Agenda item

Crime and Disorder Scrutiny

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Member for Resident Safety and Engagement (Councillor David Longstaff), Detective Superintendent (Neighbourhoods and Crime) Mark Strugnell, the Strategic Director for Growth and Environment (Pam Wharfe) and the Head of Community Safety (Kiran Vagarwal) for the item. 

 

The Head of Community Safety advised the Committee that the Barnet Community Safety Engagement Group was being replaced by Safer Neighbourhoods Boards effective from April 2014. 

 

A Member questioned how the Council and police worked with the probation service to monitor offenders who were under a supervision order and sought clarification of the impact on local policing services.  The Head of Community Safety advised the Committee that the police and Council had links with the national probation service, adding that the issue of how Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service were working together had been raised with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).  The Committee noted that a review of the Offender Management Strategy was currently being undertaken and the revised Strategy would be reviewed by the Safer Communities Partnership Board, Children’s Trust Board and Health & Well-Being Board.

 

A Member questioned how the system would deal with increasing number of offenders.  The Head of Community Safety reported that the ‘through the prison gate’ system provided support to ex-offenders.  She added that there were Ministry of Justice pathways aimed at reducing re-offending. 

 

The Committee sought assurance that local policing knowledge would be retained under the neighbourhood policing model.  Detective Superintendent Strugnell informed the Committee that ward officers (a Police Constable and Police Community Support Officer) would be retained in the new model.  He added that Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (SNT) had been increasing in size over recent years and it was confirmed that these teams would remain.  The main change to SNTs had been that they were being deployed flexibly. 

 

The Committee welcomed the reduction in the number of crimes and the fear of crime in Barnet.  In relation to the borough wide Dedicated Place Order for Street Drinking, commonly referred to as the Alcohol Free Zone (AFZ), the Committee queried how effective this had been in reducing instances of street drinking.  Detective Superintendent Strugnell confirmed that there had been a positive impact as a result of the introduction of the AFZ. 

 

A Member highlighted a risk to Home Start and Victim Support due to their reliance on volunteers to provide their services. 

 

Officers confirmed that the updated Safer Communities Strategy would be considered by the new Community Leadership Committee and the Safer Communities Partnership Board. 

 

Responding to a question Detective Superintendent Strugnell informed the Committee that Barnet had a strong neighbourhood watch.  40 new neighbourhood watches had come online in the last year and there were now over 800 in the borough with 15,000 members. 

 

A Member questioned whether information sharing protocols were in place between the various statutory agencies in line with Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.  Officers confirmed that the relevant protocols were in place and that information was shared via the multi-agency Integrated Officer Management.

 

A Member highlighted that he had experienced difficulty in getting in contact with his local SNT.  Detective Superintendent Strugnell undertook to look in to this issue to ensure that SNTs were available to Members and members of the public.

 

Responding to a question about the cultural awareness of the police, Detective Superintendent Strugnell reported that these issues were covered in central and local training through programmes such as the 8 – 10 week Street Tutoring scheme for officers.  The Cabinet Member for Safety and Resident Engagement added that the Safer Neighbourhood Boards had representation from across the community. 

 

Detective Superintendent Strugnell undertook to report back to the Committee on the issue of the Alert Com system used by Barnet Borough Watch to communicate with its members.  The Committee reported that as they system was in private ownership, continued use of the system could not be guaranteed.  It was highlighted that this posed a significant risk to the effectiveness of Barnet Borough Watch.

 

The Committee were advised that Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) would be introduced borough-wide from April 2014.  Detective Superintendent Strugnell reported that had been used in Barnet recently using equipment borrowed from other police forces. 

 

Members noted that the in considering the issues set out in the report, the Committee had discharged its statutory duties in relation to the scrutiny of crime and disorder functions as required by the Police and Justice Act 2006.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1.         The Committee note the updates on the: New Policing Model; Enhancements to the Safer Communities Strategy; Delivery against the Safer Communities Strategy 2011/12 to 2013/14; and Barnet Community Safety Engagement Group as set out in the report.

 

2.         The Committee request that outcomes from the implementation of borough-wide Alcohol Free Zone be reported to the Community Leadership Committee.

 

3.         Detective Superintendent Strugnell be requested to report back to the Committee on continuity arrangements for the Barnet Borough Watch communications system.

 

4.         The Committee refer the Neighbourhood Policing Model to the work programme of the Community Leadership Committee for consideration in the 2014/15 municipal year.

 

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