Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Gareth Prosser.

An apology submitted by the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, Councillor Joe Baker, was also noted by Members.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and / or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests, and any Party Whip.

There were no declarations of interest nor of any party whip.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Panel held on 22^nd March 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Community Safety Manager presented a briefing note outlining the work of the North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership in 2017/18.  During the presentation of this paper the following matters were highlighted for Members’ consideration:

·                A number of projects, designed to facilitate crime prevention, had received grant funding from the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

·                There was also a Community Safety Project Officer who had been recruited relatively recently to deliver projects in the Borough.  These projects were designed to address key areas of local concern based on available data.

·                There had been an increase of 21 per cent in total recorded crime during the year.

·                The increase appeared in large part to be due to changes in reporting practices.  In previous years only reports supported by viable evidence identified by the police would be included in the data; by 2017 all reported incidents, regardless of the evidence basis, were recorded.

·                There had been a significant increase in bicycle theft, with this peaking in the months of April, May and June.

·                Bicycle theft had been particularly notable in Church Hill and Matchborough and had included thefts from rear gardens.

·                The available data revealed that 14 per cent of crime had been committed in the town centre.  A lot of this was linked to the night time economy.

·                There had been 11 hate crimes reported, leading to an increase of 19 per cent in such offences.  It was noted that 10 of these offences related to a single, ongoing complaint which had since been resolved.

·                The Partnership had been reviewing action that could be taken to address crimes committed by repeat offenders.

Following the presentation a number of issues were raised by Members:

·                The work of YSS.  Members were advised that this was a charity that carried out work with offenders and those at risk of offending as well as on other projects involving young people in Worcestershire.

·                The work of Swanswell to support people struggling with substance abuse problems.  Officers explained that Worcestershire County Council commissioned Swanswell to deliver drug and alcohol services across the county and representatives of the organisation were involved in the work of the Redditch Tasking Group.

·                The work of the Partnership to raise the profile of the partnership in terms of helping retailers to tackle theft from shops.  Members were informed that the partnership worked closely with the Kingfisher Shopping Centre.

·                The approach adopted by partners to address cases of child and sexual exploitation (CSE). 

·                The role of schools in terms of referring young people at risk of CSE.  Members were advised that training was being delivered to school staff to help assist with this.

·                The extent to which the increase in reported bicycle thefts was linked to changes in the reporting of crime statistics.  Members were advised that there had been an increase in bicycle thefts and the partnership was examining these to identify any patterns.

·                The work of partners to ensure that stolen bicycles were not subsequently sold on.  Members were advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

“That, under S.100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following matter(s) on the grounds that it/they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs (to be specified) of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act”.

These paragraphs are as follows:

Subject to the “public interest” test, information relating to:

·         Para 7 – the prevention, investigation or

                     prosecution of crime;

                     and may need to be considered as ‘exempt’.

RESOLVED that

under S.100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following matters on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act, as amended:

Minute 6 – Report Concerning Anti-Social Behaviour in Redditch Borough; and

Minute 7 – Report on Preventing Violent Extremism

The Community Safety Manager presented a report on the subject of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Redditch Borough and in so doing highlighted the following information for Members’ consideration:

·                There were various definitions of ASB, which took into account the likely impact including on the quality of people’s lives.

·                The Council was in the process of updating its definition of ASB as identified in the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.  A report on this subject would be presented for the consideration of the Executive Committee in due course.

·                ASB included a number of incidents considered to be beyond the bounds of acceptable behaviour.

[During consideration of this item Members discussed matters that necessitated the disclosure of exempt information. It was therefore agreed to exclude the press and public prior to any debate on the grounds that information would be revealed which relates to any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime].

The Community Safety Manager presented a report on the subject of preventing violent extremism.

[During consideration of this item Members discussed matters that necessitated the disclosure of exempt information. It was therefore agreed to exclude the press and public prior to any debate on the grounds that information would be revealed which relates to any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime].