Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 4, Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley, HA9 9HD. View directions
Contact: Toby Howes, Senior Democratic Services Officer 020 8937 1307, Email: toby.howes@brent.gov.uk
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Declarations of personal and prejudicial interests Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant financial or other interest in the items on the agenda. Minutes: None declared. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 December 2011 PDF 129 KB The minutes are attached. Minutes: RESOLVED:-
that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 December 2011 be approved as an accurate record. |
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Matters arising Minutes: None. |
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Policing priorities in Brent The Borough Commander will be attending the meeting to discuss policing issues in Brent, including the use of Stop and Search. Minutes: The Chair welcomed Matthew Gardener (Brent Borough Commander, Brent Police) and Councillor Beswick (Lead Member for Crime and Public Safety) who were present to give an update to the committee on policing issues in Brent, including the use of Stop and Search in the borough.
Matthew Gardener thanked the committee and stated he would welcome any invitation in the future from the Committee. He also gave special thanks to Councillor Beswick and Genny Renard (Head of Integrated Community Safety and Development, Strategy Partnerships and Improvement) who he had built a strong working relationship with.
Matthew Gardener stated that the current London Metropolitan Commissioner had put Stop and Search high on the policing agenda. He informed the Committee that Brent carried out more Stop and Searches per officer than any other borough in London and most likely the rest of the UK. He noted that this also raised the question as to whether the right approach was being taken in terms of using this power. In terms of outcomes resulting from Stop and Search, Brent police had performed well, with 20% of all Stop and Searches in the borough last year resulting in a positive outcome and 13% resulting in arrest. These were the highest success rates in London although, Matthew Gardener recognised that therefore meant 80% of people stopped were not formally sanctioned. In response to this view point, he stated that it was very difficult for the Police to always correctly identify those who had committed a crime and those who had not. He explained the difference between an arrest and a positive outcome, where an arrest meant someone was taken to a police station and detained, where as a positive outcome included giving someone a street warning, which significantly reduced the amount of paperwork the police officer had to complete. He gave the example of the police stopping an individual who was over the age of 18, searching them and finding them in possession of a small amount of cannabis that was deemed to be for personal use. Instead of arresting that individual the police could give a street warning, which would be deemed as a positive outcome from the Stop and Search.
Matthew Gardener then presented a chart to the committee which showed the success rates of Stop and Search in each borough from January 2012. Brent’s success rate was over 25% which was higher than any other borough. Matthew Gardener commented that he believed that the police’s main priority was to arrest and remove criminals from the community. A number of those who the police dealt with had already been attended by a number of other services including schools, social services and the NHS and those who had continued to offend needed to be addressed by the police. Matthew Gardner informed the committee that Brent and Lewisham police had attended a recent meeting with the Deputy Commissioner for Cumbria, who was the ACPO lead on Stop and Search. They spoke about Stop It, and also about ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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Community safety update PDF 83 KB Members will be given a presentation on the draft crime strategy and a report on crime performance indicators is attached. There is also a briefing note on the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime. Additional documents: Minutes: Members agreed to defer this item to a future meeting of the committee due to deteriorating weather. |
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Date of next meeting The next meeting of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 29 March 2012 at 7.30 pm. Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to take place on Thursday, 29 March 2012 at 7.30 pm. |
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Any other urgent business Notice of items raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Democratic Services Manager or his representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 64. Minutes: None. |