Agenda item

That the Community Safety Partnership Annual Report be supported.

The Community and Business Protection Manager introduced the annual report which provided an overview of activities of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) over the past 12 months and reflected on regional work.

The Committee was introduced to Chief Inspector Jon Bowcott of North Wales Police; Ben Carter of the North Wales Substance Misuse Area Planning Board; Rhiannon Edwards, the Regional Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Advisor; and Richard Powell, Trading Standards Team Leader.

A detailed joint presentation covered the following areas:

·         Context

·         Community Safety Delivery Groups

·         Achievements

·         Performance

·         Interaction with the Safer Communities Board

·         Local priorities for 2018/19

Explanation was given on the statutory requirements of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and changes in governance arrangements which had led to a leaner structure.  Amongst the achievements were waiting times for substance misuse services where Flintshire was performing well.  On interaction with the North Wales Safer Communities Board, it was recognised that some issues were better addressed at regional level.  Details of the four local priorities for 2018/19 were set out in the report along with specific actions and their impact:

·         Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence

·         Organised Crime Groups

·         Modern Day Slavery

·         Child Criminal Exploitation

Whilst an increase in victim-based crime was reported for 2017/18, Flintshire had experienced the smallest rise in North Wales.  Chief Inspector Bowcott explained that a national decrease in anti-social behaviour was due to changes in the way that crime was recorded.

In response to comments from Councillor McGuill, Chief Inspector Bowcott explained that it was not always possible to give feedback to members of the public reporting suspicious behaviour.  He gave assurance that all intelligence was followed up but that details of sources were removed to protect those individuals.  Due to the high volume of calls received, other methods of reporting non-urgent intelligence were being promoted such as LiveChat or email, or through contact with Police Community Support Officers who may be able to provide feedback to residents.

To help manage the volume of calls to the 101 number, Councillor Woolley suggested that an automated message be triggered after five minutes to refer callers to alternative means of contact.  Chief Inspector Bowcott agreed to feedback this suggestion.  He went on to talk about implementation of the new telephone call system which would be developed over time to reduce call waiting times.

Councillor Johnson asked that his thanks be extended to Gerwyn Davies (Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator) for working with local Members and communities on ward issues.  In response to a question on the way in which all forms of anti-social behaviour crime was recorded together, the Chief Inspector gave an example of the complexities in crime recording and said there was a shift in statistics showing a reduction in reported anti-social behaviour and increase in crime.  He said that if there was a particular issue on which the Council required statistics, this could be extracted from the system.

Councillor Heesom asked about links with the Youth Justice Board and opportunities for young females to contribute to some of the local priorities.  The Community and Business Protection Manager explained that the Youth Justice Manager was a member of the ‘People Are Safe’ Board and that some regional work was underway to develop a more consistent approach to link with the Youth Justice Service.  The Chief Executive said that Flintshire’s performance on local and regional priorities was strong and that there were good partnerships between the Youth Justice Service and colleagues in Children’s Services.  The Regional Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Advisor spoke about engagement with young people to equip them with the tools to help them understand about developing positive relationships and partnership work on Adverse Childhood Experiences to increase awareness amongst teachers, Social Services, etc.

Following comments about liaison with town and community councils, the Chief Inspector agreed to re-introduce quarterly consultations with representatives to provide an opportunity to discuss local issues.

Officers noted the request by Councillor Jones for more clarity on the use of acronyms in the next annual report.  He remarked on the list of achievements and felt it would be more useful to show the impact of actions on performance.  As one of the key achievements, the Chief Executive referred to the Early Help Hub which was regarded as exemplary practice in Wales.

The Chairman thanked the representatives for their attendance.

RESOLVED:

That the Community Safety Partnership Annual Report be supported.