Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Locality Partnerships providing an overall update on the work that the Communities Team is engaged in, based on priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provides opportunities to request further information on a particular issue.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships brought Member’s attention to an update of the work in which the Communities Team was engaged in based on priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provided opportunities for further questioning or to request a more detailed report on a particular issue.

The Localities Officer presented the report, and the following was outlined and agreed:

• For the Sub-Group nominations, Cllr W Dixon was to replace previous Cllr P Truswell on the Environmental & Community Safety Sub-Group; all other appointments were to remain the same. All Committee Members were encouraged to attend the three Sub-Groups with invites to be extended to all Members.
• An updated figure was provided for point 11 on page 18 of the agenda pack to reflect that four people had secured a position via the community employment event and further events were planned to follow.
• The CCTV update was available at page 26 of the agenda pack, Public Health update at pages 27-32, Community Engagement information at pages 33-35 and the Social Media update at Appendix 1.

Inspector Mark Gamlyn and Sargeant Daniel Wilson, West Yorkshire Police (WYP) Officers, attended the meeting and provided the Committee with an update, outlining the following information:

• Inspector Mark Gamlyn was the new Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) Inspector for Leeds south and had been in post for 3 months, he was new to neighbourhood policing policy and apologised for having not met with all Members prior to the meeting due to public orders work that he had been allocated to for a 5-day test cricket match at Headingley Stadium.

• Background context for crime statistics was outlined and the data from June 2023 had been provided to Members as part of ‘Supplementary Information - Agenda Item 8 Update Report & Agenda Item 9 Finance Report’

• Positive data was noted as a 40% reduction in motor vehicle deaths, no vehicle thefts for Middleton Park, vehicle theft had decreased in Beeston and Holbeck and burglary and incidents of hate statistics for the Inner South had fallen by nearly 50%. Robberies had largely remained the same to previous data.
• Leeds as a whole had seen an increase in overall reporting of crime with the previous average of 150 live calls within Leeds at a given time up to 400.
• The emergency response team were dealing with incidents constantly, with these incidents being the priority for WYP and Police Constables (PC) were more frequently sent to deal with the increased volume of reported crimes, as opposed to emergency response officers.
• Further consideration as to why the increased reporting of crime in South Leeds was not proportionate to the data showing decreased crime statistics was needed, with further data needed to track trends.
• Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) was a priority for the area with the ‘Day of Action’ initiative noted to have been a success. ASB was difficult for Police with the increased number of quad bikes and off-road bikes and the varying level of nuisance to serious crime they caused. Although not a criticism of those reporting crime, it was noted, more information regarding what quantified a criminal offence and what can be reported to the Council’s responsible authorities was required, such as noise complaints to the Environmental Protection Team.
• Between 20 and 30 vehicles had been seized over the previous few weeks, with investigations ongoing to determine how many of the vehicles were illegal and stemmed from the same riders or drivers. Traffic Polices will be utilised where appropriate.
• Trap houses and their associated ASB and criminal organisation were an ongoing problem for the area. Images had circulated on social media of 2 individuals being arrested and charged in the area, which although positive, the infrastructure of the criminal organisations will likely replace the 2 drug dealers and trap houses should be understood through levels of production, supply and dealing.
• Policing trap houses required many WYP departments to wait, detect and take out the entirety of a drug dealing operation and faith in the end goal of this Police work by the public was stressed. Evidence was required to obtain warrants and closure orders, with cuckooing (where people take over a, often vulnerable person's home and use the property to facilitate exploitation) noted to be harder to address. Multiple access warrants were effective in accessing multiple, often linked, suspected trap houses.
• The ‘Day of Action’ was noted to be the best use of recourses and partnership between WYP departments the Council to address common crimes within the locality, especially given the effect of budget constraints.

In response to questions from Members, the following points were discussed:

• Inspector Mark Gamlyn had been called for the public order work at Headingley Stadium due to the specific requirements of the operation as a Bronze Level Commander and issues had been raised by the England and Wales Cricket Board for this event. This required him to be outside of his role as NPT for South Leeds for 5 days, including rest days.
• Community intelligence and the trust required in the Police by the public was stressed as integral to Police perception and results. Frustrations from the public regarding not receiving feedback on their reports was understood, however, all information will be processed, and utilised and regular updates were normally only provided for victims of crime.
• Although crimes can be reported online anonymously, providing a name, address and phone number can assist with logging complaints and receiving updates and also in identifying false or spam reports. It was noted, Ward Members can communicate to their constituents, what, how and where is it best to report a crime.
• Reassurance was given that WYP take all reports and evidence into consideration, particularly finding dash cam footage to be of use.
• As evidence is required for a conviction, crime can occur locally, and it can feel like nothing it being done by the local community. It was noted that if more people report the same crime further investigation will be conducted. Visible Police patrols made a good crime deterrent but had been limited due to recourse constraint.
• A request was made for crime prevention advice, to not leave valuables on view in cars, to be displayed around the Victoria Riverside area in the Hunslet and Riverside ward where there had been cars broken into. WYP Officers noted these types of crimes co-inside and fluctuated with the arrest and release of prolific thieves and the ring doorbell systems had been useful in providing evidence to convict such people.

The Committee extended thanks to the WYP Officers for their attendance and the meeting and their continued hard work despite increased service demand and budget constraints.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report, along with Members comments, be noted.