Issue - meetings

Annual Scrutiny of the work of the Community Safety Partnership

Meeting: 17/01/2019 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 49)

Annual Scrutiny of the work of the Community Safety Partnership

To review the work of the East Surrey Community Safety Partnership in 2018/19.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed the following guests to the meeting:

 

·         Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, David Munro

·         Borough Commander for Reigate and Banstead, Angie Austin

·         Deputy Chair of the East Surrey Community Safety Partnership, Michael Hodder

 

The Committee received a presentation from Councillor J. Durrant, Executive Member for Community Safety, and Sarah Crosbie, Partnerships Team Leader, on the community safety portfolio and the Council’s community safety work. This included information on the work of the Council and the Community Safety Partnership to support the safety of residents and to address matters such as anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse, serious organised crime and the ‘Prevent’ counter-terrorism campaign. Attention was also drawn to the Council’s recent modern slavery awareness campaign and the positive response received. It was also identified that the Council’s direct community safety and enforcement activities now operated on a more distinct basis, and that additional information on the enforcement elements would be provided at a future point.

 

The Committee then received a presentation from the Borough Commander for Reigate and Banstead, Angie Austin, on the work of the police within the borough. This included information on crime rates and reporting practices, priority areas, and recent police initiatives and operations. Information was also provided on some of the approaches utilised by the police to address and disrupt criminal activity, and the role that could be played by the community.

 

The Committee then received a presentation from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Surrey, David Munro, on the role of the PCC and the police across the county and the borough. This included information on options for policing budgets and officer numbers, headline crime areas (anti-social behaviour, burglary, child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, drug & alcohol offences, fraud, modern slavery, and unauthorised encampments), and options for community engagement.

 

The Committee considered and discussed the presentations. There were a number of questions and comments, relating to the following topics:

 

·         Unauthorised Encampments. Queries were raised regarding police awareness of unauthorised encampments by groups within the borough and the approaches adopted in response. It was confirmed that the police sought to pursue all such incidents as proactively as possible, within the bounds of legislation. It was identified that information from local residents was important for assessing the community impact of such incidents. It was identified that the Council was developing a report on a range of available responses, including consideration of physical defences for at-risk sites and potential legal options. It was also noted that there was a need to provide appropriate sites for authorised encampments in the area, and that where designated transit sites were available, this increased the options available for responding to unauthorised encampments. It was commented that it was hoped that the government might take account of transit sites when considering requirements for gypsy and traveller accommodation in the borough.

·         Police Overview and Funding. In response to a query, the PCC confirmed that police performance in the borough was considered to be generally good. It was identified that recorded  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49