Agenda for Safer Neighbourhood Board on Wednesday, 2nd November, 2016, 7.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA. View directions

Contact: Clare Bryant 

Items
No. Item

36.

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Minutes:

The Chair, Tim Felllows, welcomed everyone to the meeting and apologised for the delayed start.

37.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Nick Dines, Susan Doran (MOPAC), Alok Agrawal (Secretary), Dina Sahmanovic (Victim Support Representative), Pat Jackson (CAPE Chair), Mark Rudling (EBRA).

38.

CHAIRS FEEDBACK

Minutes:

The Executive did not meet during the last period as it was not felt necessary. Tim explained he had been attended the Confidence Governance Board which looked at the level of public confidence residents have for Enfield Police. He also attended the Crime Scrutiny Standing Workstream.

 

At the last Hate Crime Forum, a presentation was provided from the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden on the Police and Crime Plan for London. The plan was discussed at the SNB Forum which the Chair also attended. The chair highlighted the following key points from the plan:

·         The plan will have two overarching principles - Putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system and support for vulnerable people. These will be confirmed following a consultation.

·         The MOPAC 7 will be removed. It was felt that these were not constructive as when more domestic violence and hate crimes were reported it counted against the overall target of 20% reduction in crime.

·         The 5 key priorities in the plan will be: Neighbourhood policing, keeping children and young people safe (gangs, knifes, guns and child protection), tackling violence against woman and girls (domestic violence, domestic abuse and honour based violence), a criminal justice system that works for London and standing together against hate crime, extremism and terror in all its form.

·         Monitoring will take place through measuring the effects crime and police investigations have on people rather than the reported number of crimes.

 

39.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 368 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting on 21st July 2016.

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting were AGREED.

40.

EXAMINATION OF CRIME STATISTICS pdf icon PDF 681 KB

Examination of crime statistics received from MOPAC to include:

(a)  Recorded Crime

(b)  Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)

(c)  Public Confidence & Victim Satisfaction

(d)  Complaints against Borough Officers/Staff

(e)  Stop and Search

(f)   Taser Deployment

 

Minutes:

Jenny Barnett introduced herself as the new Superintendent in Enfield.

 

Jenny presented the crime statistics on the following:

·         Recorded Crime

·         Anti-Social Behaviour

·         Public Confidence and Victim Satisfaction

·         Complaints against Borough Officers/Staff

·         Stop and Search

·         Taser Development

 

She highlighted the key issues as follows:

 

Recorded Crime – The total offences, for Enfield are showing a 1.7% decrease against the rolling 12 month figures despite there being a slight increase in recorded crimes in September.  This includes theft from motor vehicle (-10%), non-residential burglary (-16%) and criminal damage (-6%).

 

Robbery was down in August, although increased in September. Superintendent Barnett pointed out that the “Autumn Nights plan” will deal with crimes that increase due to darker nights, including anti-social behaviour (ASB).

 

Anti-Social Behaviour – There has been a 15% increase in the borough, with more first time reporters call logged. The number of callers reporting a crime for the second time or more has fallen.

 

Public Confidence and Victim Satisfaction – From a survey of 818 members of the public in Enfield, 56% believe the police are doing a good job. Increasing public confidence will be a process which takes around 6-12 months. The Met Police Neighbourhood plan will see DWO’s spending 100% of their time in their wards so there will be increased police presence.

 

Complaints against Borough Officers/Staff – There are currently 27 internal and external complaints against police staff. Of these 37% have been being investigated for 80 days or more and 16% are subject to appeal.

 

Stop and Search – 312 cases of stop and search took place during September. The metropolitan police arrest rate is 20%, Enfield have an arrest rate of 21%.

 

ACTION: Superintendent Barnett to report back to the Board any information on the Stop and Search monitoring group.

 

Taser Deployment – The following relates to the number of times a Taser was used by police in the borough:

-       Drawn, 5 times

-       Tasers aimed at a suspect, 3 times

-       Taser aimed and the red dot placed on subject, 7 times

-       Dry stun, 1

-       Fired, 1

-       Unauthorised discharge, 0

 

41.

INTRODUCTION TO THE ENFIELD BOROUGH COMMANDER

To formally introduce the members of the Safer Neighbourhood Board to the Enfield Borough Commander, Iain Raphael.

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed Iain Raphael the new Enfield Borough Commander to the meeting.

 

Iain Raphael introduced himself to the Board and informed the Board he has a commitment to Enfield through his own personal connections to the borough.

 

The Borough Commander explained to the Board he expected Enfield police officers to understand their primary role is to prevent crime and secondly when crimes are committed a professional service should be provided. A priority will be made of domestic abuse cases, violence against vulnerable people, and child sexual exploitation cases whilst balancing volume crimes.

 

In response the following questions and comments were taken:

1.    Concerns were raised whether Edmonton Custody Suite would be closed down. The Borough Commander informed the Board that there are on-going discussions on the future of the custody suite.  It was felt that whilst Enfield and Haringey are two separate boroughs, there should be two separate custody suites.

2.    In the past, quarterly meetings have been held with the inspector for the neighbourhood cluster which has been very useful for advice and guidance for CAPE meetings. The Borough Commander said he would look into reinstating the cluster meetings and confirmed the dedicated ward officers should be attending the CAPE meetings.

3.    Q) Figures provided at the SNB Forum suggested 15-20% of police time is spent on mental health issues, how is this issue dealt with considering the very large mental health unit in the borough?

A)   The Safer, Stronger Communities Board provided a multi-agency approach to dealing with mental health in the borough. The Chair voiced concerns that the Mental Health Trust does not attend the Safer, Stronger Communities Board.

 

42.

BODY WORN CAMERAS pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To receive a presentation on Body Worn Cameras from Inspector Alun Davies.

 

The presentation will be tabled on the night of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

Inspector Alun Davies provided a presentation on Born Worn Video (BWV) that will be used by police across London. The following key points were highlighted during the presentation:

1.    Since 17 October 2016, a trial of BWV has been run in London with 10 boroughs provided with BWV.   22,000 officers in London will be provided with BWV as part of the rollout which starts in December 2016 National and local coverage and a dedicated page on the Met Police website have provided members of the public with information on BWV.

2.    The cameras will allow police to provide the best evidence of police encounters as the video can capture events as they happen. The cameras will also hopefully defuse high tension situations as people will be aware they are being recorded and this can be used as evidence.

3.    BWV will provide greater transparency and accountability of policing which in turn will improve the investigation of complaints against officers and public opinion.

4.    10 boroughs across London trialled the use of BWV. During the trial two out of five response teams in each borough were provided with camera. During this period there was a 33% reduction in police complaints.

5.    The camera is a robust part of the officer’s kit which allows 12 hours of recording. Once turned on the camera will retain and record footage from 30 seconds prior to activation until it is turned off again.

6.    The camera is to be worn overtly and it will be mandatory for officers to record during a number of encounters. Officers will be required to state when a recording is starting and when a recording will end wherever practical.

7.    Footage will be deleted after 31 days unless required for evidence, disclosure or other policing purpose and will be unable to be edited or deleted.

 

The following questions were taken by members of the board:

Q) Will anyone be checking the cameras routinely?

A) If the camera does not contain evidence then it will not be checked. If the camera does contain evidence, the camera is docked and the footage is retained for 31 days.

 

Q) How will each camera be linked to the officer?

A) Cameras will be personal issue and not a shared resource.

 

Q) Will cameras be issued to all officers?

A) Funds have been allocated to all uniformed officers in the borough for the use of BWV.

 

Q) Do the cameras have a tracking device in them in case they are lost or stolen? Concerns were raised as a person may be more inclined to steal the cameras if they knew they contained footage of them.

A) Inspector Davies informed the panel he was not aware if they did but would look into the issue and report back to the Board.

 

Q) Will there be a review on the use of Cameras?

A) The use of BWV will be done in two phases. Enfield will be in the second phases which will start in the first  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

43.

NEIGHBOURHOOD CONFIGURATION

To receive a verbal update on Neighbourhood Configuration from Superintendent Jenny Barnett and Chief Inspector Neighbourhood Policing, Nicki Reynolds, Metropolitan Police Service, Enfield.

 

Minutes:

Superintendent Jenny Barnett informed the Board that the Mayor of London had committed to 2 dedicated ward officers and 1 PCSO in each ward. This will be done in two phases. Phase 1 will take place in January 2017 and Phase 2 will be completed by December 2017. In Enfield, the dedicated ward officers are mostly already in place. The crimes previously managed by the neighbourhood teams will be dealt with by response teams.

 

All police bikes have been serviced and officers who have completed bike training are using the bikes as a form of transport, otherwise officers take public transport or walk to travel around their wards.

 

44.

TARGET ESTABLISHMENT

To receive an update from Chief Inspector, Jenny Barnett.

Minutes:

The current target strength for police officers is 555.

 

The current strength of police officers in the borough is 511.73. 14 officers for the borough are currently in police training school.

45.

UPDATE ON CURRENT POLICE OPERATIONS

To receive an update from Chief Inspector, Jenny Barnett.

Minutes:

Autumn nights – this operation runs from 21st October 2017 to 6 November 2017. Additional officers are in place to deal with the additional anti-social behaviour and dark nights related crime.

 

During this period there was an incident on an estate on the Hertford Road where a large number of youths were throwing fireworks. An additional police presence was required and for the Hertford Road closed whilst the incident was dealt with.

 

A member of the public suggested the police should petition the Government to stop the production of hand held fireworks. Over 20,000 people recently have signed a petition available online which would stop people being able to buy fireworks. The police reminded attendees it is an offence to let of a firework in the street and to let a firework off after 11.00pm, these crimes should be reported to the police.

46.

UPDATE ON SNB FUNDING APPLICATIONS pdf icon PDF 218 KB

To receive an update on SNB funding applications.

Minutes:

There are currently no further updates on the SNB funding grants.

 

Susan Doran will now be the MOPAC representative for the Enfield Borough. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend this meeting due only coming into post on the 1st November 2016.

47.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Minutes:

1.    Concerns were raised over people using their phones whilst driving. Officers can use their body worn video to capture people using their phones whilst driving. If a car accident takes place and the police have reason to believe the driver was using their mobile they are able to access the phones data to check.

2.    Over 12,000 met trace kits have been handed out across the borough. Enfield has the highest rate for distribution and the lowest refusal rate for kits in London. The use of met trace makes the area safer.

48.

DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS

To note the date of the next meeting as being 2 February 2017.

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Safer Neighbourhood Board will take place on 2 February 2017, in the Conference Room.