was not the Interserve Pilot but the GPS tagging scheme provided by the Hadley Trust.

 

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Randall, Metropolitan Police, introduced the report on a pilot scheme trialling the use of tagging selected offenders with GPS trackers, on a voluntary basis.

 

The Hadley Trust had put together the pilot proposal and had been commissioned by Bromley, Hillingdon, Lambeth and Barnet to conduct the initial trials. The cost of the scheme to Barnet was to be reimbursed by the Hadley Trust.

 

The Board heard how the scheme was being run in conjunction with the Choices & Consequence programme in Hertfordshire; a key aim of which was to reduce reoffending. Through individual assessment, intensive probation and deferred sentencing, selected offenders who volunteer for the programme would be supported through rehabilitation. 12 offenders had signed up to the scheme in Hertfordshire, which has been running for over three years and contributed to a year on year reduction in burglary rates.

 

The Borough Commander commended the work of DCI Randall in coordinating the numerous agencies involved, citing dedicated officer time as the key challenge for other boroughs considering the scheme.

 

On a question as to whether drug screening was undertaken for those offenders volunteering for the scheme, the Borough Commander confirmed that probation management was personal and bespoke to each volunteer, therefore any identified drug misuse could be factored in to the individual’s programme.

 

The Board supported continuation of the pilot scheme arrangement.

 

8.

Barnet Safer Neighbourhood Board proposal pdf icon PDF 130 KB

Minutes:

Hamera Asfa Davey from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) introduced the item to the Board and explained how Safer Neighbourhood Boards (SNBs) would need to be in place by 1 April 2014.

 

Members from CommUNITY Barnet and CSEG had both put forward formal proposals for MOPAC to consider when drawing together guidance for the formation and structure of the SNB. The Board agreed that and in the formation of such arrangements, MOPAC should be encouraged to consider:

  • retention of experienced and motivated volunteers;
  • a dynamic new approach; and,
  • improved communication with residents.

 

It was hoped that a meeting scheduled for 4 November 2013 would find consensus prior to draft proposals being distributed more widely.

 

ACTION: The Board receive an update from MOPAC on SNB arrangements at the January 2014 meeting.

 

9.

Proposed Forward Plan

January Meeting:

•Strategic Crime Needs Assessment   update

•Keeping young people safe

•Offender Management

April Meeting:

•Violence Against Women and Girls

•Burglary Update

•Outcome of Strategic Crime Needs Assessment

Minutes:

The Board considered its forward plan for items to be considered at the next two meetings and approved as follows:

 

January 2014:

  • Update from MOPAC on Safer Neighbourhood Boards and future funding arrangements.
  • Strategic Crime Needs Assessment - update
  • Keeping Young People Safe
  • Offender Management

 

April 2014:

  • Violence Against Women and Girls
  • Burglary Update
  • Outcome of Strategic Crime Needs Assessment

 

 

10.

Any Other Business

Minutes:

None.

11.

Date of Next Meeting

Minutes:

The meeting finished at 16.30pm. Date of Next Meeting: Friday 24th January 2014.