Agenda item

To consider the report of the East North East Locality Safety Partnership which provides an overview of the performance of the ENE Locality Safety Partnership for the period 1^st April 2016 to 13^th November 2016

The East North East Locality Safety Partnership submitted a report which provided an overview of the performance of the Partnership during the period between 1st April 2016 and 13th November 2016, including schedules showing a breakdown of the recorded offences by ward in the Inner East CC area.

The report was presented as the basis for discussions on Community Safety with representatives of the local community, partners, stakeholders and West Yorkshire Police (WYP) in an informal workshop setting.

Chief Inspector Croft and Sgt. J McNiff of WYP attended the meeting to present the report and briefly outlined the following issues:

-  600 new officers were being trained across West Yorkshire and funding had been secured to train a further 600 recruits. Resources in the Inner East locality had been stretched, but it was anticipated that the new recruits would be in post within 12 months and be able to respond to the issues already raised at this meeting, including road policing

-  Direct contact with the Inner East WYP team can be made through the WYP website, reserving 101 and 999 telephone line for crime reporting

In response to comments and queries from Committee and local residents, WYP discussed the following issues:

-  Patterns of crime and anti-social behaviour in the Inner East locality.

-  An increase in various types of crime was reported in the statistics for the locality; however the change to the way crimes were reported was noted along with the comment that local confidence in WYP had encouraged residents to report incidents. Additionally, the reporting period in the report included Bonfire Night – this period traditionally saw an increase in incidents.

-  The comment made regarding accuracy of information available and the impact this had on local residents’ confidence in WYP and the importance of communication between front line staff and senior management

-  The work undertaken with residents following a burglary and the need to emphasise the importance of keeping windows and doors closed and locked as a preventative measure

-  The importance of incident reporting in order to establish evidence to support a conviction

-  The availability and use of CCTV footage to assist in the detection of crime and perpetrators of crime

-  The availability of PCSO’s and police presence to reach those members of the community without internet access

-  A comment regarding peoples’ experience and perception of the police force, particularly amongst younger members of the many different communities living in the Inner East area was discussed. The need to develop relationships so that residents appreciate what the police force is there for was identified along with consideration of how the police could avoid young people feeling criminalised.

-  Perception of anti-social behaviour and the way it is reported and recorded, bearing in mind that young people do socialise in groups.

Neil Bowden, Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team reported on the joint working undertaken between the 14 LASBT officers and WYP which had proved particularly successful in the Seacroft area. In respect of reported incidents, he believed this was due to the increased confidence in the reporting system.

Pam Parker, Local Housing Officer, also provided information on the close working relationships developed by the Housing Office with WYP, the Environmental Action Service and Leeds ASB Team. Information provided by residents was key to collecting evidence, and support was available to residents who reported incidents. In particular, she provided information on measures to tackle issues in private tenancies

Further discussions concentrated on tacking unacceptable and anti-social behaviour in both private and social tenancies and a request was made for information to be made available to Members on the measures available and which organisation was responsible for taking action. It was reported that the Neighbourhood Improvement Board, in recognition of the scale of this issue, would explore the issue at its next meeting and it may be appropriate for the subsequent tasks to remain with the Board.

In conclusion, the Chair acknowledged the ongoing work and success of WYP in the area and thanked Chief Inspector Croft and Sgt. McNiff for their presentation.

RESOLVED –

a)  To note the contents of the report and the discussions at the meeting.

b)  To note that the comments made during the workshop would be collated and inform future discussions between ENE Area Management, West Yorkshire Police and the Community Committee Champion for Community Safety.

c)  To continue to support the Locality Community Safety Partnership in relation to continuing to deliver against the priorities set out by Safer Leeds for 2016/17.