Agenda item

Purpose of the report: The Police and Justice Act 2006 requires local authorities to undertake annual scrutiny of Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs).  Subsequent guidance suggests, but does not mandate that in two tier authority areas district/borough and county councils should work together to develop a collaborative approach to the scrutiny of community safety issues.

In Surrey, district and borough councils fulfil the duty to scrutinise local community safety partnership plans.  The County Council’s Resident Experience Board will therefore scrutinise the work of the overarching strategic Community Safety Board (CSB).

This paper sets out the current responsibilities of the County Community Safety Board and informs the Committee of current county-wide priorities and activity that has taken place to address them during 2015/16.

Declarations of Interest:

None

Witnesses:

Joanna Grimshaw, Anti Social Behaviour Manager, Surrey Police

Chief Inspector Nolan Heather, Surrey Police

Jane Last, Head of Community Partnerships & Safety

Gordon Falconer, Community Safety Manager

Louise Gibbins, Community Safety Officer

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. An Officer introduced the report by outlining that as a two tier authority, Surrey has the Community Safety Board (CSB) and a network of Community Safety Partnerships (CSP). The CSPs operate at Borough and District level and their work has an emphasis on local issues. On the other hand the CSB oversees the strategic elements of Community Safety. Membership of the CSB is wide and includes District and Borough representation, allowing the link between the local level and strategic level to integrate.
   
   
2. The Board was advised that annually the CSB sets its county wide community safety priorities which implements action on the ground at District and Borough level, managed by a coordinating group who have a strategy and action plan to deliver their priority. Mental health was identified as one of the key issues arising from these priorities and notable work was undertaken to deliver the action plan during the past year.
   
   
3. An Officer informed the Board of the ongoing work in implementing the new legislation within the Anti Social Behaviour Crime & Policing Act 2014, delivering a framework from the strategic level to the CSPs. Case studies provided in the report [Item 8] showed the work being carried out had made a difference for Surrey residents.

4. The Chairman invited witnesses and wanted to explore how the police service deals with issues mentioned above on the front line. The Anti Social Behavioural Manager from Surrey Police explained how the CSB allows work to be escalated on the operational side, giving opportunities that were not available before, allowing work to be carried out with a smarter approach. There were concerns around the absence of professionals in multi agency meetings and that this area would need improvement so there is no disconnect.

5. The Community Safety Officer referred to the new legislation, Anti Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act, and assured the Board it gave the service the opportunity to deal with Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) in a more modern, efficient and appropriate way. The Officer highlighted that there were plans to get the victims voice in the agenda, as Officers recognised that it was not being identified at most levels, especially at low level incidents which still had huge impacts.

6. The Chief Inspector shared the concerns and emphasised front line services were more focused on the offenders than the victims. They suggested that the work of the CSB around this strategic priority of ASB will help Surrey Police to adapt to provide better support for victims, the people who are suffering whilst placing more accountability on those who are the cause.

7. The Cabinet Associate for Community Safety Services agreed with the witnesses, that there was room for improvement in supporting victims of ASB. In terms of collaboration, the Cabinet Associate was confident the relationship between the CSPs and CSB had improved. The concern around attendance was recognised at all levels, which the Board could perhaps influence to encourage a better attendance level.
   
   
8. There was a discussion around new legislation increasing the responsibility of Community Safety. The Officer reported that whilst modern slavery, terrorism and serious organised crime were all contributors to this increasing demand; meetings were lined up for to discuss how to: respond to these issues as a partnership; share intelligence, and working out the necessary processes to tackle the problems.
   
   
9. One Member queried that, to help raise awareness of the work of the CSB, could some work be done to quantify the benefit of the resources allocated, so that residents can understand the significant return and benefit to this work.  An Officer reported that there was data available such as crime statistics and customer satisfaction data, as well as local and police intelligence. The Board were assured that Surrey was a low crime County, one of the safest in the Country, and work was being done to maintain and continue that record.
   
   
10. The Chief Inspector advised the Board that work was being done by the Police and Crime Commissioner to make Surrey a safe county and also highlighted significant change in the policing neighbourhood model. The new model would allow Police Officers to be more focused at District & Borough level, which would help identify trends and patterns in the area being monitored by them. This new model promotes the increase of local knowledge and would give police officers a sense of ownership and responsibility in making their area a safer place.
    
    
11. The Cabinet Associate for Community Safety Services raised a concern about young people and how they’ve become more street wise, acknowledging that Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) do not have powers of arrest as an attested constable. The Board were informed that discussions were in progress with the Chief Constable with a view for developing PCSO powers at low level incidents to help improve this issue.

12. A Member touched upon the problem regarding attendance and suggested to the Board that representation at each level should be insisted upon or where absence is identified, a substitute should be present. This would promote a more productive meeting, as one absence from one area weakens the meeting. It was also pointed out that it was a statutory duty of the partners to promote attendance. The Officer indicated it was difficult to engage with the Housing Association because there are thousands across the country. Officers have been working on setting up a forum which includes 350 members, the majority of whom are housing officers.
    
    
13. There was a discussion around PCSO powers and whether all the available powers were being implemented for PCSOs in Surrey. The Chief Inspector assured the Board PCSO powers had changed and that PCSOs received comprehensive training and development, which was built up across a long period with experienced officers. As a result, PCSOs were delivering key pieces of work for the Police. The Board learnt that PCSOs also have the power to disperse, to detain and to issue penalties. The Officer was happy to provide a list of the powers available to PCSO’s in Surrey to the Board at a later date.
    
    
14. One Member sought more clarity around child sex exploitation (CSE) as it was a new area of responsibility for the CSB. Officers pointed out that CSE always existed but had been brought into the public domain due to recent high profile cases. It was explained to the Board, at a partnership level, the work involved making links between the children’s services and safeguarding children’s board and sharing intelligence at a local level.
    
    
15. The Chairman enquired whether Members who were not involved in CSPs were familiar with the work carried out for community safety. Members showed little awareness so the Chairman suggested perhaps the CSB could encourage CSPs to better promote their work to Members, so that they receive a better understanding of what was going on in their area. The Cabinet Associate suggested a newsletter approach for the Board to consider.
    
    
16. One Member brought forward a suggestion that the Board recommend that Local and Joint Committees, invite neighbourhood inspectors to local committee meetings, to give a presentation on the new policing model mentioned previously.

Recommendations:

a)    The Board requests for a list of Surrey PCSO powers to be circulated to all Members.

b)    The Board requests for the Community Safety Board to encourage Community Safety Partnerships to better promote their work to Local and County Members.

c)    For Local/Joint Committees to invite local Police and Community Safety Partnership Officers to present on new policing models and local community safety partnership plans in Surrey.