Agenda and minutes

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

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2015 were taken as read and confirmed as a correct record.

There were no matters arising.

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

No declarations were made. 

An oral update will be provided at the meeting.

The Board received an oral update from Gurjit Samra-Rai and Mark Wilson regarding Prevent in Leicestershire. Mark Wilson introduced himself as the Project Officer for the Prevent Strategy in Leicestershire, jointly funded by the County Council and the Districts. The main part of his role was to provide training to teachers and other persons in the community who may come in contact with those at risk of radicalisation. Mark emphasised that he did not deal directly with students himself. He was accredited to provide Home Office training and the WRAP (Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent). The training was about safeguarding and making people aware of the potential signs of radicalisation but it was not expected that those receiving the training become experts in terrorism. The key messages of the training were:

·         Noticing - vulnerability to radicalisation, changes in behaviour, ideology, and other signs of extremist exploitation.

·         Sharing – Making a referral to the appropriate organisation

·         Checking - evaluating referrals of individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism

Mark Wilson had been in post for 5 weeks and during that time he had delivered 4 training sessions and made links with District/Borough Councils. He had 22 further training sessions booked. It was noted that Mark Wilson intended to make contact with Parish Councils and it was suggested that he contact village halls directly in order to raise awareness of the need to prevent the venues being used by radical groups. It was also suggested that Mark Wilson approached neighbourhood watch groups and other organisations such as Warning Zone. Mark agreed to look into this suggestion.

In response to a question regarding how the work of Prevent was monitored and whether outcomes were measured, it was noted that there was to be a meeting on 18 December between Gurjit Samra-Rai and Leaders of District Councils to discuss how Prevent money was being spent.

NOTED:

The update regarding the work of PREVENT in Leicestershire.

The Board considered a report from James Fox, which provided an update regarding Safer Communities’ Performance for Quarter 2. A copy of the report is filed with these minutes. It was highlighted that vehicle crime had increased (particularly theft of mopeds), whilst First Time Entrants to the Youth Justice System had reduced.

Members re-iterated a point made at a previous meeting of the Board that there should be a service available for marking tools with the owner’s details to prevent them being sold once stolen, similar to the way that bikes could be marked. Inspector Lou Cordiner took this point on board and agreed that tackling the problem at the point of sale was the most effective method. She made Members aware of Operation Pioneer which tackled the theft of power tools from vans. The Operation had returned £75,000 worth of stolen tools to the owners. 

Inspector Cordiner also advised that hotels had been visited by the Police to make them aware of the risks of theft.

AGREED:

(a) That the Board noted the 2015/16 Quarter 2 performance information.

(b) That a further report on youth re-offending be brought to a future meeting of the Board.

(c) That the Board continued to monitor performance trends.

Appendices attached. Covering report to follow.

Tony Bull introduced a report regarding the effect the part-night lighting scheme had on crime levels in Leicestershire. A copy of the report is filed with these minutes. The key message was that crime had decreased significantly more in areas where the part-night lighting programme had been implemented.

Tony Bull also informed that in future the street lighting would be controlled remotely using an IPad rather than having to send personnel to the light itself to make alterations. This would include dimming the lights as well as turning them off completely.

In answer to a question whether the fear of crime had been looked at, Tony Bull explained that this had not been assessed in Leicestershire however a study had been conducted in Gloucestershire which found that the fear of crime rose immediately after the part-night lighting had been introduced but then returned to the same levels as prior to the lighting change. James Fox stated that on the Community Based Survey for Leicestershire there was a question about whether people felt safe after dark.

In light of recent media allegations that the Police were manipulating crime figures, members emphasised the importance of having confidence that the figures were accurate. It was noted that the Home Secretary had ordered a review of crime statistics. The Chairman advised that if anybody had concerns regarding crime figures for Leicestershire then they should write to the Police and Crime Commissioner.

NOTED:

The findings of the report on the effect of street lighting on crime in Leicestershire.

An oral update will be provided at the meeting.

Jane Moore provided an oral update on the Sentinel anti-social behaviour IT system. Sentinel had been considered at the ASB Strategy Group meeting on Monday 7 December 2015 with regard to the way ASB was managed in Leicestershire and the next steps for the system. It was noted that a project with Leicester University had not materialised therefore other options were being evaluated. A Task and Finish group was being set up to consider what information Sentinel should provide and the level of detail required on the database. Consideration also needed to be given to which organisation would host Sentinel once the Leicester City Council year of hosting was completed.

It was noted that there had been a recent update to the Sentinel software and it now included Community Triggers. Further work with Vantage Technologies, the manufacturer of Sentinel, was being considered. Once the way forward for Sentinel had been established guidance would be sent to Districts and partners.

AGREED:

(a) That the update regarding Sentinel be noted.

(b) That a summary of the conclusions of the Task and Finish group be provided to the Board at its next meeting, along with the results of the decision on who would host Sentinel.

The Board considered a report, the purpose of which was to provide an update on progress regarding tackling domestic abuse in Leicestershire. A copy of the report is filed with these minutes.

It was noted that the new single Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence support service commenced on 1 December 2015, and that the new model may result in a different form of service delivery than partners were used to. The previous helpline number would automatically forward callers to the new number for the initial period to assist the transition process. It was suggested that when this happened callers should be provided with a message making them aware of the new telephone number.

The Board also noted that the JADA (Journey Away from Domestic Abuse) contract had ceased and instead the support services were being embedded within Children and Family Services at the County Council.

Members suggested that the Leicestershire Matters newspaper and other magazines in the Districts could be used to disseminate information regarding Safer Communities work. The Chairman agreed to raise this idea with the Leader of the County Council at his meeting with him the following day.

AGREED:

(a) That the Board noted the progress of commissioning regarding domestic abuse.

(b) That the Board noted the key risks with regard to domestic abuse at this time.

(c) That the Board receive a report at its meeting in June 2016 regarding the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence support service.

An oral update will be provided at the meeting.

Jane Moore provided an oral update regarding the Strategic Partnership Board. She summarised the issues discussed at its meeting in October 2015 which were as follows:

·         The CONTEST strategy for countering terrorism

·         Prevent

·         Data and information sharing – looking at best practice and where information sharing was not working well.

·         A presentation on demand management delivered by Leicestershire Police on behalf of the SPB Executive Board. This presentation would also be delivered at the next meeting of the Leicestershire Safer Communities Strategy Board.

It was also noted that there was a new work-stream which would identify the top 10 individuals who were causing issues with regard to community safety and collectively work with them to improve the situation.  

The Board also noted that the SPB Development Fund run by the Police and Crime Commissioner was open for funding bids. The bids would have to be in line with the three priorities of cyber-crime, Child Sexual Exploitation and Prevent. The Police and Crime Commissioner was keen for this money to be allocated before his term of office ended in May 2016. There was disappointment that a bid had not been made to the SPB Development Fund for Prevent funding.

Members stated that their understanding of cyber-crime could be improved and requested further guidance on the subject. Jane Moore stated that there was to be a sub group of the SPB which would focus on cyber-crime. It was agreed that at the next meeting of the LSCSB there would be an agenda item on cyber-crime with a report written in conjunction with Leicestershire Police.

AGREED:

(a) That the update on the Strategic Partnership Board be noted.

(b) That the next meeting of the Board has agenda items on demand management and cyber-crime.

A request was made for future meetings of the LSCSB to have as many written reports in advance as possible rather than oral presentations to enable any comments on the reports to be prepared prior to the meeting.

The Leicestershire Safer Communities Strategy Board will meet at the following times:

17 March 2016 10:00am

08 June 2016 10:00am

08 September 2016 10:00am

08 December 2016 10:00am

It was agreed that future meetings of the Leicestershire Safer Communities Strategy Board would take place at the following times:

17 March 2016 10:00am

08 June 2016 10:00am

08 September 2016 10:00am

08 December 2016 10:00am