Minutes:
The Portfolio Holder informed the Committee that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner would be making a Road Trip to Bromley on the 24th June 2015.
The Committee were also updated with the news that the Youth Offending Team was currently being inspected, and that so far the inspection appeared to be going well. As part of this process, the Portfolio Holder had been called to attend an interview the following day (February 5th) and that he would feedback in due course.
The Portfolio Holder briefed the Committee that plans were still ongoing to integrate Youth Services, the Youth Offending Team, and Education. It was anticipated that Paul King would prepare a report on this for the meeting scheduled for the 8th April 2015. This would be a joint meeting with the Education PDS Committee.
A Member enquired as to what form the Commissioner’s visit would take. The Portfolio Holder responded that this was not clear yet, but that it may be similar to question and answer sessions that took place at MOPAC meetings.
The Vice Chairman enquired what the current position was with respect to the usage of speed guns. The answer was that the cameras had been bought by LBB for the police four years ago; they were currently not all being utilised as they had not been calibrated. The Borough Police had now accepted responsibility for calibrating the speed guns, and soon they would all be calibrated. Officers would then need to be trained in their usage. The speed guns would be used in hotspot locations, backed by good intelligence.
The Portfolio Holder updated the Committee with respect to the problem of gangs in Bromley, in response to a query from a Member. The Portfolio Holder informed the Committee that LBB were waiting for a report from the Home Office, and that as Bromley had been designated as a “safe borough”, LBB were still receiving gang nominals from other boroughs. The report that LBB was waiting for would provide recommendations and actions. The report was a peer review that was undertaken at the end of 2014 by the Home Office. It was the case that there existed protocols that should be adhered to in these cases, but it was apparent that these were not being adhered to by other boroughs. The Leader would write to other boroughs in this regard. LBB was not allowed to refuse a gang nominal that had been referred. It was anticipated that an update report concerning gang nominals would be going to the PDS Committee and the Executive in the near future.
A Member enquired as to who owned the properties that gang nominals were referred to, and who received the housing benefit. The response to this was that there was a mix; some were referred to Housing Association properties, others would stay with families. If they were staying with families, then the families would receive the housing benefit. Housing Associations were obliged to receive gang nominals; they would not be taking housing that had been allocated to LBB’s housing list. Gang nominals would be monitored by a variety of organisations, including the Police, the Youth Offending Team, and Probation services.
A Member raised the issue of the “Manorfields” development that was being refurbished to house the homeless. The Member spoke to clarify the fact that the people going into the property were homeless people and not criminals as some of the public feared. These people were not offenders, but people that had fallen on hard times, and just needed help in their current circumstances. Some of the people going into the property were in fact ex-servicemen. They were not drug addicts or people with mental health disorders as some had suggested.
A Member enquired how the Youth Council and Youth Services would be affected by the merger with Education. The Portfolio Holder answered that this was not clear to him yet, as he had not had sight of the proposals.
RESOLVED that:
(1) the update from the Portfolio Holder be noted
(2) a report concerning the merger of Youth Services, the Youth Offending Team, and Education, be presented to the next meeting of the Committee
(3) a report outlining recommendations and actions for dealing with gang nominal cases be drafted for the attention of the Executive and the PDS Committee after receipt of the relevant Home Office guidance