Agenda item

This report sets out the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s understanding and approach to tackling and supporting victims of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in Surrey.

Witnesses:

Alison Bolton - Chief Executive (OPCC)

Lisa Townsend - Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.    A Panel member referred to page 66 noting the report: Anti-Social Behaviour – Living a Nightmare, published in 2019 by the then Victim Commissioner, asking whether the twelve recommendations in that report were being followed up nationally and whether the PCC supported those.

-       In response, the Chief Executive (OPCC) noted that the OPCC was aware of that report and those twelve recommendations were for a multitude of different agencies to pursue.

-       The Chief Executive (OPCC) added that the OPCC had actively promoted the Community Trigger and reviewed its role in the process, a colleague sat on the Home Office Working Group where the Community Trigger and best practice was reviewed; the OPCC would provide a future update on the support of those recommendations and whether they were being taken forward nationally.

2.    Having raised the comment under the item on the draft Plan, the Panel member re-emphasised the importance of having an independent person at the Community Trigger meetings, many ASB and residential inquiries do involve police presence and the repetition of calls to 101 or 999 does not help the victim who must be given a fair chance to represent their concerns through the Community Trigger process; he highlighted an example of a family affected by ASB incidents. He asked how many Community Trigger meetings had taken place in Surrey, how many of those had the PCC attended and what were the outcomes.

-       In response the PCC noted the example provided by the Panel member, recognising the importance of a multi-agency approach including the involvement from borough and district councils around housing. She explained that the Community Trigger process was also the responsibility of the Community Safety Partnerships; Surrey did more on addressing ASB than other areas which would be highlighted in a national directive next year from the Home Office.

-       The PCC further noted that victims involved in the Community Trigger process were allowed a victim’s advocate and should complete an impact statement, the details of cases remained private and the process was victim focused; the statistics requested would be followed up.

3.    The Panel member referred to the eighth recommendation from the report on Anti-Social Behaviour – Living a Nightmare, whereby if the victim does not agree with the Community Trigger outcome the PCC can act as an arbitrator and the sentence on page 71 which states that nationally few OPCC’s carry out the role in the review process around victim dissatisfaction on when the threshold was met or the way the Community Trigger process was carried out. He highlighted the sentence on the OPCC’s monitoring of reviews across the county and was sceptical that the OPCC only received two escalation requests since 2014.

-        In response, the Chief Executive (OPCC) noted that she had no reason to dispute that number, noting that the Community Trigger process was not well known and many parts of Surrey handled the review process well so as a result the OPCC’s role as arbitrator had not been called upon more than twice.

4.    A Panel member welcomed the report as ASB was a concern to residents having been raised at a local Residents’ Association meeting and he highlighted a concern around overloading the work of a local Joint Enforcement Team (JET).

5.    The Panel member had raised the Community Trigger process to reach a resolution on a number of occasions to residents, many of whom were sceptical that it would work; he queried whether there were national statistics on whether the Community Trigger process was effective.

-       The PCC would look into the national statistics around the effectiveness of the Community Trigger process.

6.    The Chairman highlighted the chart on page 66 which showed the overall satisfaction of the Force and across the District and Boroughs over the past year, noting that Epsom and Ewell, Spelthorne, and Woking featured poorly, and he requested background information on the statistics.

7.    A Panel member asked which borough and district councils in Surrey had not signed up to the ASB Pledge as it would signal those local authorities actively involved and the Panel could contact those not signed up.

-       The PCC responded that she would look into which borough and district councils in Surrey had signed up to the ASB Pledge and would email the Panel.

8.    A Panel member referred back to the draft Plan around strengthening the relationships with communities, emphasising that the PCC should not feel as though she must pass judgement over local authorities nor for the OPCC to take sole responsibility; councillors should enable local accountability to be strengthened, noting that it was important for local councillors to have oversight of the Community Trigger process.

RESOLVED:

That the Panel noted the report.

Actions/further information to be provided:

1.    R42/21 - The OPCC will look to provide updates concerning queries raised around the Community Trigger process:

-       Whether the PCC supports the twelve recommendations within the report on Anti-Social Behaviour – Living a Nightmare and whether those recommendations are being followed up nationally.

-       How many Community Trigger meetings have taken place in Surrey, how many of those has the PCC attended and what were the outcomes.

-       Whether there are national statistics on whether the Community Trigger process is effective.

2.    R43/21 - The OPCC will look to provide background information on the statistics presented in the chart which showed the overall satisfaction of the Force and across the District and Boroughs over the past year.

3.    R44/21 - The PCC will look into which borough and district councils in Surrey had signed up to the ASB Pledge and will email the Panel accordingly.