Agenda item

Assistant Director, Community Safety and Regulatory Services

Mr Peter Clifton, Community Safety Manager, presented his report.

Councillor Conway asked the following questions, and responses were provided by Mr Clifton:

·         Only 27% of people in Barnet cited being confident in how to contact their neighbourhood policing team. How can this be improved?

Response: 12000 residents had signed up to the OWL system and app. There has been an increase in engagement with Neighbourhood Watch in Barnet. Barnet is working closely with neighbourhood policing teams to continue this work.

·         Domestic violence and rape statistics are dramatically worse – how do you think this can be tackled?

Response: this is the trend across London. In Barnet plans had been made to improve the sanction and detection rate for these crimes, including video body cams introduced for the police and specialised police officers to respond to domestic abuse incidents. The Violence Against Women and Girls Sub Group was working with the police.

·         There had been recent incidents in the Cricklewood area, and gang-related crimes including child exploitation in East Finchley and Hampstead Garden Suburb. Can some mechanism be put in place when such issues arise?

Response: Barnet was meeting regularly with the Community Safety MARAC which focused on area-based anti-social behaviour.

Action: Mr Clifton offered to take this point away for discussion.

·         Rather than just enforcement in relation to environmental crime, it might be helpful to raise awareness of for example the North London white goods collection service. Mr Clifton agreed that more could be done and he would take this away. Action: Mr Clifton

Cllr Longstaff asked the following questions:

·         What else can be done to address burglary in Barnet? Do you think the many actions taken so far have had any success?

Response: this needs to remain a priority; there is evidence of some progress. A few years previously Barnet’s burglary rate was the highest in London - currently it was the 6^th highest. The integrated offender management approach appeared to be helping and recently a review of offenders on the programme had been launched so it was hoped this would have an impact.

·         How can Community Payback work and how can its progress be highlighted so that plans could be made to use it in the future?

Response: work was ongoing with CRC on joint activities such as street cleansing. The aim was that training would be provided for individuals on the scheme to improve their employability. Mr Clifton would provide details of future plans after the meeting. Action: Mr Clifton

·         How many penalty notices for littering and flytipping were domestic and how many were commercial?. How many Fixed Penalty Notices were cancelled or retracted? Mr Clifton would take this away and respond after the meeting. Action: Mr Clifton

·         Cllr Rich enquired about the age profile of perpetrators of robbery in Barnet. Mr Clifton would respond after the meeting.

Action: Mr Clifton

Cllr Patel suggested inviting the Barnet One Stop Shop to present to the Committee on their work. The Chairman noted that Cllr Patel should inform him for a future meeting stating which agenda item this related to.

Cllr Patel asked Mr Clifton:

·         What are the Hate Crime trends in Barnet, and what can be done to tackle this?

Response: This was lower than the London average in Barnet. There had been a gradual upward trend since 2014 onwards which had levelled off in 2018, then there had been a slight rise at the end of 2018, in particular of anti-semitic Hate Crime. Barnet had introduced the Zero Tolerance to Hate Crime Project.

·         What can be done to tackle knife crime in Barnet?

Response: Barnet has the second lowest rate of knife crime in London with a 4% drop in the number of knife injuries in the last 12 months. One of Barnet’s priorities was its Strategic Knife Crime Reduction Plan which included preventative work in schools. Also a clinical practitioner had been appointed to work with young people.

After discussion and consideration of the item the Committee RESOLVED unanimously:

1.    To note the findings of the Community Safety Strategic Crime Needs Assessment

2.    To note the progress made by the Safer Communities Partnership on delivering the 2017/18 objectives of the Community Safety Strategy.