Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and the list of apologies was noted.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2022 were taken as read and confirmed as a correct record.

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2022.

The Board considered the LSCSB Action Log, a copy of which, marked ‘Agenda Item 4’, is filed with these minutes.

It was noted that Action no. 9: report to future meeting of the Board on Youth Justice Board and new KPIs particularly serious youth violence and racial disparity could be removed from the log as it was no longer required.

With regards to Action no. 2: visit to HMP Fosse Way (Glen Parva) it was noted that a date of 13 January 2023 at 11.00am had been proposed and an email had been sent out to LSCSB attendees asking them if they were able to attend on that date. However, only a small number of attendees had replied to the email therefore LSCSB members were reminded that they needed to reply. Nick Dann, Ministry of Justice stated that if that date was not suitable an alternative date could be found.

RESOLVED:

That the status of the Action Log be noted.

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

Mr. N. Bannister CC declared that he was employed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) but was not acting as a representative of the CPS at this meeting and any opinions he gave or statements he made were separate to those of the CPS.

This update will be provided by Raj Singh, Ministry of Justice.

The Board received a verbal update from Nick Dann, Ministry of Justice regarding the construction of HMP Fosse Way. The Board was also in receipt of the HMP Fosse Way Newsletter – October 2022, a copy of which is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           There had been a delay to the construction of the prison due to recent weather conditions and also problems with recruitment nationally which had affected the subcontractors. Whilst it was still hoped that construction could be completed as anticipated on 16 February 2023, it was likely that the project would not be completed until March 2023. The first prisoners had originally been scheduled to arrive at the prison on 17 May 2023 but this would probably be delayed until June 2023.

(ii)         SERCO were well advanced with their plans for taking over the prison and they had now recruited a senior management team.

(iii)        The prison custody officers were just completing their 10 week training course and they would be gaining experience at other SERCO prisons before starting work at HMP Fosse Way. Training sessions for additional officers were planned.

(iv)       Each prison cell had fire detection technology built into it and a misting system to help put out fires.

(v)         A planning application had been submitted for an additional houseblock and support building at HMP Fosse Way and a decision was due to be made on the application by Blaby District Council on 15 December 2022. Construction on the additional building could be carried out after the first prisoners had already entered the prison and the two areas would be separated by a fence until the new building was ready to be linked up with the rest of the prison site.

(vi)       As at August 2022 there were 25 apprenticeships or jobs with a structured training programme at the prison and the target was 50 by 2023. Lendlease had plans in place to ensure this target was met.

(vii)      Blaby District Council, the Ministry of Justice and Leicester University had joined up to undertake a piece of work to gain an understanding of the impact of the new prison on the local community particularly in relation to housing, health and noise pollution etc. It was intended that a baseline would be established before the prison opened and then trends would be analysed. It was agreed that an update on this work would be provided to the Board at a future meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the update regarding HMP Fosse Way be noted.

This report will be presented by Euan Walters, Senior Democratic Services Officer, Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Euan Walters, Democratic Services, Leicestershire County Council which proposed changes to the

Terms of Reference of the Board which were required as a result of changes to two of the organisations that were entitled to representation on the Board. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 7’ is filed with these minutes.

In addition to the changes referred to in the report it was also noted that some of the references to the Probation Service in the Terms of Reference required updating to reflect the re-unification of probation services which had taken place in June 2021.

It was reported that consideration was being given to whether the Safer Communities Strategy Boards for Leicestershire and Rutland should merge. It was clarified that Rutland were interested in the merger as their Board was not well attended however no formal decision had been made. A further update would be provided at the next Leicestershire Board meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed changes to the Terms of Reference be approved, subject to the amendments in relation to the Probation Service also being made.

This report will be presented by Elaine Stevenson, CEO, Warning Zone.

The Board was due to receive a presentation from Elaine Stevenson, CEO of Warning Zone however Elaine Stevenson was unable to attend. It was agreed to defer the presentation to the next meeting.

RESOLVED:

That Warning Zone be requested to provide a presentation at the Board meeting on 17 March 2023 regarding their work.

This report will be presented by Charlotte Keedwell, Sentinel Coordinator,

Leicestershire County Council.

The Board considered a report of Charlotte Keedwell, Sentinel Coordinator, Leicestershire County Council regarding her role. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

Charlotte Keedwell was unable to attend the meeting to present the report therefore it was agreed that any questions would be forwarded to her to answer after the meeting and it was noted that she would be attending future meetings to provide further updates.

It was noted that the Sentinel Co-ordinator role had a 2 year contract, the first of which had been completed, and the contract was due to end in October 2023. Consideration would be given to whether the role should continue after October 2023 and a report would be brought to the Board in 2023 setting out the options.

RESOLVED:

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

(b)        That officers be requested to provide further updates regarding the Sentinel Coordinator role at future meetings of the Board.

This report will be presented by Supt Aimee Ramm, Leicestershire Police.

The Board considered a report of Superintendent Aimee Rahm, Leicestershire Police, which provided an update on the work of Leicestershire Police. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           On 28th April 2022 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) produced its findings from the latest PEEL (Police Effectiveness Efficiency and legitimacy) Inspections. Whilst the findings were generally good or outstanding, for the categories of ‘Investigating Crime’ and ‘Responding to the Public’ the force had been graded as ‘adequate’. It was important that the public had confidence that if they reported crimes they would receive a response and that crimes would be investigated. Members expressed an interest in learning more about what Leicestershire Police was doing to improve public confidence in the Police.

(ii)         It was noted that there had been some recent stabbings in rural areas of Leicestershire and questioned whether knife crime was becoming more prevalent in rural communities. Members also asked what more they could do to help tackle rural crime. Superintendent Rahm agreed to provide further information after the meeting in response to these queries. 

(iii)        The police officers within Leicestershire Police that were Strategic Leads for each crime category sometimes changed and it would be useful for partners to have an up-to-date list. It was agreed that the list would be circulated to members after the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the update regarding Leicestershire Police be noted.

A presentation will be given by Anita Chavda, Projects and Planning Officer Community Safety Team, Leicestershire County Council.

The Board received a presentation from Anita Chavda, Projects and Planning Officer Community Safety Team, Leicestershire County Council regarding an evaluation which had taken place of the implementation of the Prevent duty in Leicestershire. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 11’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the presentation the following points were noted:

(i)           This was the first year that such an evaluation had been carried out and it was intended that evaluations take place on an annual basis going forward.

(ii)         Overall Leicestershire had performed well in the assessment. It had been found that Prevent in Leicestershire met the statutory requirements of the duty in almost every area and in many areas exceeded them. However, one area where Leicestershire was meeting the duty but not exceeding the duty was training and therefore a training strategy needed to be developed. Consideration was being given to making training on Prevent mandatory for some local authority staff. Government guidance in relation to Prevent was awaited.

(iii)        With regards to community engagement it had been found that Leicestershire was not meeting its statutory responsibilities. Most of the Prevent referrals in Leicestershire came from either the Police or education providers. Very few referrals were coming directly from communities. Those Prevent referrals that were received came mostly from the Hinckley area where the District Lead for Prevent Edwina Grant was based therefore work needed to be carried out in the other districts to engage with communities more. Updates would be provided to the Board on this in due course.

(iv)       A Prevent networking event had taken place in Rutland recently and a further networking event was planned to take place in Leicestershire in 2023.

(v)         Some funding was available for non-priority areas such as Leicestershire and consideration needed to be given by partners regarding what to bid for.

(vi)       It was expected that local authorities would be given additional Prevent duties in the coming year but it was not expected that additional funding would come with these.

RESOLVED:

That the results of the evaluation of the implementation of the Prevent duty in Leicestershire be noted.

This 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, Leicestershire County Council, the purpose of which was to update the Board regarding Safer Communities Performance for Quarter 2 2022/23. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 12’, is filed with these minutes.

It was noted that the MARAC repeat referral rate had come down from a 12-month rolling figure of 51% at its peak in June Q1 2020/21 and stabilised at 36% for the last three quarters. It was questioned whether the Perpetrator Programme had positively impacted on these figures and in response it was explained that it was more likely to be a result of the changes in definition of what constituted a repeat referral.

There had been a rise in burglaries of business premises in the Charnwood area. It had been suggested that the reason for this was because County Lines drug dealing had been disrupted and therefore people were having to commit crimes to fund more expensive drug purchases. Officers were requested to find out whether this was indeed the case.

RESOLVED:

That the Safer Communities Performance for Quarter 2 2022/23 be noted.

It is proposed that meetings of the Board take place on the following dates all at 10.00am:

Friday 17 March 2023;

Friday 30 June 2023;

Friday 29 September 2023;

Friday 15 December 2023.

RESOLVED:

That meetings of the Board take place on the following dates all at 10.00am:

Friday 17 March 2023;

Friday 30 June 2023;

Friday 29 September 2023;

Friday 15 December 2023.