The Chair (Janet Marshall) welcomed everyone to the Board.

Apologies were received from Pat Jackson and Eddie Fraser.

The Executive have not met since the last meeting of the Safer Neighbourhood Board, although they have been working on producing standardised constitutions and agendas for the CAPEs.

Tim Fellows, SNB Chair, has recently joined the Confidence Governance Board which looks into resident’s confidence in the police.

There were no Gold Groups this period which means there were no major incidents requiring the voluntary sector input.

The CCTV Monitoring Station Group has been re-established. Anyone interested should speak to Sheila Stacey who is organising the training and rota for the group.

The DWO for Southgate Ward is trying to re-establish the wards CAPE. Anyone willing to assist with this should contact Tim Fellows.

To approve the minutes of the meeting on 2 November 2016.

The minutes of the previous meeting were AGREED.

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

Jenny Barnett, Superintendent, and Iain Raphael, Borough Commander provided the following crime statistics:

Burglary – There has been a 16.8% reduction in non-dwelling burglaries and 7.2% reduction in dwelling burglaries. Burglary is considered a priority for the police in Enfield.

Violence – There has been a 3.8% increase of violence with injury, 10% increase in violence against a person and 1.8% increase in sexual violence. These increases are in line with our neighbouring boroughs statistics.

There has been a 7% reduction in gun related offences and a 14% reduction in robbery offences. The boroughs surrounding Enfield have seen an increase in these.

Domestic violence rates have gone down. Recording the figures for assaults changed a number of years ago so the police are currently unable to tell if it is due to an increase in assaults or an increase in reporting assaults.

Hate Crime – There have been 31 offences of hate crime. It is hoped that the figure is high due to an increase in confidence in reporting the crimes. Hate crimes include any crimes which derogatory words have been used as well as crimes which are committed out of hate.

ACTION: The police to bring a breakdown of the Hate Crime incidents to the next meeting.

Concerns were raised about how crimes are reported when the police stations are not open 24 hours a day. The police are contactable by dialling 999 or through the many access appoints and on social media.

Total offences – There has been 374 more offences in this quarter, some may be due to improved reporting of crime. On average, there has been an 8% increase on all crimes; Enfield has only had a 1.6% increase.

Anti-Social Behaviour – 1,012 reports of ASB in the last twelve months. Since this period last year there have been 17 more repeat calls when reporting the ASB.

Confidence and Satisfaction - Confidence Governance Board met on the 2^nd February 2017 the board looks at resident’s satisfaction and confidence levels with the police. Previously, Enfield was 32 out of 33 London boroughs in regard to police satisfaction levels, Enfield is now 31 out of 33.  Residents felt that the police were easy to get in contact with and feedback provided from people that had been a victim of crime were good, but satisfaction levels amongst the general public were too low.

Complaints – There are 28 live complaint cases currently, with only four running over the 80-day time line. The number of complaints is much lower in Enfield than in neighbouring boroughs. 12 appeals were made against the decision on the complaints, of this four were upheld.

Stop and Search – 201 searches took place with a 21% arrest rate. The stop and search monitoring group met in late January and will hold monthly meetings.

Taser – there has been nine occasions when the Taser has been deployed, 4 when it has been drawn and 5 incidents when the red dot has been showed in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

To receive an update from the Chair of the Safer Neighbourhood Board, Tim Fellows.

The Chair of the Safer Neighbourhood Board, Tim Fellows, provided an update on the MOPAC Policing and Crime Plan and the response to it which will be sent on the behalf of the SNB.

Tim Provided the following points (in bold) and the Board approved, amended or disapproved them:

1)    The priorities proposed in the plan seem in line with what we might expect locally in Enfield, pending the completion of the Strategic Assessment.

This point was approved by the Board.

2)    The “vulnerable localities” reference is welcomed as Enfield has historically suffered from under resourcing based on figures on demographics and crime which are now outdated and do not currently allow for some of the greatest challenges in London.
This point was approved by the Board.

3)    Agree that the Capital Cities Grant should be paid in full given that Local Authorities in London will face up to 63% cuts by 2020
This point was approved by the Board.

4)    Pleasing that the policing levels are to be maintained, however the “additional Ward Officers” in the most vulnerable wards must surely be drawn from existing Borough resources this is not helpful as Enfield is currently under resourced in terms of officers.

This point was approved by the Board.

5)    Police BCUs “pilot” areas seem to herald the widespread introduction of clustered Boroughs with a single Borough Commander which is believed to be likely to the detriment of the partnership in Enfield. Concerns have been raised that a merged area BCU might be too weighted in favour of Haringey.
Councillor Dines questioned what the likelihood of Enfield merging with another borough was. The Borough Commander informed the Board that trials are taking place across London which would see boroughs merge and have one borough commander for the area. A formal decision for Enfield will be made between July and September 2017.

Following this, the point was approved by the Board.

6)    Welcome the plan to put Victims at the heart of local policing. Will the services commissioned from Victim Support and other front line services be reviewed in light of this new focus? Will the Independent Victims Commissioner Role be linked with existing third sector providers?
The Board felt this was particularly important considering their role in the voluntary sector. The Board approved this point.

7)    Welcome the extra 100 officers commissioned from BTP to support the Night Tube introduction.
This point was approved by the Board.

8)    The plan looks at Criminal Justice and the consultation runs in parallel with the David Lammy MP report on the treatment of Black and Minority Ethnic Groups in the CJS due to be published in 2017. Will the Mayors Plan incorporate agreed recommendations?
The Board felt they would need to see the recommendations of the Report but felt that it was important that the recommendations were considered by MOPAC so approved this point.

9)    Amid the general redevelopment of some prison buildings and courts closures, how will victims and witnesses be supported  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

To receive an update from Chief Inspect, Jenny Barnett.  

The current target strength for police officers is 554.

The current strength of police officers in the borough is 503. 8 Officers will be joining in February and 19 Officers will be joining in March and April, most of these officers are probationers so whilst very welcome will take time to gain experience.

The impact of the new officers will not be felt until April – June 2017 as they will require further training and support.

The following questions were taken from the Board:

Q) Have the Police spoken with the Council and Housing Associations about providing help for police staff to get housing?

A) In the past, Police officers were not able to live in the boroughs they policed, although this rule has now relaxed. Schemes like this would have to be a London wide as that is the area the Metropolitan Police cover. Police housing which used to be provided has been sold off due to budget challenges. Iain Raphael said he would welcome any initiative that would helpwith recruitment and retention of good officers.

To receive an update from Chief Inspector, Jenny Barnett.

Borough Commander Iain Raphael and Superintendent Jenny Barnett provided a verbal update on the current police operations in the borough.

The following key points were raised:

Neighbourhood Model – DWO’s in the borough have been asked to express areas of work they have an interest in. These will reflect up and coming changes to their roles.

Anti-Social Behaviour – There has been a small decrease in ASB in the borough. Work is being done with the first contact call centre to get the correct statistics on repeat callers for ASB.

Priorities to Borough – There are three set priorities every quarter. For this quarter the priorities will be rapid responses IOS calls, response to domestic violence and outstanding suspects.

Confidence and Satisfaction – Ongoing work is being done surrounding this, including environmental and visual audits to improve resident’s confidence and satisfaction level.

The following questions were taken from members of the Board:

Q) The images of outstanding suspects on the Metropolitan Police website are not high quality, where do these come from?

A) They come from a variety of resources including CCTV and shops. The hope is that even from the quality of the photographs, if you knew an offender you would be able to tell their identity. There is an app called Facewatch which shows photographs of wanted offenders in the area.

Q) Are there any operations going on involving prostitutes in the borough?

A) Targeted operations are taking place involving prevention. People caught using prostitutes in the borough are offered to go on a course, which they have to pay for, which informs them of the consequences of their actions, potential criminal convictions and the workers vulnerabilities. They are only offered and able to go on the course once after that the police take action.

To receive an update on SNB funding applications.

Currently, looking for a group to bid for the final amount left of the grant. Other than that no changes have taken place since the last meeting.

Concerns were raised that cluster group meetings for the CAPE chairs had not been taking place.

To note the date of the next meeting as Wednesday 5^th April 2017.

The next meeting of the Safer Neighbourhood Board will be on 5 April 2017.