Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Baker and Rogers.

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 party whip.

Minutes of the meeting of Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Panel held on 3^rd December 2024were submitted for Members’ consideration.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Panel held on 3^rd December 2024 be approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chair.

Following a referral from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Members considered a report on the use of Community Protection Notices (CPNs) by Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) and the impact of recent adoption of £100 fixed penalty notice for breaches of CPN, on influencing repeat and and potential offenders’ behaviours and on reduction of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in Redditch.

The Technical Services Manager, WRS, introduced the item by stating that the meeting provided an opportunity to promote the work of WRS in Redditch. Clarification was provided in that since June 2024 the remit of WRS within Redditch Borough was to undertake enforcement of Planning and Environmental matters such as fly tipping, littering, duty of care of waste offences and dog fouling and the report focused on the issuing of CPNs and fixed penalty notices in relation to these matters. It was highlighted that CPNs were also being used for a wider range of anti-social behaviours by the Police and other Council departments.

Community Protection Notices (CPNs) were intended to stop a person or business continuing with conduct which unacceptably affected victims and the community. CPNs could only be served where there were reasonable grounds to believe the offender’s conduct had a detrimental impact on the quality of life of those in the locality. Before a CPN could be served, the offender must be given a formal written warning, the Community Protection Warning (CPW), stating that a CPN would be issued unless the offender’s conduct ceases to have a detrimental impact.

It was noted that failure to comply with a CPN was a summary offence under Section 48 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 that was punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale (£2,500) for an individual or an unlimited fine in the case of a body/business. In September 2025, Redditch Borough Council adopted the maximum permitted £100 charge for any Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) which, as per Section 52 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, might be served by an authorised person as an alternative to prosecution for breach of a CPN.

The Technical Services Manager, WRS, explained that WRS utilised an informal approach to change offenders’ behaviours prior to issuing Community Protection Warnings (CPWs). A recent example was cited of low-level fly tipping issues in Winyates East, Redditch, where WRS enforcement officers undertook letter drops to remind residents that items of waste, such as white goods left outside properties were a form of fly-tipping. This approach usually had led to resolution of issues as often the breach is inadvertent and/or the prospect of potential criminal sanction deters the continuation of a breach.

It was highlighted that service of a CPN was not widely publicised and there was little information that could be proactively published relating to specific cases, due to data protection implications. The only exception was that the law encouraged sharing of information with victims that a notice had been served so that they had knowledge  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Community Safety Manager provided a detailed presentation on the work of the North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership (NWCSP) in Redditch Borough from December 2024 to October 2025. It was noted that at its planning meeting in March 2025, NWCSP reviewed and confirmed its priorities for the following two-year period which would remain as per those adopted in April 2024 for the period up to March 2027. The priorities were outlined as follows:

·       Public, Place Violence & the Serious Violence Duty

·       Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), Nuisance and Environmental Issues

·       Shoplifting and Neighbourhood Crime: (Neighbourhood Crime was defined by West Mercia Police for this definition as domestic burglary, robbery [against the individual/household], theft from a person and vehicle crime)

·       Protecting Vulnerable Communities including Hate Crime & Targeted Harassment, Domestic Abuse & DHRs and Sexual Violence

·       Serious Organised Crime via a Joint Action Group (SOCJAG).

Alongside the local priorities, NWCSP worked closely with the South Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership, through the countywide Safer Communities Board (SCB), which identified and addressed countywide issues. Through Worcestershire SCB, the two statutory Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) collaborated on key countywide projects and initiatives.

It was reiterated that local authorities had a statutory duty to scrutinise the work of its local Community Safety Partnership, under Section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006. The Partnership had a duty to collaborate with the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and there was a direct role for the Council’s elected members to scrutinise the work of the PCC through the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel.

Alongside the PCC’s force-wide commissioning, NWCSP had an annual ring-fenced allocation, which for amount from the PCC of £139,250 to identify and address issues at district levels. Information about the NWCSP agreed project allocation from these funds for 2024/25 was included in Appendix 1 to the report. Details of all projects undertaken by NWCSP across the time period December 2024 to now had also been included in Appendix 1 to the report.

It was explained that from 2023-24, new funding had been made available by the Home Office via PCCs to support Community Safety partners in Implementing the Serious Violence Duty (SVD). In 2025, funding allocations for SVD interventions in Worcestershire totalled £60,141 and this funding had been used to deliver an ongoing Youth Violence Intervention Project called ‘The Right Path’.

The Community Safety Manager noted that on the 13 October 2025, the Home Secretary announced the Government’s decision to abolish the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner. It was envisaged that the roles would be absorbed by regional Mayors in devolved areas, and in areas not covered by an elected mayor, the role would be taken on by elected council leaders. In response to a Member question, it was explained that at this point the structure for non-devolved areas was unknown but a format similar to the former Police Authority structure was discussed as a possibility. It was stated that the transition to the new model would take place at the end of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.