Agenda and minutes

Introductions were made and the list of apologies was noted.

RESOLVED:

It was proposed, seconded, and AGREED that Mrs. D. Taylor CC be elected Chairman of the Board for 2023/24.

Mrs. D. Taylor CC in the Chair

It was proposed, seconded, and AGREED that Mr. N. Bannister CC be elected Deputy Chairman of the Board for 2023/24.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2023 were taken as read and confirmed as a correct record.

With regards to minute no. 36: ‘HMP Fosse Way update’, it was noted that the prison had now officially opened.

The Board considered the LSCSB Action Log, a copy of which, marked ‘Agenda Item 6’, is filed with these minutes.

It was agreed that Action no. 1: Leicestershire Police to provide a report to a future meeting of the Board regarding lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, was no longer required and should be removed from the Action Log.

With regards to Action no. 5: CSP Chairs visit to Warning Zone, it was noted that the visit had gone well and the main themes arising from the visit were that Warning Zone required more funding and volunteers.

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.

Carly Turner, Youth and Justice Service Manager, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of the Community Safety Co-ordinator, Leicestershire County Council, which provided an update regarding Safer Communities performance for 2022/23 -Quarter 4. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

It was noted that there had been some recent incidents where children had got into difficulties swimming in open water and messages needed to be disseminated warning of the dangers. Social media could be used. People needed to be encouraged to go to managed sites such as the one at Rutland Water that had lifeguards. It was also noted that Warning Zone had a section on water safety.

It was also noted that there had been several incidents of damage being caused to life saving equipment that was located near open water.

RESOLVED:

That the 2022/23 Quarter 4 performance information be noted.

Ben Bee, Area Manager, Community Risk, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) which provided an update on the work of the Service in relation to community safety. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

It was noted that many First Time Entrants to the Criminal Justice system had been involved in driving offences such as Driving Without a Licence. The overall numbers were not large. These people were dealt with by the Adult Courts so that if they did gain a Licence in future they would have points added to it. Partnership working was taking place between LFRS and the County Council to tackle this issue and promote initiatives such as the Fatal Four safer driving programme. Other diversionary initiatives needed to be considered as well.

RESOLVED:

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

(b)        That the Board supports the protection and prevention activities being undertaken by Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service.

Bob Bearne, Head of Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Probation Delivery Unit will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Bob Bearne, Head of Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Probation Delivery Unit (LLR PDU), which provided an update on developments with the Probation Service locally. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           LLR PDU had been subject to an HMIP Inspection in November/December 2022 and as a result of the Inspection report an Action Plan had been put together. Some of the actions on the Plan had already been completed. It was agreed that the Action Plan would be circulated to Board members after the meeting.

(ii)         The new prison HMP Fosse Way in Glen Parva had a large team of Probation Officers within it. Whilst this was a positive, it did have an impact on Probation recruitment elsewhere in Leicestershire and Rutland as the recruitment for both was likely to come from the same catchment area. Reassurance was given that despite the recruitment issues in Probation, the required monitoring of offenders was being carried out and high risk cases were being prioritised. There was currently a lot of inexperienced Probation Service staff however in the next 12 months large numbers were due to qualify as Probation Officers.

(iii)        The Probation Service did not have the resources to send a representative to every partnership meeting but some meetings would be prioritised. In response to a request for a Probation representative to attend meetings of the Blaby and Hinckley Joint Community Safety Partnership it was agreed that consideration would be given to this after the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

Joshna Mavji, Public Health Consultant, Leicestershire County Council, will present this report.

The Board considered a report of Public Health, Leicestershire County Council, which provided an update on the range of services that the public health department commissioned and provided that aligned with the Board’s priorities. The report was presented by Jo Hewitt, Strategic Lead, Public Health. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 11’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           Public Health had commissioned a 2-year pilot Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Early Intervention Service. The service provided by RISE Mutual commenced in January 2023 and RISE Mutual were keen to promote the service and the support of Board members would be welcomed in this regard. In response to a question from the Chair as to how many people had used the service so far it was agreed that the information would be provided after the meeting.

(ii)         In response to a question as to whether data regarding Domestic Abuse referrals could be reported to the Board it was explained that the information was held by different partners including Public Health, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Leicester City Council, and work was currently taking place to collate the data and it was intended that it would form part of performance reporting to the Board in the future.

(iii)        The Public Health department was currently procuring a whole family relationship service to address the issue of parental conflict and improve the lives of children and young people experiencing this. The service would be provided through the Teen Health 11-19 service and would commence in the next year.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

Detective Sergeant Chris Perry, Leicestershire Police, will give a presentation.

The Board received a presentation from Detective Sergeant Chris Perry, Leicestershire Police, regarding Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Organised Immigration Crime. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 12’, is filed with these minutes.

Board members raised concerns about the low number of convictions relating to Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Organised Immigration Crime. There had only been 15 convictions in the previous 4 years. In response it was explained that the legislation (Modern Slavery Act 2015) was relatively recent and the Police and the judiciary were only now gaining a better understanding of how to tackle these offences and collect evidence. Victims were often reluctant to take part in video recorded interviews and therefore other forms of evidence had to be found.  Some reassurance was given that even if there was not a conviction, the victim would be safeguarded and given opportunities for improving their lives.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the presentation be noted.

Ian Stubbs, Prevent Local Delivery and Communities Regional Advisor – East Midlands will give a presentation.

The Board received a presentation from Ian Stubbs, Prevent Local Delivery and Communities Regional Advisor – East Midlands, regarding the results of benchmarking which had taken place with regards to how the Prevent Duty was being met in Leicestershire. A copy of the presentation slides, marked ‘Agenda Item 13’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the presentation the following points were noted:

(i)           Both the County and District/Borough Councils in Leicestershire needed to improve their venue hire policy to be compliant with the statutory duty and ensure that council owned premises were not being used by radicalising influencers. It was emphasised that leasing arrangements also needed to be reviewed as the prevent duty applied to all council owned and not just council run properties. A Task and Finish Group was looking at the venue hire policies and leasing contracts being used in Leicestershire and would be making recommendations for improvement. Good practice around venue hire would be shared with Prevent leads at District/Borough Councils and guidance would be disseminated including a checklist. The training regarding Prevent was also being reviewed and refreshed.

(ii)         The benchmarking took place every year in April and it was aimed that improvements with regards to how the Prevent Duty was being met in Leicestershire would be made before the next round of benchmarking.

(iii)        Links had been made between Prevent and other partners such as the NHS. The Prevent Local Delivery and Communities Regional Advisor attended Regional Safeguarding Board meetings. Though there was always further work and integration that could take place.

(iv)       It was suggested that an event could take place to raise awareness of the Prevent Duty amongst County, District and Parish Councillors. County Hall, Glenfield was proposed as a possible venue for the event.

RESOLVED:

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

(b)        That officers be requested to give consideration to holding an awareness raising event for elected members regarding the Prevent Duty.

Anita Chavda, Projects and Planning Officer, Community Safety Team, Leicestershire County Council will provide a verbal update.

The Board received a presentation from Anita Chavda, Projects and Planning Officer, Community Safety Team, Leicestershire County Council, regarding the LLR Hate Strategy Statement 2023-26 and Delivery Plan. Copies of the Strategy Statement and Delivery Plan are filed with these minutes.

It was noted that the Probation Service was not listed as a member of the LLR Strategic Hate Crime Group and requested that they be invited. It was agreed that Bob Bearne, Head of Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Probation Delivery Unit, would be invited to future meetings.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the presentation be noted.

Future meetings of the Board are scheduled to take place on the following dates all at 10.00am:

Friday 29 September 2023;

Friday 15 December 2023;

Friday 22 March 2024;

Friday 28 June 2024;

Friday 27 September 2024;

Friday 13 December 2024.

RESOLVED:

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

Friday 29 September 2023;

Friday 15 December 2023;

Friday 22 March 2024;

Friday 28 June 2024;

Friday 27 September 2024;

Friday 13 December 2024.