Meeting documents

Contact Officer: Kay Aitken (01296) 585005

Members received a report providing information about current crime levels in Aylesbury Vale, a summary of activity on the delivery of the Aylesbury Community Safety Partnership (AVCSP) Plan in 2015/16 and an update on some of the recent and future changes taking place in connection with community safety.   Chief Inspector Neil Kentish was in attendance at the meeting.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 required Aylesbury Vale Community Safety Partnership to produce a three year partnership strategy and annual action plans to achieve the priorities set in the strategy.  The Committee noted that the current strategy (2014-2017) had two key priorities, which were;

(i)  Safe and secure town centres

(ii) To reduce ASB and crimes that are of most concern to the public and to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.

Several project had taken place in 2015/16, including supporting the Thames Valley Police campaign #consentiseverything, which likens consent to a cup of tea, Chelsea’s Choice, a play about how a young girl becomes the victim of child sexual exploitation (CSE), and R U Safe, which would follow the play to give practical advice to young people with concerns about themselves or friends.  In addition to this, Aylesbury town centre had applied to renew its Purple Flag status relating to its night time economy, which it had held since 2010.  A waste amnesty project had also been carried out alongside the Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust, which aimed to raise awareness about fly tipping and contaminated waste.  Councillors were advised that there were several upcoming projects, including the annual wintertime burglary campaign, which would run through to January 2016.  The Community Safety Partnership would also be launching the Barnardo’s ‘Say Something’ campaign, which aims to raise the awareness of local businesses about how to spot risk factors associated with CSE and what to do if they suspect CSE related activity.  The Community Safety Partnership would also be working with housing providers to raise awareness of partners about e-safety by arranging some session for tenants.

The Committee were advised that the new community safety action plan for 2016/17 was being drafted and would be in place by 1 April 2016.  A strategic assessment (2014-15) identified that the points of the strategy currently in place were still valid.  It was noted that violent crime accounted for 20% of all reported crime in Aylesbury Vale, which was an increase of 6% on the previous year.  Sexual offences rose by 36% compared with the previous year.  5% of all crime in Aylesbury Vale took place in Aylesbury town centre.  24% of the crime in the town centre was violence related and primarily occurred at the weekends between 1 and 4am.  Emerging areas of crime included Child Sexual Exploitation, Female Genital Mutilation and other forms of exploitation such as slavery.  Work was being undertaken to help the partnership understand the scale of these crimes in Aylesbury Vale.

Crime figures had been falling annually in the Vale for the last few years however it was noted that the number of crimes recorded had increased 2015/16.  This had been expected, as the way in which crimes were recorded had changed.  There had been an increase in violent offenses, but it was noted that this rise was particularly caused by incidents at Aylesbury Youth Offenders Institute and the Whiteleaf Centre.  There was an increase in thefts from motor vehicle comparing the year to date with the previous year.  However, since one offender was caught, incidents had decreased and it was possible that there would be no overall rise in incidents for the year as a whole.  There was also a rise in reporting of serious sexual assault.  It was noted that there was still an increase in reporting of historic crimes.

Councillors stated that in villages where there was little crime, PCSOs were not attending Parish meeting.  It was noted that the fear of crime in villages was higher than the risk of crime, and that the vast majority of incidents occurred in Aylesbury and it was necessary to ensure that Officers were stationed in areas where crime occurred. Thames Valley Police remained committed to Neighbourhood Policing, and there were no plans to decrease the number of Police in villages.

A community trigger had been received following anti-social behaviour stemming from a residential home for young people in Fairford Leys, which had led to a review.  It was noted that since the conclusion of the review, there were still reports of anti-social behaviour, and it was asked when another community trigger could be launched.  It was noted that a lot of the anti-social behaviour was noise related, and that the police had not received a report of anti-social behaviour since October 2015.  It was stated that the use of a Closure Order was not suitable for this case, and that it was important that the noise issues were dealt with.  It was asked that residents address complaints to Benjamin UK and also send them to the Community Safety Team at the Council.  Meetings were still ongoing with Benjamin UK, and it was noted that a letter had been sent from Environmental Health regarding the noise complaints.

Mediation had been offered to residents as an outcome of the review, and Benjamin UK had offered to be involved in the mediation sessions.  Work was also ongoing with county placements to ensure that Buckinghamshire County Council was matching children correctly.  It was noted that the residential homes also housed children from outside of Buckinghamshire.

CCTV made a positive contribution to Aylesbury town centre, and it was noted that there was a lot of interaction between the CCTV personnel and Police Officers on duty.  A review was being undertaken, and there was a possibility that the CCTV control room may be relocated to Milton Keynes.  This review was being undertaken as a result of budget pressures, and was looking to see whether there were more efficient ways of working.  Interaction with Police would still be possible if the monitoring of the CCTV moved location.  Street Angels, Pub watch and Shop watch were also in touch with the monitoring team regularly.

Members were informed that there were three Neighbourhood Action Groups in operation across the Aylesbury Vale.  It was noted that, while the Buckingham Neighbourhood Action Group was well attended and was affective, neither the Wing nor the Aylesbury West Neighbourhood Action Group were well attended and were therefore not very effective.  Councillors and members of the public were welcome to attend the meetings of the groups.

It was stated that the PCSOs in the Vale did a good job.  A coffee morning was held in Fairford Leys at the Community Centre, but it may be more beneficial if it were held at the weekend occasionally.  It was important to keep a PCSO presence in rural areas.  It was noted that there was also good contact with the Neighbourhood Watch.

The Environment and Living Scrutiny Committee extended their thanks to Chief Inspector Neil Kentish for attending the meeting, and

RESOLVED

That the Community Safety Partnership Update 2015 be noted.