Issue - meetings

To receive a report from Andrea Clemons, Head of Community Safety.

Andrea Clemons Head of Community Safety presented this report and highlighted the following:

i)                 The report analyses the five priorities identified in the borough of Enfield and discusses the performance compared to other London boroughs, over a two year period dated between 01/03/2016 to 28/02/2018.

ii)               The measures reflect the priorities in our own Partnership Plan which are:

·       Reducing burglary and keeping people safe at home;

·       Tackling violent crime – in all its forms

·       Keeping young people safe and reducing their risks from crime;

·       Promoting cohesion and tackling hate crime;

·       Dealing with anti-social behaviour.

iii)              The report demonstrates progress in crime figures against the five bulleted priorities above.

iv)             Of the 32 London boroughs, Enfield is currently 5^th for Serious Youth Violence in the year ending February 2018, compared to 7^th the previous year. Enfield has seen an increase in the last year of 94 offences.

v)               Knife Crime in Enfield has increased by 41.3% in the year to February 2018 compared to the previous year. London has experienced a smaller increase in Knife Crime of 25.4%. It was noted that this could be as a result of less challenge, e.g. reducing Stop and Searches may well have impacted on this increase in Knife Crime.

vi)             Information was provided on the Youth Outcomes data between 25/01/2017 to 24/01/2018.

vii)            A table was also included in the report detailing the main outcome of the offence including various referral rehabilitation orders and different intervention programmes.

viii)           During the year analysed there were 1409 offences which equated to 542 young people known to Enfield Youth Offending Unit, of which 88% were male and 12% female.

ix)             The top three offence types were Violence against the Person, Drug Offences and Theft and Handling Stolen Goods.

x)               Andrea then went through each of the further priorities in detail and provided figures, data and the proposed measures for each one.

The following questions and comments were raised:

Q.      Councillor Smith felt that the actions shown in the Main Outcome of Offence table were unclear. In particular it seemed that where an alleged crime had taken place the majority of these had resulted in ‘No Further Action’ being taken. Why was this?

A.       There could be many reasons for this but one example would be where there had been insufficient evidence available in order to take the case to court. It must be remembered that sometimes the figures presented do not tell the whole story.

Q.      Referring to the table detailed on page 5 of the report, clarification was sought as to what a Section 91 Order was?

A.       It was unclear as to what this was, but Andrea agreed to find out and clarify this at the next meeting. It was also felt that it would be useful to invite a member of the Youth Offending Team to a future meeting, as they would be better placed to explain some of the Youth Offending Data in more detail.

          Action: Andrea Clemons/Susan O’Connell

Q.      Since  ...  view the full minutes text for item 541

To receive an update on police operations on knife crime from Detective Superintendent Tony Kelly.

RECEIVED a report from Detective Superintendent Tony Kelly on Enfield Policing Response to Knife Crime and highlighted the following:

i)                 Knife enabled crime and in particular knife crime injuries on victims under 25 has risen steeply across London, but perhaps none more so than in Enfield.

ii)               It should be recognised however that some of the increase in knife crime is because the Police are arresting more people with knives and taking knives off the street (when someone is arrested with a knife the Police create an offence which then impacts on the figures). Detective Superintendent felt it was important to make this observation as these arrests are positive and will result in a reduction in crime.

iii)              In order to address the knife issue Operation Bremont began running from 1 May 2017. Originally intended to be an 8 week plan it has now continued for 10 months in a number of developed iterations, as the intelligence picture has changed. It will also continue to do so until at least March 2018.

iv)             The plan seeks to address the problem under for strands; Prevent, Protect, Prepare and Pursue.

v)               From 1 May 2017 until 2 July 2017 Operation Bremont 1 saw intense focus utilising off borough resources. This was in response to the rapid growth of offences and it became apparent that the underlying cause of the majority of the offences was linked to the on and off street sales of drugs.

vi)             Tactics that were particularly successful were stop and search, weapons sweeps, and pulse patrols. There was also the conclusion of a series of school presentations.

vii)            This period saw a significant increase in injury to under 25’s, whilst overall knife crime was below that of the NPS trend.

viii)           Further information and figures were then presented in relation to Operation Bremont 2, 3 and 4 and comparisons in the data were made.

ix)             Discussions then took place regarding the Overview Partnerships Tactics. This included Enforcement, Prevention and Engagement work particularly around Schools, Licensing, ASB, Knife Wands and Knife Arches.

The following comments and questions were raised:

Councillor Lappage asked what was happening in the Police mind-set regarding publicity campaigns around stopping carrying knives etc. She felt that there needed to be a lot more work around this issue as something needed to be done urgently as the people of Enfield are beginning to feel very unsafe.

Detective Superintendent Kelly agreed that as a whole community engagement is not great at the moment and there definitely needs to be a lot more work and time invested in this area as it is imperative to get out and reach the people that can engage with the young people involved in crime.

Concerns were raised about young people often being excluded from school and sent out onto the streets where they then get into further trouble and often become involved in crime. Are there any initiatives in place to deal with this?

Detective Superintendent Kelly said this was a very  ...  view the full minutes text for item 542

To receive a report from Andrea Clemons, Head of Community Safety.

Andrea Clemons Head of Community Safety presented this report and highlighted the following:

i)                 The report analyses the five priorities identified in the borough of Enfield and discusses the performance compared to other London boroughs, over a two year period dated between 01/12/2015 to 30/11/2017.

ii)               The measures reflect the priorities in our own Partnership Plan which are:

·       Reducing burglary and keeping people safe at home;

·       Tackling violent crime – in all its forms

·       Keeping young people safe and reducing their risks from crime;

·       Promoting cohesion and tackling hate crime;

·       Dealing with anti-social behaviour.

iii)              The report demonstrates progress in crime figures against the five bulleted priorities above.

iv)             Andrea then went through the priorities in detail and provided figures, data and the proposed measures for each one.

v)               In-depth discussions then took place around each priority and further clarification was sought regarding the proposed measures and how it was envisaged that these would work.

The following questions and comments were raised:

Q.      The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has recently announced that there will be a significant increase in targeted Stop and Searches by Police in London as part of efforts to combat rising crime violent crime. What are Enfield Council and Polices’ views on this?

A.       Stop and Searches are much more transparent now since the introduction of Body Cameras. This has certainly paid off as it is now accepted across the Police that Stop and Search has much more transparency and is now more effective. Council Teams have a very high percentage of Stop and Searches and a very high conversion rate

Q.      Do all Police Officers wear Body Cams?

A.       In short yes, although some detectives don’t and pro-active Officers often don’t wear it either as they are in plain clothes therefore wearing a Body Cam would be too obvious. Officers who do wear Body Cams have to advise the individual that they are using them.

Q.      Are a lot of crimes carried out by repeat offenders and if so what are the statistics for this?

A.       I do not have these figures to hand but the Police do target habitual offenders.

Q.      The report does not contain figures on arrests and conviction rates. Would it be possible at a future date to include more specific figures in the report?

A.       This week the Council analyst will have access to Police data therefore more police figures/statistics will be included in future reports.

          Action: Andrea Clemons

Q.      How do the Police and the Local Authority support the families of murder victims?

A.       Following a murder incident in the borough a ‘Gold Group’ meeting is convened the very next day. This group is made up of Officers from the Murder Squad, Local Authority as well as lay members. One of the agenda items is how to manage and support the family of the victim and much discussion goes into thinking about any possible threats and risks around the family. The Police nearly always provide the family with a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 419