Agenda item

To receive an update from Chief Inspector Gillian Cox, Hampshire Police, and David Lipscombe, Community Safety Manager, on current issues across the borough, and to address the matters raised in the Notice of Motion (copy attached) to Council in April 2023, which was referred to the Committee for consideration.

The Portfolio Holder for Operations has been invited to the meeting for this item.

The Committee welcomed District Commander Gillian Cox, Hampshire Police and David Lipscombe, Community Safety Manager, who were in attendance to update on current issues across the Borough, and to address the matters in the Notice of Motion on Youth Crime Prevention raised at the Council meeting in April, 2023, which had been referred to the Committee for consideration.

The Committee received a presentation which covered, roles and responsibilities of the Community Safety Team, data on the local police establishment and details of their roles, the Community Safety Partnership and its strategic assessment and partnership plan and current priorities for both the Community Safety Team and the Police, including data on crime types related to young people.

Since Hampshire County Council (HCC) had removed funding for youth provision, it was advised that some organisation had continued to operate, however no provision had continued in Rushmoor. The Community Safety Partnership offered some initiatives including Safer Streets, Think Safe, Choices and Fighting Chance. It was also noted that the Council offered some provision for young people including, Prospect Youth Club (Farnborough), Rushmoor Youth Influence and a Youth Café, currently being developed in Aldershot, through the Community and Partnerships Team.

The Committee discussed the presentation and raised a number of comments and queries, including:

·         Police Community Support Offices (PCSO) – It was noted that changes were anticipated for the role of the PCSO going forward. It was advised that there was currently live recruitment for PCSOs, however potential applicants were opting to apply to be Police Constables (PC) instead, and existing PCSOs and call handlers were moving on to become PCs, resulting in a high turnover of staff. The Committee noted that the issue was currently being looked into.

·         Reporting – following concerns raised by residents to Members relating to reporting crime, not being able to get through on 101, and the general feeling that some crimes weren’t followed up on by police, it was noted that the police would always encourage reporting to help build a picture of patterns and trends. Reporting through the online portal allowed for engagement with those reporting. It was felt that better communication with the community, in particular on positive outcomes, was something that should be developed further.

·         CCTV – The Committee requested data on the impact of the move to Runnymede of the CCTV operation.

·         Area Cars - it was noted that the proposal was for one area car per team (one based in Rushmoor and one in Hart).

·         New Named Beat Officers – these officers would be deployed in certain areas as a single point of contact for residents. It was note that the areas were yet to be determined but Members would be updated once these were confirmed. The appointment of named beat officers would assist with beat surgeries held in local wards in conjunction with ward Councillors, promoting engagement with residents.

·         Call Handling time data  - A request was made for data on call handling and it was advise that the SLA for 999 and 101 calls would be shared with the Committee.

·         Choices – It was noted that the Choices initiative ran by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) had had an impact in the schools that had engaged, however the uptake was advised to be low in Rushmoor, and Members were asked to encourage their local schools with Year 6 and 7 cohorts to consider running the initiative with their pupils. The details would be circulated.

·         Aldershot Park – following an incident in Aldershot Park, earlier in the year, when the ward had been identified as “an area of concern”, updated information would be shared with Members which detailed “areas of concern” to the VRU.

·         Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) – it was suggested that ASB figures seemed comparatively high for the area that Rushmoor covered. It was noted that a comparison would be made on the previous year’s figures and a report made to the Committee. The Committee were advised that the current Strategic Assessment gave more information on ASB and crime data generally, including comparisons with previous years.

·         Traveler Community – during a discussion regarding land occupied at times by the traveler community, it was noted that legislation sometimes prevented the police from taking any action to remove camps and the ultimate responsibility lay with the land owner.

·         Community Safety Survey – it was advise that over 700 people had responded to the survey, which had been the first of its kind. Respondents’ age would be looked at going forward and consideration would be given to targeting the younger population, through engagement with schools and colleges.

ACTIONS:

The Chairman thanked District Commander Cox and Mr. Lipscombe for their reports and contribution to the meeting.