Apologies were received from James Cleverly

Borough Police Commander Chris Hafford was confirmed as the Chairman of Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group.

Nigel Davies (LBB Director of Environmental and Community Services) was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Strategic Group.

The notes of the last meeting held on 13^th March 2014 were received.

It was AGREED that the minutes be approved.

This was the first meeting of the Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group in its revised structure. It was decided that it was no longer appropriate to invite James Cleverly (Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority) to the meetings of the new strategic group. It was agreed that it would be more appropriate to substitute Mr. Cleverly with Sarah Denton from MOPAC (Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime). The Chairman agreed that he would write to Mr. Cleverly in this regard. It was noted that the police were continuing to work towards the MOPAC 7 crime reduction targets over a three year period. The police were following the linear line for reductions and were expecting to meet the relevant MOPAC targets for this year. It was noted that non-residential burglary figures were down by 14.3%, and that residential burglary figures were down by 8%. It was further noted that the number of motor vehicle crimes had fallen by 340, but that the number of crimes relating to violent injury had increased by 13%.The number of cases reported relating to domestic abuse had increased by 160. The increase in the number of domestic abuse cases reported was resultant from changes in the classification process. It was noted that the response times to calls to the police were within guidelines, and that confidence in the police was currently at 66% which was up by 3%. The Metropolitan Police Service had been tasked with making £500M in savings. The Borough Commander advised that Bromley Police were on course to deliver savings. Savings were likely to be made by reducing the numbers of buildings being used, and by reconsidering the use of contact points. There would also be a review of buildings that were not being utilized. Bromley police currently had four hundred and sixty police officers, with a further twenty expected in the next two months. The number of police officers was expected to reach five hundred by the end of August. It was noted that PCSO’s were undergoing satisfaction training in order to improve customer service. It was disclosed that the Bromley Police force were one of ten pilot schemes utilizing body cameras. The Chairman stated that feedback from community meetings was fed back up to Assistant Commissioner level and that as a result, Bromley police were seeking some flexibility on the implementation of the local policing model. The Director of Environmental Services queried the possibility of proposed changes to the police leadership team in Bromley, and asked to be kept updated. It was noted that any changes to the police leadership team in Bromley were likely to be known week commencing the 23^rd June 2014. It was possible that Deputy Borough Commander Jo Oakley may be moved to another borough, but this had not been confirmed. 

It was agreed that the update of the Chairman/Borough Commander be noted.

The IOM update was presented by Lissa Moore, Assistant Chief Officer with London Probation Services. It was explained that under the restructure that came into effect from 31^st May 2014, the previous structure of the Probation Service was changed into a smaller national probation service, and private companies known as Community Rehabilitation Companies. London CRC was one of 21 CRCs that had been created by the Government to deliver probation services to low and medium risk offenders. London CRC would manage almost 25,000 offenders throughout the City at any one time across its 33 local authorities.  The Bromley CRC was currently paired with Croydon, and was still in the public sector under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice; it was anticipated that this would change in the near future and that the CRC would then move into the private sector—there were currently three bidders. The result of the bids should be known by the end of August. If the bids went ahead as anticipated, then the CRC would be sold off into the private sector by the end of 2014. The revised structure for this CRC was not yet known, and was currently being formulated. CRC’s would be looking to develop new areas of work; this would include resettlement, and also looking at ways to move prisoners into prisons in their locality. The idea of this was to encourage easier movement into the local community. As the CRC’s would all be private companies, there was going to be a philosophy of “payment by results”. The “results” would essentially revolve around reducing re-offending statistics. There was some concern expressed as to the possible success of IOM (Integrated Offender Management) in the private sector. Lissa Moore explained that a panel made up of operational partners existed, and proposed that an IOM Board be formed. The Board would deal with strategy and governance. The IOM Board would also hold the operational panel to account, and would be answerable to the Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group. For this structure to work effectively, priorities would need to be agreed; the results would be cost savings, reduced duplication and more co-ordination. The IOM cohort had been defined—primarily high risk re-offenders, especially in the areas of burglary and robbery. The target level was for an offender to hit 75% on what was known as the “OGRE” Scale, to qualify for entrance onto the IOM scheme. The management framework had not yet been identified as this was complicated; it was something that CRC was working towards resolving. The Information sharing protocol was being developed. Lissa Moore elaborated that there was a problem with funding for the IOM Model, as none was currently forthcoming from MOPAC (Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime). There was an additional problem with Governance as no IOM Board existed. Lissa Moore speculated that it may be a possible course of action for Bromley Council to take ownership of forming and chairing an IOM Board. It was further hypothesized that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillor Tim Stevens explained that the Safer Neighbourhood Boards (SNB) had a wide remit and that currently eighteen members had been appointed. Some places had not yet been allocated for purposes of flexibility, and there were some organisations that were seeking floating membership.  Affinity Sutton was one of these—the idea being that they would just attend a local meeting when it was relevant. had been agreed that two members of the SNB would stand down each year so that new blood would be able to be brought in when required. The SNB had been allocated £29.5K in funding, and £5K of this was to fund an administrator. The current administrator was Councillor Kate Lymer. The Board was free to spend the money as it saw fit. The SNB did not currently have a constitution, but did have Terms of Reference which had been agreed by Sarah Denton from MOPAC. The former BCEF (Bromley Community Engagement Forum) had now been dissolved and incorporated into the SNB. A meeting was going to be held to sign off the BCEF accounts. It appeared that BCEF had an underspend of £5.5K, and this would be transferred into the SNB bank account after the BCEF accounts had been ratified. There was going to be a meeting of the SNB at the City Gate Church on 9th July 2014. The Crime Summit for 2014 was set for 27^th September. No other meetings had been planned as yet. Councillor Tim Stevens noted that there were certain areas where the SNB may need guidance from the Strategic Group, one of these was concerning how the SNB would deal with complaints about the police. 

It was agreed that the update on the Safer Neighbourhood Board be noted.

The strategy document for the SBP Strategic Group was being developed by Deputy Borough Police Commander Jo Oakley, and Mr Robert Vale, LBB Head of Trading Standards. It was suggested that the Group look at a draft plan and come up with comments and suggestions. The primary areas of concern with respect to the draft plan were MOPAC 7, Public Health and London Fire Brigade. The document was a work in progress. The Group expressed thanks to Amanda Mumford for putting the document together, and to Jo Oakley for providing the relevant data. The document would outline a strategy that would go to 2016. The document would be subject to review. Most of the data used came from MOPAC, and from the relevant partnership organisations. Robert Vale noted that data needed to be produced that would be relevant to current priorities. The Chairman requested that partners in the Group provide feedback and input into the strategy document by mid July 2014. The feedback would be limited to two sides of A4. 

It was agreed that the update on the Safer Bromley Partnership Group Strategy be noted.

It was further agreed that Members of the SBP Strategic Group provide input into the development of the strategic document, and that this feedback be provided by mid July 2014.   

Resilience Forum

It was noted that the Resilience Forum was a statutory body that would feed back with a resilience strategy via James Cook. The Forum would also report on various performance issues. It was noted that Public Health would be looking at what measures were in place to deal with a flu pandemic.

London Fire Brigade

Emergency planning issues that LFB were reviewing were:

·  Responding to heavy snowfall

·  Dealing with flooding

·  Responding to incidents of public disorder

It was noted that resources were stretched when responding to calls for help during the recent flooding. During the recent flooding, Bromley Fire Brigade assisted Croydon Fire Service with a variety of emergencies. All of Bromley Fire Services’ high volume pumps were fully utilised. As well as dealing with flooding problems, the fire service also had to deal with “business as usual”. There was an ongoing discussion with local authorities as to what constituted an emergency. Daniel Cartwright (Borough Commander-Fire Services) encouraged LBB to look at what in house contingency plans existed. The example cited was a possible fire in a sheltered housing complex—what contingency plans had the council put in place in terms of assisting those affected—what was the contingency for providing alternative accommodation? The Borough Fire Commander pointed out that all parties had to consider reputational risk related to the way that emergencies were responded to, and that leadership should be visible.

Arson Sub Group

It was noted that eight courses concerning arson and fires had been completed in local schools. These had been funded from monies allocated to the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Safety. It was further noted that work was being undertaken with potential fire starters in an attempt to reduce incidents of arson. LFB were monitoring potential fire hazard sites and arson hot spots; local crews were reporting back to the Borough Commander as appropriate. The Borough Fire Commander highlighted that arson levels had fallen by 40% in the last four years. The issue of “Beds and Sheds” and rough sleepers was raised. This was a cause of concern to the fire service. Lissa  Moore promised to share information regarding this with the fire service. The ongoing issue of Waste 4 Fuel was raised at the meeting. It was noted that the matter was being heard again in the High Court in the next two weeks. It was noted by the Group that the worst case scenario would be if the site was abandoned and left unsecured. This would mean that the site would need to be cleaned up, and all the rubbish removed. The responsibility and the cost of this would need to be borne by the EA (Environment Agency). 

The question remained as to what would be done with the site following the clearance. Councillor Tim Stevens stated that he felt that as this matter was causing a lot of concern and frustration among local residents—there was a danger of public disorder. Contingency plans may need to be considered in case this occurred.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The communications update was provided by Susie Clark (LBB Communications Officer).  Susie Clark highlighted the purpose of the Safer Bromley News, which was to provide general safety and crime awareness, crime prevention advice, and reassurance. It had a wide circulation, and last time it was distributed door to door. The latest media communication to the general public highlighted the fact that the council were cracking down on activities such as fly tipping and dog fouling. A post card communication campaign was also planned. Future communications to the public would include information about the Summer Youth Diversionary Activities that were being planned for the summer between 23^rd July 2014 and 29^th August 2014. It was envisioned that this summer Public Health would be in attendance, and that Health Watch Bromley would also be attending. Highlights would include a giant cinema screen and a silent disco. The Borough Commander requested to be kept informed about the Summer Diversionary Activities. It would be the aim of the Group to encourage a positive portrayal of young people in the local press. It was noted that Bromley Youth Council had launched a Facebook Page. The Group acknowledged that this would need close monitoring to avoid reputational risk. Paula Morrison mentioned that it may be good to highlight certain public health dangers associated with the Word Cup such as cooking and drinking late.

It was agreed that the Communications Update be noted, and that the Borough Commander would be kept informed about the Summer Diversionary Activities Programme.

The Spring edition of the Safer Bromley News was incorporated into the agenda for information.

The contents of the Safer Bromley News were noted and commented on.     

It was noted that reference had been made to “Legal Highs” in the agenda. This was a matter that would be reported on at a future date.

It was decided that meetings of the Group would be held quarterly, and that the next meeting would be at Bromley Civic Centre on September 18^th 2014 at 10.00am