Agenda item
Update on emerging local and national policing issues (verbal report)
Members will be provided with a verbal update on the emerging local and national policing initiatives and the impact they are likely to have on Brent. This will include a brief overview of how the new Safer Neighbourhoods Teams are bedding in.
Minutes:
Sergeant Barron (Metropolitan Police – Brent) provided a brief update to the committee on policing issues in Brent. The committee was advised that borough tasking meetings took place every two weeks and resources to tackle issues of specific concern were allocated as needed. Such resources might include decoy cars to address issues of car theft or vandalism. Current priorities for the borough related to tackling burglary, robbery and gang related crime. Figures were not available per Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) but across the borough for the previous month there had been eighty-four arrests and one hundred and fifty six searches carried out. Twenty to twenty-five per cent of arrests had arisen from people being stopped and searched. Eleven fixed penalty notices had been issued; these fixed penalty notices could be issued for offences such as drinking in public areas, littering and dog fouling. Sergeant Barron added that a sex offender had been active in Gladstone Park but that an individual had now been arrested and charged with nine offences which ranged from indecent talking to attempted rape. In response to a query, Sergeant Barron agreed that graphs indicating the types and levels of crime for each ward could be provided to the committee.
Sergeant Barron informed the Panel that she had recently taken over responsibility for the SNTs for Brondesbury Park ward and Mapebury ward. The SNTs in Brent had recently been rearranged so that there would be five dual wards. Whilst separate SNTs would be maintained for each ward within the dual-ward areas, the teams would be overseen by only one Sergeant. Each SNT would still have the same number of Police Constables (PCs) and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). Genny Renard noted that the dual-ward areas would be monitored closely and added that the resource funded by the council of five additional police officers could be allocated to help meet specific needs as they arose.
During members’ discussion, Councillor Hashmi raised a concern regarding communication with SNTs, noting that he had left messages previously and no one had responded. Sergeant Barron advised that this situation would be explored further.
Councillor Hirani asserted that the information sharing between SNTs did not work as it should do and noted to the committee that the advice given to residents regarding the use of Gladstone park during the period where a sex offender had been known to be active had differed between neighbouring wards. Sergeant Barron acknowledged that communication should be better. A communications strategy was currently being formulated and would be circulated shortly. Sergeant Barron confirmed that communication between SNTs would improve.
Councillor Hirani further queried what arrangements were in place to ensure that sufficient cover was provided for those SNTs where an officer was on maternity leave or long term leave due to illness. Sergeant Barron advised that in some circumstances individuals may be placed on recuperative duties if they were unable to carry out their normal duties due to illness or injury. In such circumstances, these officers were still able to contribute to the SNTs. Where team members would be absent from work for an extended period of time, supervisors would be required to manage these issues as appropriate. If possible, interim cover for these posts would be arranged. It was noted that the sickness absence level for Brent police was at its lowest in four years.
Councillor S Choudhary commended the work completed with regard to Gladstone Park and noted that issues relating to drinking in public had been effectively tackled. Councillor Harrison commented that she had also received positive feedback from residents concerning the SNTs; however, residents had also highlighted that they had failed to receive a response to voice messages which they had left. Sergeant Barron advised that the voicemail system was currently being monitored and this issue would be investigated. Genny Renard added that the quality of the telephone equipment currently in use by the SNTs represented a real problem and this issue was being explored; unfortunately there were limited resources available to resolve this issue. At present, work was being conducted via the LJAGs to arrange for one central number to be established for SNTs.
Councillor Mistry noted that volunteers for data entry had been asked for at a previous SNT meeting and sought an update on this. Sergeant Barron advised that this had related to the neighbourhood link which was a system approved by the metropolitan police. This system allowed messages to be sent to subscribers of the system alerting people to issues or incidents of which they should be aware. Currently there were only one hundred and seventy people registered to receive these updates in Brent.
The Chair raised a query regarding crime priorities for the borough. Sergeant Barron advised that the Borough Crime Tasking Group (BCTG) co-ordinated priorities, resources and budgets for the borough. Currently robbery was highlighted as a significant issue. Robberies were driven by a diverse range of factors. Genny Renard added that mobile phone robberies might peak around the time that a new model was released. Jewellery motivated robbery also coincided with religious festivals where jewellery was more widely worn. Robberies also tended to increase around Christmas time as people were buying new products. Genny Renard added that eight prolific burglars who previously resided in Brent were all due to be released after long periods in prison. Councillor Mistry sought an update regarding the ‘cops on dots’ scheme. Sergeant Barron advised that this scheme had been very effective but was also very resource intensive.
Following a query from the Chair, Genny Renard advised that a new draft crime strategy would be submitted to the Crime Prevention Strategy Group (CPSG) in November 2011 and following officer review would then be shared with the committee. Joint working would be a key element of this, particularly in the context of the limited availability of resources. One project which had arisen out of the previous strategy was the Safer Transport Project which targeted ASB on public transport by school children occurring outside the Arc Academy. This project was funded via monies obtained from the Mayor for London.
The Chair requested an update on the work carried out on the Kilburn and Mozart Estates.
Genny Renard noted that there had been significant problems in the past due to on-going tensions between young people from the two neighbouring estates. A joint project between Brent Council and Westminster Council had been established to tackle this issue and encompassed several different schemes. A project delivered by Catalyst Housing involved the police identifying young people from both estates who were vulnerable to being drawn into the tensions. Work was then carried out with twenty of these individuals (ten from each estate) to help form amiable relations. Further projects included a community mentoring programme delivered by Adaction and additional work by the police around gang issues in the area, for which £10k had been allocated. In response to a further query, Genny Renard clarified that funds had been obtained via successful joint bids between the council and Westminster council and this had allowed for a more creative approach to the issue.