Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 1 October 2018 were taken as read and confirmed as a correct record.

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 1 October 2018.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interests in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

The Chairman himself declared a personal interest in agenda item 5: Health and Wellbeing Board as he was a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

No other declarations were made.

The report will be presented by Mike Sandys, Director of Public Health, Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health which provided an update on work ongoing to strengthen links between the Leicestershire Safer Communities Strategy Board and the Health and Wellbeing Board. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 5’, is filed with these minutes.

The Board welcomed the Director of Public Health to the meeting for this item.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)        Members raised concerns that the substance misuse service Turning Point did not liaise with partners enough and could contribute more to wider community safety work. In particular District Councils needed more information from Turning Point about the specific individuals accessing the substance misuse service so they could assess whether the housing provided to them was appropriate for their needs. In response the Director of Public Health explained that the remit of the Turning Point contract was to provide a treatment service for individuals with drug and/or alcohol misuse problems; not to carry out wider community safety work. However, reassurance was given that data was collected from Turning Point regarding whether the person receiving treatment for substance misuse had a housing need and that liaising with housing providers was part of Turning Point’s role. Members felt it would be beneficial for examination of the contract with Turning Point to take place to ensure that Turning Point were being asked to contribute to community safety as fully as possible.  The Director of Public Health reminded members that the Public Health Department offered broader support for people with substance misuse problems and other related issues.

(ii)       Members congratulated officers for the success in receiving funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government which was intended to expand support for survivors of domestic abuse in Leicestershire. In response to a question from a member it was clarified that all the proposed units of refuge accommodation in Leicestershire were for females. There was not the need in Leicestershire for refuge accommodation for males as men did not typically use refuge accommodation. However, there was refuge accommodation available nationally which males from Leicestershire could be referred into. Due to the increasing number of males coming forward to report Domestic Abuse the need for refuge accommodation for men in Leicestershire would be kept under review.

(iii)      In response to a suggestion from the Chairman that knife crime should also be a joint priority for the Public Health Department and the Leicestershire Safer Communities Strategy Board, the Director of Public Health acknowledged that knife crime was a key issue and better partnership working could take place between the police and Health partners on the issue, for example providing data on patients that attended Emergency Departments with knife related injuries. It was noted that Public Health England (PHE) were on the Knife Crime Board but PHE were a national body and there needed to be more local link up. Superintendent O’Neill suggested that a meeting could take place between the police and Public Health Department and the Director of Public Health was in agreement.

(iv)      A member emphasised that in addition to tackling suicide it was important to focus on wider mental health issues. The Director of Public Health provided reassurance that there were many services in place for tackling mental health some of which could be accessed via First Contact Plus and Local Area Co-ordinators. Mental Health was a central part of the People Zones project where the aim was that public bodies would work collaboratively to address the social problems for a particular area.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the contents of the report be noted;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

The report will be presented by Rik Basra, Community Safety Coordinator, Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Rik Basra, Community Safety Co-ordinator at Leicestershire County Council, the purpose of which was to update the Board regarding Safer Communities Performance for Quarter 2 of 2018/19. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 6’, is filed with these minutes.

Rik Basra informed that he was considering other Key Performance Indicators for Hate Crime which he could report to the Board to supplement the data.

In response to a question from a member Rik Basra explained that SafeLives was a national domestic abuse charity which recommended that the level of repeat referrals for an established MARAC should not be over 40%. If repeat referrals were over 40% then MARACs would need to scrutinise their methodology. The Member suggested that as the rate for Leicestershire was nearly 40% then the Leicestershire MARAC should already be thinking about scrutinising its methodology and Rik Basra agreed to ask the MARAC whether it was confident that the processes in place were adequate.

In response to a question from a member Rik Basra stated that he was not aware of any intelligence which indicated that burglary was being underreported. It was noted that there had been a spate of burglaries in the Charnwood area of properties where foreign students resided and it was important to make sure foreign students were aware how to report crime and to lock up their valuables.

Members noted that the Key Performance Indicator for Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) related to public perception rather than incidents of ASB reported to the police and Members asked for more statistics on actual incidents of ASB and an indication of trends. Rik Basra explained that he would be reviewing all the Key Performance Indicators which were reported to the Board and he would give consideration to how the ASB Indicator could be amended to provide the information Members required. 

Discussion took place regarding the negative effect social media could have in making the general public believe that certain crime types were more prevalent than they actually were. However, it was noted that social media could also play a role in tracking down perpetrators of crime and locating stolen goods.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

The report will be presented by Rik Basra, Community Safety Coordinator, Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Rik Basra which presented the Leicestershire County Community Safety Agreement for approval. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 7’, is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman and Rik Basra agreed to have a discussion outside of the meeting regarding communicating with groups that were not represented on the Board particularly those relating to exploitation of children.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the contents of the report be noted;

(b)       That the Community Safety Agreement be approved and adopted.

The report will be presented by Anita Chavda, Community Safety Officer (Lead on Hate and Prevent SPOC), Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Anita Chavda, Community Safety Officer, Leicestershire County Council, which presented the revised Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) Strategy Statement for Tackling Hate. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the amended LLR Strategy Statement for Tackling Hate be approved.

(b)       That accountability for the monitoring of the Strategy and action plan be held by the LLR Senior Officer Group and the LLR ASB and Hate Strategy Group.

The report will be presented by Gurjit Samra-Rai, Community Safety Manager at Leicestershire County Council on behalf of Paul Hindson, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Board received a report from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner which provided an update on work undertaken to develop clearer governance surrounding its work with Community Safety Partnerships and the development of People Zones. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman reported comments which had been submitted in writing by Cllr. Alan Walters of Rutland County Council regarding the proposed governance arrangements and in particular concerns that there was insufficient input from elected members in the structure. In response it was acknowledged that there did need to be a clear distinction between the role of officers and the role of members, and an understanding that members set the policy and overall strategy, however there was a need for officers to carry out most of the preparatory work before members made a decision and therefore this was why the governance structure was set out as it was. Members should be cautioned against getting too involved in the practical work.

Consideration was being given to using community panels to lead on the People Zones within each locality however whilst the police and local councillors attended these panels which was positive, the Panels also included community members and it may not be appropriate for some of these people to be party to some tactical discussions. Therefore consideration was being given to whether Joint Action Groups could be strengthened and would be a more appropriate forum for leading on the People Zone work. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the contents of the report be noted;

(b)       That the proposed governance structure for the community safety partnerships, Strategic Partnership Board and People Zones be supported.

The report will be presented by Gurjit Samra-Rai, Community Safety Manager at Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Gurjit Samra-Rai, Community Safety Team Manager, Leicestershire County Council, which provided an update on a successful bid for funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the LLR Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Service generally. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

In response to a request from a member, Gurjit Samra-Rai agreed that liaison and communication would take place with Community Safety Partnerships regarding the redesign and recommission of the Information and Support Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence.

It was noted that an officer would be recruited to work with local authority housing departments to make improvements across the sub-region and potentially adopt processes similar to those used by the Pan London Domestic Violence Project. It was hoped that the improvements would include a more consistent and strengthened offer across LLR with regards to provision for victims of Domestic Abuse. Housing providers would receive training on their duties which would enable them to signpost those in need to other services. It was agreed that the link to the website for the PAN London Domestic Violence Project would be circulated to LSCSB attendees.

Members were recommended to attend a United Against Violence and Abuse (UAVA) workshop as this would provide greater understanding of the work of UAVA.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the contents of the report be noted;

(b)       That a further update on the LLR Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Service and the Hope Project be presented to a future meeting of the Board.

CCTV cameras

Members raised the issue of the application process for attaching CCTV cameras to lampposts and in particular the cost of structurally testing the lampposts to ensure that they were capable of carrying the additional load. The Board welcomed Richard Newing, Senior Engineer, Environment and Transport Department, Leicestershire County Council, to the meeting for this item to answer questions.

Richard Newing informed that all local authorities were required to have lampposts structurally tested before CCTV cameras were placed on them. It was clarified that the organisation wishing to attach the CCTV cameras to the lamppost would be required to pay for the lamppost columns to be structurally tested at their own expense as this was not provided for in the Leicestershire County Council budget. However, if the lamppost did fail the structural test then it would be replaced at the expense of Leicestershire County Council. The company that carried out the structural testing was based in Newcastle therefore it was cost effective for as many lampposts to be tested as possible whilst the company was carrying out work in the Leicestershire area. If the company were already in Leicestershire then the price would be £40 per column however the cost would be higher if the company were required to travel to Leicestershire specifically for that lamppost. It was further explained that it was not possible to make a calculation of whether a generic lamppost could hold the weight of a CCTV camera because although they were all designed the same, some were structurally weaker due to the vagaries of the manufacturing process. Therefore every single lamppost needed to be tested. It was questioned whether Leicester City Council structurally tested the lampposts in the city of Leicester area before placing CCTV cameras on them.

It was noted that installation of the CCTV cameras could be over £1000 per installation. Members viewed this cost to be excessive if the CCTV camera was only required to be in place for a few weeks.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the contents of the oral update be noted;

(b)       That officers be requested to provide a further report on CCTV cameras and lamppost testing for the next meeting of the Board.

The public are likely to be excluded during the following item of business in accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972:-

Serious Organised Crime - County Lines.

RESOLVED:

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 and 10 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act and that, in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information – Serious Organised Crime – County Lines.

The report will be presented by Supt. Shane O’Neill, Leicestershire Police.

The Board received a report and presentation from Superintendent Shane O’Neill regarding Serious Organised Crime and in particular County Lines drug trafficking into Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The report was not for publication by virtue of paragraphs 3 and 10 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the contents of the report be noted;

(b)       That the Board endorses that Community Safety Partnerships:

                      i.        Proactively raise awareness of the signs of county lines across front line teams across local authorities and have a clear and unambiguous process for escalation if it is suspected or discovered;

                    ii.        Target awareness raising in the areas of threat, such as secondary schools, children’s homes and pupil referral units, this list is by no means exhaustive;

                   iii.        recognise and embed County Lines as a community safety issue, ensuring it features in published community safety action plans and strategies  within local authorities and develop best practice to minimise its impact when identified; and

                   iv.        Support local and national campaigns as they are developed delivered through each agencies communications network to inform the public increase resilience to County Lines developing.

(c)       That officers be requested to provide a further report on County Lines for a future meeting of the Board.

The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on 22 March 2019 at 10:00am.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Board take place on 22 March 2019 at 10:00am.