Meeting documents

The Cabinet Member and Community Safety Manager will update the Committee on the progress of developing the Safer Bucks Plan for 2016/17.  This is an opportunity for Members to feedback on the suggested areas of priority for the Community Safety Team for the coming year.

Contributors

Mr Martin Phillips, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health

Mrs Cath Marriott, Community Safety Manager, CHASC

The Chairman welcomed Mr Martin Phillips, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health and Mrs Cath Marriott, Community Safety Manager, Communities, Health and Adult Social Care (CHASC) to the meeting.

The Community Safety Manager advised the Committee that the Safer & Stronger Bucks Partnership Board have a duty to produce the annual Safer Bucks Plan, and the public and partners, such as Thames Valley Police and Probation are consulted on the draft.  Before the draft Plan can be produced, priorities have to be identified for the coming year, so currently evidence and emerging issues were being considered, with a view to the priorities for 2016-17 being agreed by the Safer & Stronger Bucks Partnership Board (SSBPB) at the end of November.

The Committee were asked for their feedback on the list of issues and how they had been ranked using a common approach (currently adopted by Thames Valley Police) of assessing Harm, Opportunity and Threat (HOT), which were included in their agenda pack.  During the discussion the following points were noted:

·         Members noted that rural crime was not mentioned despite it being a priority of the Police and Crime Commissioner.  It was noted that rural crime did not rank high in terms of prevalence per 1000 population or actual volume and the Cabinet Member commented that he was aware that two or three years ago famers were concerned about static metal equipment being stolen, but more recently their priority was slow response times from Police.  It was agreed that rural crime should be added to the list for consideration.

·         It was noted that Wycombe District Council hold a rural forum twice a year and a Member suggested that it might be useful for the Community Safety Officer to attend the March 2016 meeting to get feedback from farmers.

·         A Member asked about outcomes and how the Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) could really make a difference to an issue like cyber- crime, which was ranked as high risk.  In response, Mrs Marriott explained that the list included issues which could impact our communities and then the CSPs would prioritise the issues, considering where they could have an impact.  For example, young people and older people tend to be disproportionately targeted in cyber-crime and therefore the CSPs could work to educate & support these groups.

·         The SSBPB has a budget from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) of approximately £500,000 although this is due to be cut significantly next year.  This is used to commission services including domestic violence, gangs prevention work, ‘Chelsea’s Choice’ - a drama workshop highlighting child sexual exploitation (CSE). BCC also contributes through its Community Safety budget, especially to domestic violence.  The SSBPB also co-ordinate with the PCC and the Community Safety Managers across the Thames Valley meet quarterly to share experiences and intelligence, in addition to liaising closely with cross border police forces such as the Met, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

·         A Member commented that it would be useful to see outcomes and how often a priority has been repeated year on year.  Mrs Marriott gave the example of substance misuse, explaining that the performance chart would not necessarily look good as the focus of work had switched to Legal Highs and the Government’s KPIs did not reflect this, as the substances were not actually illegal.  However, work had been effective in preventing the mephedrone problem in Aylesbury spreading to other areas of the County, which was a good result.

·         In response to a question asking whether some of last year priority areas would still be relevant for 2016-17, Members were advised that last year’s priorities were felt to be too broad, so this year they would be aiming to be more specific.  The Community Safety Manager’s own concerns centred on human trafficking and slavery, particularly in light of the Syrian refugee crisis and cyber-crime, as this underpins terrorism, organised crime and fraud. 

·         The SSBPB are leading on Prevent, the Government initiative to counter radicalisation, engaging with schools and delivering specialist training.  The Chairman welcomed this news and asked for assurances that all schools in Bucks will be engaged.  Mrs Marriott explained that schools in the areas of highest risk would be prioritised.  The Cabinet Member commented that the Home Office budget for Prevent in Bucks was low, so unfortunately resources were limited.

·         A Member asked if the SSBPB really makes a difference.  The Cabinet Member gave an example of the impact of the Domestic Violence advocates commissioned by the SSBPB and stated that the SSBPB was one of the most effective Boards that he sits on.

·         A Member asked about the methodology that would be used for the public consultation, as last year the Committee had criticised some gaps in the consultation results.  It was noted that the public consultation would take place from December and it was important that it was carefully worded, as it could not influence police presence on the street for example.  This year Community Safety included some questions in the Youth Survey and this data would also inform the priorities.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and Mrs Marriott for attending the meeting and it was agreed that the Safer Bucks Plan and the consultation results would be presented to the Committee early in 2016.

ACTION: Committee & Governance Adviser