Agenda item

Community Safety Plan

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources.

Decision:

Resolved to RECOMMEND: (to Council)

That the Community Safety Plan 2013-2017 be adopted.

Reason for Recommendation: To comply with Section 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: None.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member / Dispensation Granted: None.

[Call-in does not apply to this recommendation as the decision is reserved to Council.]

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety introduced the report, which set out key community safety priorities in response to both the Strategic Assessment of crime in Harrow and the ambitions for the police set by the Mayor’s Office for policing and crime. He added that the Plan which included measures to protect residents had been set for a period of three years.

In response to various questions from a non-voting non-Executive Cabinet Member, the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety, the Chief Executive and an officer responded as follows:

· burglary was key issue and as part of the campaign titled ‘autumn nights’, advice would be provided to residents on how to take precautions, such as locking doors and windows, keeping valuables safe, and how the use of electronic devices could help keep their homes safe against burglars. A sum of £8,000 had been received to help advertise the project which would be implemented soon to coincide with the early evenings from October 2013 to February 2014;

· that the borough’s position from second to seventh in terms of overall crime in London, whilst disturbing, would be addressed by the Borough Commander through improved co-ordination of information and interventions across the seven key crime areas;

· with regard to domestic violence, Harrow was ranked 27^th in London. Long term preventative work was being explored with MOPAC (The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime), and the Children and Families Directorate had already introduced a vulnerable Young People Panel and early intervention measures;

· it was intended to place on record, that contrary to reports, the number of police officers on Harrow’s streets was actually going to increase. The perception of crime and fear of crime continued to be an issue;

· despite the spending reductions, the number of Police Officers on Harrow’s streets would increase over the next three years compared with 2011 numbers by an additional 46 Police Officers within the Safer Neighbourhood Teams and an additional 30 within other teams. There would be an overall increase the establishment from 416 to 492. This would help increase confidence in the Police and their morale;

· publicity for SmartWater would be renewed to ensure a higher take up then in the past. The number of Neighbourhood Champions had remained static and the project would be re-invigorated through a conference with a key note speaker being invited to address the meeting. The Portfolio Holder expected that Councillor Susan Hall, who had introduced and championed its cause, would be the Council’s key note speaker;

· benchmarks had been incorporated in the Plan, as requested by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

It was noted that the target figure relating to anti-social behaviour was -5%.