Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Steve Wood  020 8313 4316

Items
No. Item

28.

WELCOME/HOUSE-KEEPING/INTRODUCTIONS, APOLOGIES AND DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Chloe Todd and Mimi Morris-Cotterill attended as substitute. Ade Adetosoye (LBB Chief Executive), David Stringer, Rachel Pankhurst, Amanda Mumford, Councillor Angela Page, Jessica Bell, Dawn Helps, Elaine Beadle, Rebecca Saunders, Jamie O ’Malley. David Dare attended as substitute for Janet Bailey. 

29.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 478 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on the 17th of June 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

30.

MATTERS ARISING pdf icon PDF 136 KB

Minutes:

CSD21095

 

Chief Inspector Craig Knight informed the Board that the police were dealing robustly with persistent beggars in Bromley and that three arrests had been made in the last eight weeks as well as six community resolutions and dispersals being dispensed.

 

The Board was provided with an update regarding the work around the Cambridge Crime Harm Index. It was noted that the MET was now running a controlled trial of this across London, led by the central strategic insight group; the results of the trial would be published in due course, after which time Chief Inspector Knight would be happy to share the results of the trial with the Board. 

 

Councillor David Cartwright (Chairman of the Public Protection and Enforcement Scrutiny Committee) asked the Chief Inspector a question with respect to the Cambridge Crime Harm Index trial. He asked if the trial would include matters that Bromley residents regarded as high harm crimes-- like anti-social behaviour, joy riding and the misuse of quad bikes.

 

Chief Inspector Craig Knight answered and clarified that the issues mentioned by Cllr Cartwright were not included in the current trial; the trial was focused primarily on violence. Cllr Cartwright asked that it be noted that the PPE PDS Committee had concerns as to what should be classed as ‘High Harm’ crimes in the borough and there was specific concern from the Committee with respect to the number of deaths caused in the borough and across the country as a result of poor/dangerous driving.

 

Chief Inspector Knight responded and said that he wished to provide some assurance concerning the work of the police road traffic teams that had been undertaken for some time and which was ongoing. The College of Policing had noted the importance of police traffic teams targeting road traffic hotspot areas and they had been doing this since 2007. Councillor Cartwright thanked Chief Inspector Knight for his response, but said that in his view traffic police had been abstracted for other matters on many occasions and so the police's ability to deal with high speed crime had diminished. 

 

RESOLVED  that the Matters Arising report be noted. 

31.

SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSION: PROGRESS AGAINST THE SAFER BROMLEY PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY

32.

QUARTER 2: PRIORITY 2--VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS pdf icon PDF 914 KB

Minutes:

The VAWG (Violence against Women and Girls) update was provided by Rachel Dunley---LBB Head of Service for Early Intervention and Family Support).

 

There had been an interesting development in that the Housing Division had introduced a ‘DAHLIA’ flag to their Housing IT systems, to alert when a customer was a victim fleeing domestic abuse to help to manage risk and also to ensure the services provided were sensitive and appropriately delivered.

 

This had been implemented so that housing cases with a domestic abuse element could be identified and dealt with in a sensitive manner. The Board was briefed that the service was aiming for DAHA (Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance) accreditation by 2022. The Head of Service was pleased to inform the Board that Lydia Lewison had now joined Bromley from LB Greenwich and brought with her much knowledge and passion in relation to domestic abuse, housing and refuges.

 

The introduction of the ‘DAHLIA’ flag on the Housing system had been implemented so that housing cases with a domestic abuse element could be identified and dealt with in a sensitive manner. The Board was briefed that the service was aiming for DAHA (Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance) accreditation by 2022. The Head of Service was pleased to inform the Board that Lydia Lucerne would be joining Bromley from LB Greenwich in the near future.

 

The Head of Service provided a brief update on ‘Bromley Y’ -- this was Bromley’s ‘front door’ to mental health services for children and young people. She said that a fuller update regarding this would be disseminated via the Board’s Secretary. It was noted that the number of referrals to this service was increasing.

 

The Board was appraised that the Domestic Abuse Strategy was now live and that additional ‘Butterfly Cards’ were now available for anyone who needed them. These could be sourced via Jamie O’ Malley. 

 

The Board was asked to note the change of language with respect to domestic abuse in line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The word ‘violence’ and all reference to gender had been removed. When the strategy and priorities were formally reviewed, this would need to be updated.

 

The Assistant Director for Public Protection and Enforcement highlighted certain areas that she would like to look at in more detail going forward, and one of these was regarding the sort of data that was being collated. She said that it was important for the Board to have access to correct data and she would like a sample of the data collected to be brought to the next Board meeting. 

 

A discussion took place regarding the sharing of data with the Board and colleagues and the development of an information sharing agreement alongside it. 

 

A Board Member requested that more awareness be made with respect to the ‘Ask Annie’ and ‘Ask Angela’ initiatives. It was confirmed that these had been a focus point in the DA Newsletter circulated via the SBPB, BSAB, BSCP, DA Operational Forum, and DA Strategic Board.

 

A discussion took  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

32a

UPDATE ON COMMUNITY IMPACT DAYS pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

The update concerning Community Impact Days was provided by Rob Vale. He referred to the PowerPoint in the agenda pack and said that the presentation spoke for itself. He informed the Board that Amanda Mumford, the previous coordinator for Community Impact Days, was moving on to another role within the authority. An officer who had previously worked for the Council, was returning to take over the role. The Board expressed their thanks for the excellent work undertaken by Ms Mumford.

 

The Assistant Director said that for the next meeting she would provide an update regarding Community Impact Days and in particular with respect to the next Community Impact Day in Penge, so that everyone involved would be clear on what was required on the day.

 

Councillor David Cartwright stated that the Community Impact Days were of high value and he hoped to see more input from the London Fire Brigade in these activities; it would be good for LFB to build upon the public support that they already had.

 

The Assistant Director for Children’s Social Care, Safeguarding and Care Planning (David Dare), gave an update concerning an event that had been organised by the MACCE (Multi Agency Criminal Child Exploitation) Panel in Mottingham. A Mottingham ‘fun day’ had been arranged which was very successful and which had been supported by many partners including the London Fire Brigade.

 

The ‘fun day’ was well received by the public; there were many people in attendance and feedback was very positive. There had been 183 children in attendance with approximately 112 adults as well. The children were provided with a nutritious packed lunch. The Assistant Director asked for the report on this to be shared with the Board and the Head of Service for Early Intervention and Support said that she would arrange this.

 

There was a general consensus that the Community Impact Days were successful and that they were positively impacting communities. 

 

RESOLVED that the update regarding Community Impact Days be noted and that the Assistant Director (and joint Chairman) for Public Protection and Enforcement would provide an update regarding the protocols for Community Impact Days, particularly with respect to the next one in Penge.

 

 


33.

KEY ISSUES/THEMES

34.

UPDATE FROM THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE

Minutes:

The Borough Fire Commander (Kevin McKenzie) attended to update the Board.

 

LFB were still dealing with the implementation of the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower enquiry Phase 1. Some of this involved the acquisition of new equipment and training.

 

LFB served a prohibition notice on June 11th at 14 West Street, Bromley BR1 1RF. The fire brigade was also notified that the property had been broken into and occupied by squatters. Relevant information was shared with LFB crews by Station Commanders. Fire crews carried out visual audits and reported back to the local authority as appropriate. The Commander felt that the incident at 14 West Street was a demonstration of good partnership work and information sharing.

 

A ‘Key Issues’ briefing was in the process of being updated and this would be distributed at a later date after it was completed.

 

The Board was briefed that LFB’s Community Risk Management Action Plan was out for consultation and the consultation period would end on 4th October. The LFB Commander would disseminate this after the close of the consultation period.

 

The LFB commander had been in Bromley since 4th Feb and it was the fourth borough that he had worked in. The feedback relating to Community Impact days was noted, and the Commander commented that a more targeted  approach in terms of resources and locations was required.

 

The Commander had met up with Andy Powell who was the LBB Community Safety Officer working with young people that had been involved in serious youth violence and crime. LFB acknowledged the need for youth engagement.

 

The issue of neurodiversity was discussed.

 

The Board received an update regarding the dangers of emollient creams.

 

Post Meeting Note: a briefing regarding this was disseminated post meeting.

 

Better training was being provided around fire risk inspections.

 

The LFB had attended a community event at Betts Park on  25th August—this was part of LFB’s commitment to engage more with the community.

 

The Biggin Hill Fire Station extension had been approved. This had helped LFB to strengthen links with the airport. LFB was carrying out exercises at the airport  and there continued to be a good level of engagement between LFB and the airport.

 

The Commander was keen to continue good partnership work in places like Star Lane.

 

The Commander commented that Chislehurst Common was a potential fire risk in dry weather. Officers from the borough were working with the national trust to formulate a fire plan.

 

The Head of Trading Standards and Commercial Regulation referenced the successful collaborative work that had been undertaken in the past between LFB and LBB Trading Standards. Both parties desired that this successful collaborative working should continue.

 

The Assistant Director for Public Protection and Enforcement requested that the work being undertaken between LFB and Andy Powell to be added to the VRAP (Violence Reduction Action Plan).

 

The Assistant Director also requested that the LFB’s Community Risk Plan be circulated at the next meeting.

 

Councillor Cartwright asked for an update concerning the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

35.

UPDATE FROM THE LONDON AMBULANCE SERVICE

Minutes:

Bill Kelly (Bromley Group Manager) and Philip Powell (stakeholder Engagement Manager) attended to provide the LAS update.

 

The London Ambulance Service expressed their thanks to Toby Carvery in Crown Lane Bromley and to Bromley College for help during the pandemic with providing parking spaces and accommodation. The Board was informed that the week prior to the meeting, the London Ambulance Service was dealing with 7000 calls a day; there was a lot of pressure but they were adapting as best  they could. They were grateful for the additional resource supplied from the London Fire Brigade. They were still able to respond to the most seriously ill patients within 7 minutes in most cases.

 

The Board was briefed that the London Ambulance Service would be trialling body worn cameras in October. With respect to hospitals and COVID, it was obviously the case that Covid was still around, but at the moment the LAS was not seeing huge waves of people on ventilators in ITU. One of the reasons for this (as well as the vaccine) was that the NHS had learnt much about what drugs were effective and different treatment regimes. Some of the people in hospital who had tested positive for Covid were asymptomatic but had arrived in hospital as a result of co-morbidities; others had been taken to hospital with Covid as they had not been vaccinated. The LAS made a plea for anyone who had not received the vaccine to do so.

 

As hospitals were still quite busy with ill patients, (with levels that would normally be associated with winter time), there was some nervousness as to what may happen over the winter period.

 

It was noted that hospital was not always the best place for patients and if an alternative solution could be found then this would be actioned by the ambulance service. The use and importance of the 111 service was discussed.

 

The Assistant Director asked if it was possible to be provided with data concerning those people who were treated as a result of weapon enabled crime. Mr Kelly responded by saying that he thought that this was the case, but he would check and report back. Mr Sibun from the CCG stated that this data should be recorded by Children’s Services. 

 

RESOLVED that the update from the London Ambulance Service be noted and that Mr. Kelly would check on the availability of data concerning those persons who required attention from the ambulance service as a result of weapon enabled crime.

 

 

36.

FUTURE DIRECTION OF THE BOARD'S WORK--EVIDENCE LED--HIGH HARM

Minutes:

Chief Inspector Craig Knight attended to provide this briefing. He commenced by congratulating the NHS on its recognition by the Queen and for receiving the George Cross for 73 years of service.

 

Chief Inspector Knight informed the Board that commencing from the 22nd of September, he would be undertaking work on a research project which was concerning misogynistic behaviour and street harassment. He felt that this was an issue that was largely not understood well and was also under reported. On the 22nd of September he would be launching a new App, called ‘Safe in the City’ and this App could be used to report misogynistic behaviour, either as a witness or as a victim.

 

Chief Inspector Knight said that his aim was to better understand the issues and to map out where misogynistic crime was being committed against women and girls and to see if there was a correlation between this and VAWG. This research was being supported by Cambridge University and had attracted a lot of attention. Chief Inspector Knight was due to appear on national and local television the following week to talk about his research and the App. There was an ongoing debate as to whether misogynistic behaviour should be classed as a hate crime. The App was now live and available to download.

 

It had to be noted that this was a research project and the results of the research would not be available till around January or February 2022. There was some debate as to who owned the research, but the results of the research would be going to the Metropolitan Police Senior Command Team. Interest had also been expressed by the Mayor of London and by the Home Office.

 

Several partners expressed interest on the day in supporting the research, including Rachel Dunley, Dirk Holtzhausen and Judi Obeya from Clarion. The Assistant Director stated that she looked forward to the Board receiving further updates on the work in due course. It was agreed that Chief Inspector Knight would write something concerning his research in the Domestic Abuse newsletter.

 

Chief Inspector Knight expressed his thanks to Bromley Council for the £4k of funding that had been contributed towards the research project. 

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1) Clarion, the Adult Safeguarding Board and The Head of Early Intervention and Family Support would support the ‘Safe in the City’ project as best they could.

 

2) Chief Inspector Craig Knight would write an article on the research project for the Domestic Abuse magazine.

 

3) Chief Inspector Craig Knight would update the board with the findings of his research project in due course. 

37.

DHR AND PREVENT UPDATE

Minutes:

The Head of Commercial Regulation and Trading Standards (Rob Vale) attended and updated the Board as follows:

 

DHR 1 COMPLETE.

 

The Head of Commercial Regulation and Trading Standards would be attending the DVA/VAWG Operational Forum on 23rd September 2021 to review the action plan for this DHR and would then formally seek the sign off from the Chairman of the Safer Bromley Partnership Board.

 

DHR 2:

 

This report had yet to be presented to the Chairman of this Group for sign off prior to sending to the Home Office Quality Assurance Panel. Delays had occurred because of the non-availability of the author who had sadly been dealing with some personal issues. The action plan however was progressing but LBB was reliant on the final report to complete the action plan, as there were some changes made by partners which impacted the recommendations.

 

DHR 3

 

The report was with the Home Office Quality Assurance Panel. So no update was available; the response was expected in October 2021.

 

Prevent Update:

 

The Board was updated on the Prevent Review which was being led by William Shawcross CVO.

 

The corresponding report, including any recommendations from the review, had to be submitted to the Secretary of State for the Home Department by 30 September 2021 in time for the Secretary of State to respond to each recommendation and to lay the review report and government response before both Houses of Parliament by 31 December 2021.

 

The Protect Duty Consultation:

 

The Consultation (which closed on 2nd July 2021) sought to improve the safety and security of public venues, as outlined in the Government’s 2019 manifesto. It would look at how legislation might be used to enhance the protection of publicly accessible locations across the UK from terrorist attacks and ensure organisational preparedness. With some exceptions (e.g. on transport security and for certain sports grounds), there was no legislative requirement to consider or implement security measures at publicly accessible locations.

 

The proposed Protect Duty could apply in three main areas (but may also apply to other locations, parties and processes by exception):

 

1. Public venues (e.g. entertainment and sports venues, tourist attractions, shopping centres).

2. Large organisations (e.g. retail, or entertainment chains).

 

3. Public spaces (e.g. public parks, beaches, thoroughfares, bridges, town or city squares and pedestrianised areas).

 

The review would look at how any new duty would sit alongside existing duties and the delivery of work in the counter-terrorism space. This included work undertaken by Community Safety Partnerships, Local Resilience Forums and Safety Advisory Groups (SAGs)

 

Many of these had overlapping partner representation and/or interest in these issues. Not all of these were statutory, such as SAGs, which provided a forum for partners to discuss and advise on public safety for particular events/locations – one option Government could consider was strengthening this framework to increase consistency across different areas.

 

There may be scope to extend existing legislation to cover counter terrorism risks, e.g. the Health and Safety at Work Act which considered risks to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

38.

CRIME PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD

Standing Items are:

 

NDVWI

Weapons

Hate crime

Domestic violence

Burglary

Theft of motor vehicles

ASB

 

Context:

 

Challenging performance is a key role which has been identified for the SBPB. This item updates partners in relation to the performance issues, highlights any new challenges, and gains consensus as to how the group can work together to address these.

Minutes:

Chief Inspector Knight would be appointed to the Task and Finish Group that would consider what data should be presented for scrutiny regarding the police by the Public Protection and Enforcement Committee. The Assistant Director felt that it was sensible for one report to be presented to both the SBP and the PPE PDS.

 

The Chief Inspector briefed the Committee that over the previous few weeks, about 2000 police officers had been abstracted to work in central London to deal with various protest groups which included Extinction Rebellion as well as others.

 

Compared to comparative time periods in 2019, the following statistical changes were noted:

 

1)  Domestic Abuse had fallen by 9.5%

2)  Gun Crime had increased by 33%

3)  Knife crime had fallen by 17%

4)  Hate crime had increased

5)  Non domestic violence with injury was down by 3%

6)  Burglary was down by 40%

7)  Theft from motor vehicles was down by 12%

8)  The theft of keyless cars had increased

 

It was noted that current data was compared to 2019 data and not 2020 data which had been distorted by the Covid 19 pandemic.

 

Lucien Spencer from the National Probation Service gave an update  concerning the expansion of the use of GPS tracking and monitoring for offenders. The Assistant Director asked if Mr Spencer could provide a brief report to the Board regarding this prior to the next meeting. It was further noted that this technology was also used with respect to the monitoring of certain youth offenders. 

 

RESOLVED that Lucien Spencer (National Probation Service), would provide an update to the Board regarding the expanded use of the GPS tracking of former offenders released on licence. 

 

 

39.

EMERGING ISSUES/TASK FINISH UPDATES

This item provides a roundtable update from all partners on developments in relation to performance and emerging issues.

Minutes:

The Board was informed that the Crime Summit for this year would be held on 6th November. There had been some MOPAC (Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) funding allocated for this, but it had been reduced this year. MOPAC was considering whether Safer Neighbourhood Boards and Ward Panels would be working in the same way going forward. Bromley had 22 Ward Panels. The next Ward Panel meeting would be on the 22nd of September and would be chaired by Stuart Baker from the Met Police. The various projects that had been initiated by the Ward Panels were included in the VRAP.

 

The LBB Assistant Director for Housing (Lynnette Chamielec) stated that the previous year, 16% of homeless cases had a domestic abuse element; this year this had increased to 19%. Because of procurement regulations, a tendering process for women and children’s domestic abuse refuge services was underway. BCWA (Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid) had been doing a great job. The LBB Assistant Director for Housing said that the Housing Department placed a great deal of importance on longevity of support and the well-being of children. Star Lane was an ongoing concern for Housing. Community tension had increased. A specialist Traveller Liaison Officer was working to improve the relationship between the Traveller Community and the Council. The Council was keen to engage in a positive manner.

 

The Assistant Director of Public Health (Mimi Morris-Cotterill) updated the Board concerning a recent increase in drug related deaths that had occurred primarily as a result of contaminated heroin. Within the BCU (Basic Command Unit) a ‘Gold’ group had been set up to look at the incidences which had been quite alarming. She expressed the view that there had been a mismatch between local intelligence and police information. It was hoped that the formation of the new BCU group and better information sharing protocols would resolve the issues and facilitate better communication between all relevant parties. It was her intension to draft a list of relevant partners so that the information could be shared as and when required in a timely manner. The Assistant Director further informed the Board that going forward she would be the permanent replacement for Chloe Todd.

 

Judie Obeya (Neighbourhood Investment Manager—Clarion Housing), agreed to provide a briefing paper concerning Clarion’s youth engagement activities which could be presented at the next meeting.

 

The Head of Service for Early Intervention  and Family Support (Rachel Dunley) said that there had been an increase in referrals from partners, but these had been received from the same partners and she hoped that more new referrals would come in from other partners as well.

 

Mr Lucien Spencer (Head of the National Probation Service Delivery Unit)  informed the Board that it was his first meeting at the Board representing a unified probation service--as the service had previously been split between the National Probation Service and the Community Rehabilitation Company.

 

Mr Paul Sibun (Adult Safeguarding Manager—South East London CCG) briefed the Board that South East London  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

40.

DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

9th December at 10.00am—Bromley Civic Centre.

Minutes:

The next meeting would be held at Bromley Civic Centre at 10.00am on 9th December.