To receive and consider the report of the Community Safety Partnership Co-ordinator, together with information requested by the Committee at the last meeting.
Minutes:
Documents Considered:
· Report of the Community Safety Partnership Co-ordinator together with information requested by the Committee at the last meeting.
The Chair welcomed Inspector Brian Jones (Dyfed Powys Police) to the meeting.
Issues Discussed:
· An actions update was circulated to Committee. Cycle Safety Campaign was followed up with a publicity campaign called Operation Edward (each day without a road death) which occurred in September. A seasonal road safety programme is currently being developed by the Road Safety Team.
· Questions:
With regard to Operation Edward, have been involved in a speed watch locally. We've been trying to get more volunteers trained with four people want to volunteer but its taken 12 months for them to be trained. Is there any feedback on this. |
The Portfolio Holder indicated she was having similar issues in her ward. Covid has delayed the training. The CSP Co-ordinator indicated that GoSafe are those leading on community speed watch schemes and will take up the issue of volunteers waiting to be trained. |
In relation to community safety and speed watch a driver exceeding the speed limit will get a warning letter from GoSafe but how does this link with the Council and traffic calming measures. It is good that volunteers are checking speeds but what is the outcome and how does it impact on the Council's strategy for speed calming measures.
In relation to volunteers as a whole how does the Council assist to support volunteers with other bodies and statutory organisations such as PAVO. |
The CSP Co-ordinator agreed to take these issues forward as an action following the meeting. |
The report identifies that there has been success in taking those who make money from drugs off the streets. The recognition from the local community is that they are still dealing with the problem and a recent survey of residents resulted in a low score to the question "how safe do you feel in your home". The reason for that is the drug dealing that is going on around their houses.
The problem is not going away and there is a need to bring police and local people trying to tackle the issue together more.
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Inspector Jones suggested that this can be picked up in his report about the proactivity of drug targeting, intelligence gathering and people's safety.
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· The report to scrutiny has been amended from the way that the partnership reported previously. It was suggested that a representative could attend scrutiny in future to brief Members on specific topics within the community safety arena.
· Inspector Brian Jones – Crime and Disorder.
· The figures in the report are national statistics to the end of June 2021, updated to provide an additional five months' information to November 2021. There are common themes in national statistics but there are different dynamics and issues in different communities and the police response is tailored to meet the needs of communities.
· Crime – there will not be a comparison to 2020 as this was an unprecedented year where crime reduced, and anti-social behaviour increased. Therefore, the comparisons will be with 2018 and 2019.
· There were a total of 6433 crimes since 1 April 2021, compared to 4758 in 2019 and 4479 in 2018 which is a 35% increase. Violent crime is just over 3000 crimes which is about a further 1000 crimes by comparison to 2018/19. However, violent crime has not increased by that level but the method of reporting has changed following changes to national crime recording standards. Now incidents are broken down into individual reports for different crimes where previously they would have been all within a single incident. However, in reviewing the incidents there are no hot spots or particular areas causing concern.
· Domestic violence - 810 crimes up 10% compared to 2019 at 734 crimes, 573 in 2018. The police want to see increase in these statistics as it becomes a reported crime to improve people's confidence to come forward and report these crimes so that the police can support them and put preventative measures in place.
· Public order – 1000 crimes to date this year is an increase by comparison to 365 (2019) and 285 (2018). There is a significant increase some of which is crime recording but also the police's response to lower levels of disorder.
· Criminal damage – 713 compared to 550 (2019) and 654 (2018). This is on par as previously and there are no trends.
· Thefts – down as seen nationally with 579 compared to 575 (2019) and 715 (2018).
· Sexual offences – increased 309 crimes by comparison to 255 (2019) and 175 (2018).
· Drug crime - 233 crimes by comparison to 365 (2019) and 320 (2018).
· Residential burglary - 146 crimes by comparison to 167 (2019) and 171 (2018).
· Burglary with businesses - 76 crimes by comparison to 125 (2019) and 117 (2018).
· Vehicle crimes – 104 crimes by comparison to 154 (2019) and 147 (2018). Normally it is around 10 vehicle crimes a month but that increased from May to July and then decreased to normal levels. Some of this was around the theft of catalytic converters as was being reported nationally.
· Rural crime – quad bike thefts, 8 since April 2021. Tool thefts are starting to increase. Oil theft particularly of heating oil and fuel from vehicles. Animal worrying and livestock, a campaign is ongoing at a national level to change the legislation. Theft of livestock is not new but is a large crime both financially and the personal impact on farmers.
· Anti-social behaviour and disorder – there was a significant increase in complaints last year mainly reporting covid breaches. 2500 calls in the same period in 2020, just over 1000 for 2021 compared to 1400 (2019) and 1800 (2018). The decrease is because the police is managing calls better and there is better partnership solving of the issues happening with multi agency responses to deal with some cases.
· Spiking – there have been a number of media articles about this and the direct links to violence against women. The partnership work which is put in place immediately is Council and the police circulating guidance to licensees, posters advising people how to stay safe delivered by neighbourhood policing teams and the harm reduction group look at that support the CSP can provide towards that preventative work. There is a further campaign called "Ask Angela" which was run in England being operated in north Powys with training provided to licenced premises staff to protect individuals. If successful this will be rolled out across the county.
· Questions:
Accept that work is ongoing to tackle the drugs problems around estates but the situation has got worse. Feedback to residents who are trying to help was raised at a community policing meeting recently. How is the reporting of an issue to police dealt with in a discreet and sensitive way and how is additional information from residents encouraged.
Related to that is the information later on in two or three months after a report is made whether any progress is being made. |
If anyone reports something to the police the call will go through the 101 service. Someone will then assess that information to work out who is the best person to deal with the situation. If the call can be dealt with effectively over the phone, that call will go on to a dedicated team. If a police presence is needed then that could be the neighbourhood policing teams, but there will be a conversation about how that happens i.e. a police presence at the house, meet somewhere else, or the local team contact the individual by phone. If there is a risk of harm or a perpetrator leaving an are there could be an immediate police response.
Inspector Jones agreed to raise this within his team as this feedback is important. |
Pleased to hear about Ask Angela. There was no comment about white ribbon which the Council and the police could be working closely on. There is a need to ask men and boys to understand their responsibilities and behaviour as well for the safety of women and to educate them. How well does the Council work alongside the police in developing these campaigns and preventative work. |
White ribbon day was the 25th November. This is a focus for the police and not just for that one day. There are a number of campaigns and violence against women is a set agenda. A funding bid was submitted to produce safety packs for women but that bid has failed. However, also looking at what else can be done to prevent violence against women. This is a focus for the CSP and its not just about women but also about tackling offending behaviour by men.
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There had been a 10% increase in violence against women and domestic abuse despite the preventative and intervention work carried out which is a significant increase. Is there a further narrative around this and the response of the CSP and the police.
Are people confident to report domestic abuse to the police. |
It depends on how you look at this as 10% is still significantly low as many domestic abuse cases remain unreported. With every campaign that raises awareness it is hoped to see an increase in the numbers of reports made to the police. People need confidence to come forward and report to the police and that they will do something about the issue.
People are more willing to come forward and report a history of domestic violence rather than individual incidents. |
Would be useful to see the report. In relation to rural crime and the theft of 8 quad bikes since April, is this up or down. Thefts of trailers seem to have increased. Livestock theft – livestock has significantly increased in value making it far more attractive as a target by criminals. There is also a need to target where stock are going as well. |
In relation to Quad thefts there were 40 two years ago, 8 currently. It is unlikely that there is a Quads in Powys which is not security marked which prevents them being sold.
As far as livestock theft is concerned its something the police are campaigning to bring to the forefront. This is about making people understand this is a large crime, some of which is organised crime and is not just about the financial impact. Much of this is about collecting the data about how many thefts are occurring. The key is also to identify where stock are going to, mostly to outside of the County. The rural crime teams are actively talking to other teams elsewhere in Wales and the UK to identify patterns and what measures can be put in place to prevent thefts and identify offenders. |
We should not be targeting women and instead talking about what we should be doing to educate men. In the locality we are visiting rugby and football clubs and speaking about the effects of domestic violence. Therefore, would like to see more emphasis on what we're doing for men rather than women.
Anecdotally there is concern in the Ystradgynlais area about the level of drugs available on the streets. How much reporting is coming in to the police about drugs issues. |
The numbers in Ystradgynlais are low for public order offences. In relation to drugs, work is being undertaken by the area planning board to gather intelligence on the figures for the level of drugs in Ystragdgynlais.
In relation to the white ribbon event and violence against women, this sits more in the safeguarding arena rather than the Community Safety Partnership as this involves a larger group of professionals who have an expertise in this arena and the police is one of those professional organisations.
Reporting is coming into the police regarding drug issues which is assessed. Issues such as alcohol and drug use have been raised with the police so it is in the spotlight. There is no significant increase at present but is an ongoing issue.
The Inspector agreed to raise the issue of working with men about violence against women with the force lead.
ACTION – the Committee would wish to receive an assurance about what is the strategy in relation to targeted work with men and boys about this issue. |
With the change in reporting methods, how do our statistics for violent crime compare to previous years.
Spiking – is someone was caught injecting another person, what would the charge be. This information about the punishment for this crime should be publicised as it would indicate to potential perpetrators how serious the crime is.
A previous speaker's view was valid that there are many organisations for young people and we do not make enough use of them to get messages such as this out to young people. We could use these groups to educate people in a better way.
What is Operation Edward actually achieving. There needs to be a direct campaign with cyclists, speaking to cycling groups. There have been campaign for motorbike riders and the same needs to be done for cyclists. |
You need to review the circumstances for incidents of violent crime and work to reduce the numbers. It is difficult to make direct comparisons currently due to the changes in recording methods and it is down to the police scrutinising each crime.
This would be a charge of assault and poisoning. This is part of the work of the school community police officers to get the message to young people about safety, controlled drugs and spiking. There is a dedicated presentation for children in schools. This also links to harm reduction and Cais.
Operation Edward is a national week long campaign across the UK about all things to do with road safety and not specifically about cycling. This work sits within the Council's road safety team who are pulling together a seasonal road safety programme. The Team will issue different messages depending on the time of year. Cyclists wearing dark clothing has been highlighted with the road safety team as an issue and messages about this need to be constantly issued.
The road safety team is currently delivering training to schools, but possibly more work is needed with adults.
The Head of Highways, Transport and Recycling indicated that he would discuss the issue with the Member and pick this up with his team. ACTION |
It is understood that as from 1st December 2021 councils in England can apply for powers to deal with moving traffic offences which are currently the responsibility of the police. These are already undertaken by Councils in Cardiff and London. Is this likely to happen in Wales and is it an option for councils. There is concern that this could be used as a revenue raising exercise. Is this something Powys is considering. |
There is no awareness of this as far as police is aware.
This would require Welsh Government approval to do this. The only place that currently operates this is Cardiff. The Corporate Director – Economy and Environment agreed to ask the Highways Service to provide a written response.
The following is a response provided following the meeting: "Moving Traffic Offences have been allowed in Wales for some time. Any Local Authority can apply to Welsh Government for the power to enforce these as an extension to the Civil Enforcement Powers for parking contraventions. The cost of setting them up is relatively high, so they are more suited to large urban areas such as Cardiff and Swansea where blocking junctions causes significant congestion." |
In relation to violence against women, are there any statistics about violence against men as they are victims of violence as well.
In the campaign about road safety the need for dogs to wear high visibility jackets should be highlighted as well. |
Yes would agree about the visibility of dogs. This would also apply to horses as well.
There are statistics about violence against men which can be sent to the Committee. |
Outcomes:
· Actions following the meeting:
· Feedback to individuals raising concerns about drugs issues to be discussed with the Community Neighbourhood Policing Team (BJ)
· Violence against women - Working with men and boys to raise awareness of their responsibilities in relation to violence against women to be discussed with the force lead (BJ)
· Committee to receive an assurance about what the strategy is in relation to targeted work with men and boys about this issue. (FS / Cllr BB)
· Head of Highways, Transport and Recycling to meet with Member and pick up issue of safety campaign for cyclists with road safety team. (MP)
· Statistics of violence against men to be circulated to the Committee. (BJ)
Supporting documents: