Agenda item

This joint Community Safety Plan sets out the Partnership’s Community Safety work for the next three years with emphasis on the recent Bath & North East Somerset Council Scrutiny Inquiry Day on Community Safety, which identified the benefits of partnership working.

Sgt Jon Bagnowiec and Victoria Jeffries (ASB Co-ordinator) briefed the Panel on recent Antisocial Behaviour in Keynsham.

Victoria Jeffries explained that there are three main categories for antisocial behaviour, depending on how many people are affected:

• Personal antisocial behaviour is when a person targets a specific individual or group.

• Nuisance antisocial behaviour is when a person causes trouble, annoyance or suffering to a community.

• Environmental antisocial behaviour is when a person’s actions affect the wider environment, such as public spaces or buildings.

She said that the Police fully understand the impact that Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) can have on communities and individuals. She added that services such as Lighthouse were available for victim support.

She informed the Panel of the new powers following the implementation of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

·  Criminal Behaviour Order – Issued by the courts after a person has been convicted for a criminal offence. Under the order, a person who has been convicted would be banned from certain activities or places, and would also be required to address their behaviour, for example by attending a drug treatment programme. A breach could see an adult face up to five years in prison.

• Police Dispersal Power – Allows the police to disperse anti-social individuals and provide short-term respite to a local community. The power is preventative and allows an officer to deal instantly with someone’s behaviour in a particular place and to confiscate related items.

• Community Protection Notice - Enables local authorities and police to stop persistent environmental anti-social behaviour, like graffiti, neighbour noise or rubbish on private land.

• Public Spaces Protection Order – A power which allows a local council to deal with a particular nuisance or problem that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life by imposing universal conditions on the use of that area. This can be used to tackle issues like dog fouling and restricting the consumption of alcohol.

• Closure Power – Allows the police or local council to close premises where anti-social behaviour has been committed, or was likely to be committed.
• Absolute Ground for Possession – Will speed up the possession process in cases where anti-social behaviour or criminality has already been proven by another court.

Giving victims a say

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 also includes two new measures which are designed to give victims and communities a say in the way anti-social behaviour is dealt with:

• Community Trigger – Gives victims the ability to demand action, starting with a review of their case, where the locally defined threshold is met.

• Community Remedy – Gives victims a say in the out-of-court punishment of perpetrators for low-level crime and anti-social behaviour.

She stated that warning letters can also be sent to perpetrators of antisocial behaviour prior to them agreeing to sign an Acceptable Behaviour Contract which can be in place for six months. She said that in some cases parents may also be asked to agree to certain contract conditions.

Councillor Dine Romero asked if speeding vehicles or vehicles parking in an obstructive manner could be considered as nuisance antisocial behaviour.

Victoria Jeffries replied that this could possibly be seen as antisocial behaviour, but may involve some crossover work and discussion with a local beat team.

Sgt Jon Bagnowiec added that depending on the offence Road Traffic Act powers can used, including the seizure of vehicles.

Councillor Peter Turner asked how the effectiveness of these powers is measured.

Victoria Jeffries replied that interventions are monitored on a regular basis. She added that unfortunately some individual continue to breach their conditions and this leads to court proceedings.

Councillor Turner asked if enough resources were in place.

Victoria Jeffries replied that resources are limited, but this has meant that staff are working smarter and together with colleagues in areas such as Youth Services. She added that the Police welcome interaction with the public and highlighted the work of local group Keynsham Community Spirit.

Sgt Jon Bagnowiec said that there has been a reduction in antisocial behaviour in Keynsham due to public interaction by identifying individuals and setting boundaries for them to act within.

Councillor Neil Butters what the gender split was for people carrying out antisocial behaviour.

Sgt Jon Bagnowiec replied that in terms of formal interventions there are 3 females and 18 males involved in antisocial behaviour in Keynsham. He added that demand on the team was high last year due to specific people.

He gave the Panel the following figures for average of incidents per day.

July 2016: 1.7 – 2.7 incidents a day (max 6, min 1)

Aug 2016: 3.7 incidents a day (max 6, min 1)

Sept 2016: Figures reduced

Oct 2016: Small spike

July 2017: 2 – 5.3 incidents a day (max 8, min 1)

Aug 2017: 4.9 incidents a day (max 7, min 1)

The figures continued in this vein into October & November and he stated that they are continued to be monitored on a daily basis.

He informed the Panel that the figures were comparable with Frome which sees average daily incidents of 3.1.

He stated that the main contributors to the figures in Keynsham were aged 11-15 years old and took place in a number of hot spots that included the Memorial Park, Library, Carpenters Lane, Hawthorns Lane, Tintagel Close and the Leisure Centre.

He explained that as a result of this increased activity 4 beat surgeries were introduced, but that these were soon to reduce to two, based at the Library and Queens Road.

He said that the Police provide reports to both the Keynsham Town Council and B&NES and that their website is updated regarding incidents on a weekly basis. He added that there are fixed patrol strategies in place locally and that officers will if necessary return young people to their homes and talk to parents directly.

He added that bids for further officer resources have been made on numerous occasions, but not had yet been successful due to the needs of other work streams.

He stated that officers have attended local Primary Schools to speak about antisocial behaviour and plan to visit Secondary Schools in the near future. He added that in some instances the Acceptable Behaviour Contracts mentioned earlier can be tied to tenancies within Curo and therefore directly affect the family if young people within the premises are behaving inappropriately.

He said that as well as the Police website being updated weekly, articles are published in Keynsham Voice to keep the public informed. He added that he had also introduced a call back service for members of the public reporting incidents. He said that local CCTV was not online yet and would help officers when in place.

To summarise he said that it was clear to him the effect the incidents that took place had on the local area and that the actions taken by the Police were appropriate.

The Chairman asked what effect cuts to the local Youth Services have had on antisocial behaviour.

Victoria Jeffries replied that the reduction in available services is a concern.

The Inclusive Communities Manager introduced the Joint Community Safety Plan to the Panel. She explained that the Plan sets out the Partnership’s Community Safety work for the next three years with emphasis on the recent Bath & North East Somerset Council Scrutiny Inquiry Day on Community Safety, which identified the benefits of partnership working.  It identifies issues including crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour in Bath and North East Somerset.

She said that the Bath and North East Somerset Responsible Authorities Group (RAG), which is our Community Safety Partnership and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), have worked closely together to prepare this document, alongside the other key partners involved in keeping us safe.

She stated that the Police provide regular policing updates to the Connecting Communities Area Forums and this allows for local concerns to be raised and projects identified. She added that she would be visiting all Forums within the next week to clarify the Plan.

She identified the following strategic and emerging issues across the area from within the Plan.

·  “Street” based issues – Including supporting the Task and Targeting Group to address rough sleeping and aggressive begging. Our partnership with the Business Improvement District has extended city centre marshalling, and our Bath and District Crime Reduction Partnership reduces the impact of crime and anti-social behaviour on businesses particularly regarding anti-social behaviour including rough sleeping in doorways.

·  Domestic Abuse – Particularly supporting the Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA) service and conducting Domestic Homicide Reviews.  The Partnership has secured long-term funding for the RUH IDVA through contributions from Public Health, CCG and Wiltshire Council. The Partnership has also secured funding to provide 10 new beds of refuge provision.

·  Serious and Organised Crime – Establishing cross-agency links to disrupt organised crime gangs operating in our area, including Disrupt and modern slavery and people trafficking. Our multi-agency Disrupt Panel brings together Council, Police, and others to tackle serious and organised crime in our area.

She informed the Panel of the three priorities within the Plan.

Priority 1: Protect the most vulnerable from harm

Priority 2: Strengthen and improve local communities to improve outcomes for local people

Priority 3: Work together effectively to respond to community safety challenges

She stated that indicators will be regularly reviewed in order to understand the impact of the Plan’s activities, noting the challenges that present in interpreting these as measures of performance.

Councillor Neil Butters said that he represented the Council on the Avon Fire Authority and that he was aware that members of the public were more likely to pass information to Fire Officers than the Police when they attend incidents.

The Inclusive Communities Manager replied that they are key players within the RAG and have commented on the Plan.

Councillor Richard Samuel commented that he acknowledged the data relating to headline figures and emerging issues, but did not see the thread between the proposed measures and their outcomes.

The Inclusive Communities Manager replied that she would welcome the opportunity to discuss the matter further with Councillor Samuel outside of this meeting.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones asked what work was planned to address homelessness in the area.

The Inclusive Communities Manager replied that the local voluntary sector has been granted £310,000 which will enable additional work to be carried out with Julian House. She added that it will enable someone to be employed at the RUH to work with those that are homeless when they are discharged.

Councillor Anketell-Jones commented that he felt that an increased Police presence in the city centre would make a difference.

The Inclusive Communities Manager replied that resource challenges are in place that currently prevents this.

Councillor Dine Romero suggested liaising with the Student Community Partnership on future versions of the Plan.

The Inclusive Communities Manager replied that she would discuss the proposal with the RAG.

Councillor Michael Evans commented that some of the terms used within the Plan, such as Lighthouse, Complex / Toxic Trio should be explained further.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the content of the Joint Community Safety Plan.

The Chair, on behalf of the Panel thanked Sgt Jon Bagnowiec, Victoria Jeffries and the Inclusive Communities Manager for their contributions to the meeting.