Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 6 - Bromley Civic Centre. View directions

Contact: Steve Wood  020 8313 4316

Items
No. Item

26.

INTRODUCTIONS / APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies were received from James Cook and James Cleverly

27.

MINUTES OF LAST MEETING pdf icon PDF 188 KB

Minutes:

It was agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on the 30th October 2014 be approved.

28.

MATTERS ARISING pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Minutes:

It was agreed that the Matters Arising report be noted.

29.

BOROUGH COMMANDER'S UPDATE

Minutes:

The Borough Commander informed Members that the Safer Bromley Partnership Group Strategy was moving forward, and evolving, but that there were still governance issues that required attention. The Group were informed that overall Bromley Police were doing well with respect to hitting the MOPAC 7 targets. There had been an overall drop in total crime by 3.1%, which equated to 330 offences. However, challenges remained in the areas of theft from motor vehicles; criminal damage, and violence with injury.

 

The Commissioner and Management Board were working towards a further £800m being taken off the MPS annual budget. This would have a significant impact on policing and possibly police officer numbers. It was unclear what the impact would mean for Bromley specifically, but it was unlikely that the MPS would be able to maintain the current Borough structure and levels of resourcing. The Met 2020 programme was being developed to meet this challenge and the BOCU Commander would update partners in due course.

 

Lissa Moore (Croydon and Bromley Community Rehabilitation Company) enquired if Police statistics were circulated to the general public, and the Borough Commander responded that they were. Anne Ball from MOPAC (Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) explained to the Group that the figures were available to view on the MOPAC website, and that online data was available for various boroughs.

 

Lissa Moore expressed the opinion that domestic violence was still an issue of primary importance. The Borough Commander responded that although the domestic violence figures were above target, they were exhibiting a downward trend, which was positive. The Group heard that the figures for domestic and public violence had increased by 19%. The Borough Commander informed Members that in addition to statistics being available on the MOPAC website, data was also disseminated via the Borough Commander’s Newsletter; there was a new newsletter that would be circulated the week following the meeting.

 

The Group acknowledged that volume of data was not the most important factor; it was more relevant to consider the type of data collated, and what the data would be used for. 

 

It was agreed that the Borough Commander’s update be noted.

 

It was also agreed that Anne Ball would provide the link to the MOPAC website that displayed MET Police crime statistics.   

30.

UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD BOARD

Minutes:

Councillor Tim Stevens JP, (Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Safety) provided the Safer Neighbourhood Board update. Members were informed that the SNB were now in a position to finalise the setting up of their bank account, and to complete the transfer of outstanding monies from the account held by the BCEF (Bromley Community Engagement Forum), which was no longer operational. It was hoped that the outstanding funding from MOPAC would also now be released. Meetings were being planned for Orpington, Biggin Hill and Penge. The meeting dates and any other information concerning the SNB could be obtained by contacting councillor Kate Lymer who was currently dealing with the Board’s administration.

 

The LBB Assistant Director for Public Health queried if Public Health should be represented at SNB level. Members were of the opinion that this was not required, and that Public Health was a better fit for the Strategic Group. It was also noted that Public Health was not one of the bodies recommended previously by MOPAC to sit on the SNB.

 

Members heard that the SNB required a Treasurer, and that currently this role was also being undertaken by councillor Lymer.

 

The Portfolio Holder concluded by informing the Strategic Group that a Youth Manifesto Day had been scheduled for the 12th March 2015, and that a special schools conference was scheduled for the 24th March 2015.

 

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

 

 

31.

REVIEW OF PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES

Minutes:

Members heard that LBB and Bromley Police were concerned about the proliferation and the use of psychoactive substances commonly referred to as “legal highs”. The Group preferred to adopt the term “NPS” (New Psychoactive Substances).  Action had recently been taken against a premises in Orpington (“Skunkworks”) after reports of ASB in the area near to the premises. Stock worth around £4.5k to £5k had been seized. A suspected breed of pit bull terrier was also seized.  LBB and the Police were operating within the confines of existing licensing legislation and ASB legislation in the absence of direct legal powers. It was anticipated that the Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group would be tasked with leading the campaign against the proliferation of these very dangerous and potentially lethal substances.

 

Louise Hubbard (London Probation Service) disclosed that these substances were also causing problems for the Probation Service. It had become apparent that clients would report to the Probation Service, return to their accommodation, and subsequently ingest the substances. This led to incidences of anti-social behaviour, and the need to call upon the ambulance service when clients became ill. The Strategic Group noted the impact that these substances were having on the local health services. Due to grey areas concerning the legality of these substances, Probation Services sometimes experienced difficulties in calling back individuals into custody.

 

The Strategic Group were made aware of the detrimental impact that these substances were having on the mental health unit at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH). The Group were updated with progress that had been made with developing links with local schools to educate young people of the dangers involved in taking these substances.

 

The Head of Trading Standards informed the Strategic Group that it was becoming evident that young people were resorting to crime to raise the money required to purchase NPS products. The Strategic Group were informed that during the course of the raid, it had been discovered that the shop kept a “credit” book with details of individuals to whom the NPS substances had been sold on credit; this had been removed for examination with a view to intelligence gathering. The Head of Trading Standards expressed thanks to PC Jonathan Booth on behalf of LBB for his excellent work and support concerning this process. 

 

Susie Clark (LBB Communications Officer) updated the Strategic Group concerning the various mediums through which these matters and other matters of public safety had been communicated; the Strategic Group was also notified that good progress was being made in preparation for the release of the latest edition of the Safer Bromley News.

 

The Executive Director of Environmental and Community Services suggested that it may be useful for the Strategic Group to link with local hospitals to share information and data. It was suggested that the Head of Trading Standards liaise with Paula Morrison (LBB Assistant Director, Public Health) concerning this.

 

The LBB Assistant Director, Public Health, informed the Strategic Group that if the NPS substances were consumed with alcohol, there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

32.

GANGS PEER VIEW REPORT

Minutes:

LBB had recently received an important report from the Home Office concerning gang related issues in Bromley. It was a Peer Review Report called, “Ending Gang and Youth Violence”. The update on the report was given by Mr Peter Sibley (LBB ASB Co-ordinator). Mr Sibley commenced by emphasising the importance of the gangs multi agency focus group, and stated that he was generally happy with the content of the report. 

 

The Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Safety queried if there was any action that LBB could take to stop gang nominals from being relocated into Bromley. The short answer to this was “No”.  It was however the case that there were protocols in place that were not being adhered to by other boroughs. It was also the case that the relocation process could bypass the RSL (Registered Social Landlords) sector by the use of private landlords, which would make it harder for LBB to track what was going on.

 

A Member of the Group commented that it was clear that information sharing was an issue, and that more analytical support was required. It was also noted by the Group that Operation Crystal was aimed at targeting gang nominals and that mental health was also an issue. A new person had recently been appointed to lead on mental health issues. The Group also noted that the Gangs Focus Group needed strategic support, and it was felt that the Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group should take the lead in providing the strategic support.

 

The Group understood the importance of engaging with gang members directly, and in the importance of undertaking ASB interviews under new legislation. However, in both cases there were difficulties with respect to a lack of resources. The Assistant Director for Safeguarding and Social Care felt that both the Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group and the Youth Offending Team required a more informed data set and analytical capacity. The Group felt that with many of the issues that were being discussed, there was often a link to Housing, and so to this end it was decided to invite Sara Bowrey (AD-Head of Housing Needs) to the next meeting.

 

The Group noted the importance of targeted schools intervention, and in maintaining good working relationships with the Bromley Youth Council and with other boroughs.

 

Peter Sibley stated that further direction and guidance would be forthcoming from the Gangs Focus Group in due course. The Chairman asked the Group if they felt that the issue of “gangs” should sit on its own, or sit with IOM (Integrated Offender Management).  The Group decided that “gangs” should sit on its own. It was decided that the Borough Police Superintendent would be the lead person for gangs.

 

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Group that it was important that every organisation represented on the Group should contribute to the success of the Group, and that resources should be defined quickly so that any resourcing requests could be fed back to Cabinet. It was the opinion of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

SAFER BROMLEY PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY 2014-2017 pdf icon PDF 183 KB

Minutes:

Members noted the draft Safer Bromley Partnership Strategy Document—2014-2017.

 

It was felt that the document should be redrafted and then distributed. 

 

Lissa Moore stated that priorities should be more specific, especially around domestic abuse, and that reducing reoffending should be a priority. 

 

A discussion identified the need to focus on several key issues, with sub-groups being developed from existing meetings reporting directly to the Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group.

 

It was agreed that there was a need to focus on Gangs (in the short-term following the Peer Review Report), ASB, Youth Offending, Domestic Violence and Offender Management. The Chairman agreed to approach key individuals to invite them to Chair the sub-groups, develop their members and review what performance data was currently in place to drive activity. It was identified that there were some cross-cutting areas that needed to remain part of the SBP Strategic Group focus, including communications, licensing, housing and public health.

 

 

It was agreed that the draft document be noted.

 

It was also agreed that the draft document should be rewritten, and then circulated.

34.

REVIEW OF THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE SBP STRATEGIC GROUP

Minutes:

The aims and objectives of the Strategic Group had been identified and discussed during the course of debating the rest of the agenda items, in particular the review of partnership activities, the gangs review report, the strategy review, reports from sub-groups, and in any other business.   

35.

REPORTS FROM SUB-GROUPS

Minutes:

A Youth Offending Team inspection had commenced on 19th January 2015 following concerns identified around the Local Authority’s performance in certain key areas, including an increase in the custody rate for young offenders and an increase in the proportion of looked after children reoffending or in custody compared with neighbouring local authorities.  Four HM Inspectorate of Probation Inspectors had spent the first week of the inspection working with Youth Offending Team officers to review a short list of 34 cases out of a cohort of approximately 60 young people.

 

The Strategic Group was provided with a brief update of the findings of the inspection.

 

The Head of Trading Standards informed the Strategic Group that the matter of IOM (Integrated Offender Management) was ongoing; it was working in Bromley, but lacked leadership. Key partners were the Police, Probation Services and Youth Services. The Head of Trading Standards expressed the view that the pan London model was not moving forward, primarily due to limited resources, and that no money had been received from MOPAC to assist. 

 

Anne Ball (MOPAC) informed the Strategic Group that any monies that may be available to help with IOM now fell under the umbrella of the London Crime Prevention Fund. It was suggested that the current MOPAC bid be reprofiled. 

 

The Strategic Group acknowledged that IOM required a co-ordinator, and pondered how the programme could best be progressed without a co-ordinator.

 

Lissa Moore (Croydon and Bromley Community Rehabilitation Company) expressed optimism about the current and future condition of IOM in Bromley. She felt that a good panel had been set in place, a RAG system was operating, and work was being done. Lissa Moore acknowledged that the governance needed co-coordinating to demonstrate effect, and that a Board was required that sat above the IOM panel. The Board suggested that the Head of Trading Standards and Lissa Moore may be able to share the duties of chairing the IOM Board. The Group felt that it would be a good idea to look at IOM models in similarly resourced boroughs to see how they operated in other areas.

 

It was noted that the London IOM Model had not been signed off as MOPAC was still gathering information. It was the case however, that the London Model was being used for cohort identification purposes. The Group asked if Anne Ball would be able to help with identifying funding opportunities. The Group agreed that an IOM update should come to the next meeting, and it was hoped that by that time, a lead person for IOM would have been identified. 

 

It was felt that ASB should be an area within the remit of the StrategicGroup, and that this should be kept separate from the matter of Domestic Violence. ASB was currently being led by the police and the local authority.

The Strategic Group were informed that the Arson Sub Group was no longer operating.

 

The Strategic Group felt that it would be helpful to get regular update reports from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

36.

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATE

Minutes:

The Communications update was provided by LBB Communications Officer Susie Clark.

 

The Group heard that LBB had disseminated information recently concerning new psychoactive substances, scams and rogue traders. There was also more effective communication with Resident’s Associations. The next edition of the Safer Bromley News was due for publication by the second week of March. This would contain crime prevention advice, an article on mentoring and various links to matters of interest. This would be distributed with the latest edition of “Environment Matters”. 

 

It was anticipated that in the future, more information would be included on the council, web site relating to issues such as food safety and food hygiene.

 

 

It was AGREED that the communications update be noted.

 

37.

INFORMATION ITEMS pdf icon PDF 629 KB

Minutes:

The Borough Commander’s Newsletter was noted.

38.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Minutes:

The general consensus of the Strategic Group was that the membership should be sharper and more focussed than had been the case in the past.

 

It was agreed that Community Links, Victim Support, and RSL’s would not be required to be Group Members.

 

It was agreed that the following should be added to the Group:

 

Sara Bowrey—Assistant Director—Head of Housing Needs

 

Kay Weiss— Assistant Director—Head of Safeguarding and Social Care 

 

Youth Offending Team—to be designated

 

Parm Sandu—Deputy Borough Police Commander

 

Clare Elcombe Webber—to lead on domestic abuse.

39.

DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 16th April 2015 at 2.00pm.