Minutes:
The police update was provided by Inspector Gary Byfield.
The Chairman asked Mr Byfield to convey the Committee’s disappointment to Chief Superintendent Jeff Boothe regarding his non-attendance at the meeting.
The Committee learnt that the senior leadership team for the BCU (Basic Command Unit) was now in place and that the full transfer to the tri-borough BCU would take place during February 2019.
The Chairman informed Mr Byfield that going forward he would be requesting that statistical data be sent to the Committee Clerk in advance of the meeting. This would allow members of the Committee time to assess the data prior to the meeting.
The Committee was informed that the percentage of ‘I’ calls reached within the target time was 87%, and the percentage of ‘S’ calls reached within the target time was 85%. ‘I’ calls were calls that required the fastest response time of being answered within 15 minutes, and ‘S’ calls within 1 hour. The target time for responses was 90%, so in both cases the targets were not being hit. A Member enquired what the geographical demographic was in terms of the area that had to be covered by police response vehicles. Mr Byfield responded that the police had to deal with calls over an area of 52 square miles, and there were occasions when multiple calls would come in simultaneously—then the police would have the difficult decision of deciding which call to prioritise. In some instances, the response time could fail to hit the target by just a few seconds.
Knife crime was down by 7% and the number of seizures of weapons had increased. This was due to an increase in the use of stop and search and an increase in the number of weapons sweeps. These were both aspects of the Met Commissioner’s more proactive Knife Crime Strategy. A young person had been stopped in Penge and found to be in possession of a samurai sword. It was asked if all cases of knife crime were prosecuted. Mr Byfield answered that the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) was now taking a positive attitude towards prosecution.
Burglary had increased by 5%, which was partly due to the targeting of certain areas and properties in the borough by gangs coming in from outside of Bromley. A burglary gang from north London had recently been arrested. Bromley had a dedicated burglary squad, but could call on external resources if required. ASB had reduced by 17%, which equated to 6,000 calls.
Problems with the 101 call handling service were discussed. The Chairman stated that he had made a call to 101 recently and was kept waiting for a response for 40 minutes. The Committee was of the view that there were serious problems with the operation and efficiency of the 101 service. Members expressed the view that in many wards, ASB was not falling, but that rather the full extent of ASB was not being reported due to failures in the 101 service where callers were taking too long to get a response and were therefore abandoning the calls. The Chairman asked Mr Byfield if some data could be provided concerning the number of calls that went unanswered. Another Member asked if information was available relating to ASB per ward.
Cameron Ward (Bromley Youth Council--Chairman) stated that young people had concerns over using the 101 service to report drug and knife crime, and asked what the police could do to promote youth engagement. Mr Byfield responded that if the matter was related to drugs or knife crime, young people should consider if a 999 call may be more appropriate—especially if the crime was taking place there and then. For less urgent matters, young people could consider a variety of other contact methods which included emailing the local Safer Neighbourhood Team, using Twitter, or they could make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers. The Chairman reminded Mr Byfield that the police had a responsibility to the public to provide clarification and advice concerning how the public could contact the police.
A Member raised a question based on the previous minutes which noted that a positive outcome in stop and search incidents had been achieved in 24.2% of cases. The target for stop and searches achieving a positive outcome was 22%. A Member queried if stop and search was still subject to serious scrutiny from external panels. This had previously discouraged officers from using stop and search. Mr Byfield informed the Committee that things had now changed. More support was now forthcoming from the Senior Leadership Team. Additionally, the use of body worn cameras had reduced complaints by 35%. The Portfolio Holder (Councillor Kate Lymer) mentioned that she was now a member of the Stop and Search Monitoring Group and BYC (Bromley Youth Council) was represented on the Group. If anyone wanted more information concerning this Group, the Portfolio Holder would be happy to take queries directly outside of the meeting.
The Member (again noting the previous minutes) asked if Bromley police were still short of 17 detectives; Mr Byfield said that he would find out and provide an update.
The Vice Chairman congratulated the police on their use of social media. He then asked for clarification concerning when the local police bases would be closing. The Committee was pleased to hear that as a consequence of a judicial review, no bases were now going to be closed. My Byfield was asked if LBB could therefore publicise this fact, and the response was affirmative.
A Member asked if the police now had a full quota of officers. Mr Byfield answered that this was not the case, but that the previous vacancy at Shortlands had now been filled. There was a constant churn of officers for a variety of reasons, and the police always endeavoured to fill any vacancies as soon as possible.
A Member informed the Committee that he had a daughter who worked in the 101 call centre, and he stated that 101 call centre staff were also frustrated. He asked Mr Byfield how many duty officers there now were, and the response was that there was one in each borough which was the same as before.
A Member asked what could be done about ‘joy riders’ in car parks. Mr Byfield responded that it would be useful if the car registration numbers could be forwarded to the police. In many of these incidences, young people were driving cars that were connected to their parents’ car insurance. Very often, if the police wrote a letter to the parent, threatening to seize the car, then that resolved the issue. Mr Byfield stated that what should be happening is that the police and LBB should work together to ‘design out crime’. The problem could perhaps be solved by preventing joy riders from getting into the car parks in the first place. This could be done by using spikes or chains—money would need to be spent. The Chairman commented that the matter was an issue of priorities and resources.
The Chairman asked if there was still a problem anywhere in Bromley with Travellers. Mr Toby Smith (LBB Head of Street Enforcement) responded that there were two small incursions that were being dealt with. Mr Byfield commented that consideration in these matters had to be given to what was legal and proportionate. Members stated that this was a matter of great concern to local residents and the clearing up operations required afterwards were costly. It was noted that this was also an issue that many thought could be ‘designed out’. Mr Nigel Davies (Executive Director of Environmental and Community Services) stated that money had been spent in trying to deter Traveller incursions, and money would continue to be spent. However, what was also required was clarity and the correct interpretation of when the police could and could not take action.
The Chairman referenced an address that had been visited 84 times in the past three months in connection with ASB. The Chairman asked why this matter had been allowed to continue for such a protracted period without firmer action being taken. Mr Byfield promised to look into the matter and report back.
The Chairman informed Mr Byfield that going forward he would be asking for various statistics and information from the police. He would also be writing to Chief Superintendent Boothe to request information and would be carefully monitoring the implementation of the new tri-borough BCU approach.
The Chairman thanked Inspector Byfield for attending the meeting at short notice.
RESOLVED that:
1) The police update be noted
2) The police provide data concerning the number of 101 calls that go unanswered
3) Inspector Byfield to report back concerning whether or not Bromley police were still short of detectives
4) Inspector Byfield to report back concerning the address that had been visited 84 times in three months, and why this matter had been allowed to continue for so long.