Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting and introductions were made. Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ian Barnes and Kate Anolue. Councillor Hass Yusef was substituting for Councillor Kate Anolue. An apology for lateness was also received from Councillor Stephanos Ioannou.

Members of the Council are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests relevant to the items on the agenda

There were no declarations of interest relevant to items on the agenda.

To receive the report of Stephen Skinner, Head of Highway Services.

Stephen Skinner, Head of Highway Services presented the report highlighting the following:

i)             The report explained the arrangements for street lighting in Enfield and reviews the current position regarding crime, including the fear of crime, and to explore any associations between the two.

ii)            In 2006, Enfield Council entered into a Streetlighting PFI for a 25-year period, which requires the service provider, Enfield Lighting Services (ELS), to manage and maintain Enfield’s street lights on behalf of Enfield Council until 2031.

iii)           The new street lights installed during the first 5-year period of the PFI were designed in accordance with the British Standard and Institute of Lighting Professionals (ILP) guidance documents relevant at that time.

iv)           Most residential roads were designed to a specific lighting class called S2, which was at the higher end of the range of lighting levels required by the British Standard for residential roads and provided an average brightness of 10lux and a minimum of 3lux. Main roads and town centres were designed to a higher standard

v)            By way of comparison, the natural lighting conditions provided by moonlight (full moon) typically provides 1lux and night-time with no moon provides less than 0.01lux.

vi)               In 2013/14, the lights were dimmed to save energy; an approach adopted by many authorities at that time. The power supply was reduced by 50%, which reduced the lighting level for the S2 class from an average of 10lux to an average of 2.3lux.

vii)             In July 2019 full Council approved a project to convert all Enfield’s street lights to LEDs, controlled by a new central management system (CMS), which would further reduce Enfield’s electrical consumption by over 50% and provide associated reductions in carbon emissions.

viii)           A significant benefit of LED lighting is that it provides a much clearer, whiter light that is closer to natural daylight and gives better colour rendition at night than the old-style yellow lanterns. This is particularly beneficial for identification and CCTV recordings.

ix)               A further benefit is that a LED lighting source is more controlled and direct, meaning less stray ‘backlight’ into peoples’ homes. Stray backlighting caused numerous complaints with the previous street lights resulting in back-shields being fitted to luminaires in situations where this caused problems for residents.

x)                  As part of the development of the LED proposals, the Street Lighting team worked closely with the Council’s Community Safety Team who identified a number of crime ‘hot spots’ in the borough. The lighting in these roads was increased by one lighting class.

xi)               Further detailed information was provided on the LED upgrade and the levels of illumination provided by the new LED lights which in summary are at last as bright as before.

xii)             The programme to install 22,943 LED luminaires started in February 2020 and is now substantially complete, with approximately 1000 still to install. The programme appears to have been well received by the public with low numbers of complaints being received from residents and Councillors. However some concerns  had been raised by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To receive the report of Andrea Clemons, Head of Community Safety and

Suj Ponnampalam, Prevent Programme Manager.

Suj Ponnampalam, Prevent Programme Manager presented the report highlighting the following:

i)             The Enfield Safer and Stronger Communities Board (SSCB) has given priority to tackling Hate Crime and has identified it as a key priority within its current partnership plan and has done so for several years.

ii)            Enfield also has a separate strategy that looks to tackle all forms of Hate Crime and to support victims of Hate Crime.

iii)           The report came about as a large increase in Hate Crime was witnessed in Enfield especially during the pandemic.

iv)           Enfield was one of the first boroughs in the country to establish a multi-agency partnership for tackling issues around racial hate. The Racial Incident Action Group (RIAG) was set up in Enfield in 1994, in 2006 this evolved into the Enfield Hate Crime Forum (EHCF) incorporating groups that work to tackle all aspects of Hate Crime.

v)            Enfield’s Multi-Agency model was recommended as a good practice model by the Home Office ‘In This Together: Good Practice in
Multi-Agency Working’ guide as far back as 1999

vi)           The current reporting position reflected in the overall performance reports show that in the twelve months leading up to July 2021, there were 773 Hate Crime offences recorded in Enfield. This is a 20% increase over the same period the previous year where 664 cases were recorded.

vii)          This increase however has reduced considerably over the last few months and is now tracking a similar pattern to that of anti-social behaviour reports, in so much as the numbers increased dramatically during lockdown and are starting to revert to a more usual level as the pandemic restrictions are becoming less onerous.

viii)        Historically, summer months have seen higher numbers of Hate Crime reported compared with the winter, probably due to more people gathering outside their homes during warmer months.

ix)           The highest number of Hate Crime offences in Enfield in the last 2 years were recorded in June 2020, which followed the first ever easing of restrictions in mid May 2020. The following months show a reduction in reporting until December 2020 where another significant rise in Hate Crime numbers were reported, again coinciding with the lifting of restrictions. Thought the increase in reporting in December 2020 was a smaller increase

x)            Racist and Religious Hate Crime continues to be the highest proportion of all the Hate Crime strands. This accounts for around 88% of all reported Hate Crime in Enfield. The largest reporting reason was verbal assault or verbal altercation followed by neighbour dispute.

xi)           Ethnicity details for victims and perpetrators are not always available. Where figures are available the largest recorded cohort of the victims were from the Black African/Caribbean background. Followed by Dark European category. The ethnicity details produced are according to the way they are defined on the police ethnicity code system and people can choose not to declare their ethnicity

xii)          The locations and time of incidents were studied, and it was found that a number of higher population  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To receive the report of Andrea Clemons, Head of Community Safety.

Andrea Clemons Head of Community Safety presented the report, highlighting the following:

(i)            The report provides an update on performance against Enfield’s Safer Stronger Communities Board priorities up to 31^st July 2021.

(ii)          These priorities are:

·         Tackling violent crime in all its forms

·         Keeping young people safe and reducing their risks from crime

·         Reducing burglary and keeping people safe at home

·         Promoting cohesion and tackling hate crime

·         Dealing with anti-social behaviour

·         Additional focus on tackling illegal drugs and raising awareness to deter vehicle crime

(iii)         Due to the submission deadlines for the September 2021 Crime and Scrutiny Review meeting, Police data for August 2021 was not yet available, this report therefore includes data to the end of July 2021.

(iv)         Total notifiable offences in England decreased by 1.8% in the year ending July 2021. In London, there was a higher reduction of 8.2% in the same period.

(v)          Residential burglaries in Enfield decreased by 26.4% in the year ending July 2021, with a 17.1% reduction in London.

(vi)         Although Enfield continues to have high levels of Serious Youth Violence (SYV) victims, we have experienced a decrease of 18.8% in the year ending July 2021, compared to 2020. This is very similar to the London average which was 18.6% in the same period.

(vii)        In the year to July 2021, there were no London Boroughs where an increase in Serious Youth Violence victims was recorded.

(viii)       In the year ending July 2021, Knife Crime in Enfield had decreased by 18.6% compared to the previous year. London experienced a similar reduction of 21.9% in the same period.

(ix)         Gun crime offences in Enfield decreased by 28.4% in the year to July 2021. London experienced a reduction of 22.2% in the same period. These figures demonstrate how the Met Police have made some significant gains in tackling Gun Crime.

(x)          Domestic Abuse Violence with Injury decreased by 10% in the last year, while in London there was a smaller 5.1% decrease.

(xi)         Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) calls decreased in Enfield, with a 2.1% fall in call numbers in the year ending July 2021, compared to the same period the previous year. In London there was an increase of 2.4% in the same period.

(xii)        With regards to Interfering with a Motor Vehicle there had been a decrease of 23.8% in the year ending July 2021. In London, there was a decrease of 26.4% in the same period.

The following comments/questions were raised:

1     Membership details for the SSCB would be circulated to Members of the Crime Scrutiny Panel as part of the next report.

Action: Andrea Clemons, Head of Community Safety

2     Explanations were provided on various detail included in the report. For example, Superintendent Chris Jones clarified the definition for the offence of ‘Interfering with a Motor Vehicle’ which could, for example, involve tampering with the door handle.

3     With regards to Serious Youth Violence numbers Enfield has a large youth population and the borough also imports into schools daily. Covid has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To agree the minutes of the Crime Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 10 June 2021.

Agreed the minutes of the meeting held on the 10 June 2021 subject to the following amendment:

(i)            Councillor Yasemin Brett attended the meeting therefore her apologies for absence had been recorded in error.

To note that the next Crime Scrutiny Panel meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 25 January 2022.

The date of the next meeting was noted as follows:

·         Tuesday 25 January 2022

AGREED that the Crime Scrutiny Panel Work Programme 2021/22 would be circulated to Members as requested.

Action: Stacey Gilmour, Governance Officer