Agenda and minutes

Cllr Michael Rye (Chair) welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Chris Dey, who was substituted by Cllr 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.

Cllr Adrian Grumi declared a non pecuniary interest as he runs the Enfield Crime Watch Facebook page.

To agree the minutes of the Crime Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 13 September 2022.

AGREED the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2022.

With the permission of the Chair, representatives of traders in Enfield Town raised their concerns in respect of recent burglaries at business premises.

Mr Onur Durak advised that his premises - Aksular Restaurant - was burgled in the early morning of Saturday 3 December. There had been damage and losses. The safe had been taken, put into an Enfield Town blue bin and wheeled away. He considered that a full investigation had not been carried out by the Police in response. On speaking to neighbours in the area he was also concerned to hear that the Burger Restaurant, beauty salon, Art Town cafe, the Barber shop, off licence and Ada Restaurant had also been burgled in the last year, and from cctv footage it looked like the same gang may be responsible. He had been told that the CCTV cameras in Silver Street were not working. Other traders shared the concerns and felt more should be done to protect businesses.

The Chair thanked Mr Durak for bringing the concerns to the Panel’s attention and it would be ensured that they were followed up.

Supt Rhona Hunt confirmed that the ward sergeant would make contact and that a detective would be asked to investigate. There was a tactical group in place which looked for links between crimes in an area.

Andrea Clemons advised that camera footage from the time in Enfield Town would be checked to find out if there was any coverage.

To receive the report of Dudu Sher-Arami, Director of Public Health, Ivana Price, Head of Early Help, Youth & Community Safety and Suzy Francis, Principal Educational Psychologist & Strategic Lead for Children’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health.

RECEIVED the report of Dudu Sher-Arami (Director of Public Health), Ivana Price (Head of Early Help, Youth & Community Safety), Andrea Clemons (Head of Community Safety), and Suzy Francis (Principal Educational Psychologist & Strategic Lead for Children’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health).

Main parts of the report were highlighted, and that there was positivity in some of the latest data. Having had the highest levels of victims in London, Enfield was now one of only six boroughs showing a reduction in serious youth violence. The majority of the offences were recorded in the eastern part of the borough, although Southgate also had a high rate. The range of prevention work by the Council, Police and wider partnership was set out. Analysis of the local youth offending cohort of young people for 2021/22 showed that the majority of offences were committed by young men and that black young men were overrepresented within youth justice services.

Questions and comments were invited from Panel members.

The Chair raised the constant over-representation of black young men, their disadvantages, and a lack of youth centres in the Southbury area. Officers highlighted work done in training and diversifying judiciaries. There was also a promising programme with a youth worker employed at Wood Green custody facility. An action plan with partners showed the serious consideration of issues and how to tackle and prevent inequality and reduce disadvantage. It was recognised that the borough’s five youth centres were not necessarily where they were needed, but the Council had recently launched mobile youth provision to offer support at hot spots, and a detached youth work offer in neutral spaces in the community. It was confirmed that there was black inspirational mentoring and professional family coaches who worked with parents, carers and siblings of an offending young person to help overcome family issues.

Cllr Mahmut Aksanoglu had concerns as a Southbury ward councillor, including about transported crime from outside the borough. Officers highlighted the partnership work and use of resources to maximise the youth offer, and proactive work in relation to privately-run children’s homes in the borough to prevent criminalisation of children in care. Supt Rhona Hunt also emphasized the strands of pursue and protect, and that Police worked across the Enfield / Haringey boundary and put resources into hot spot places.

Cllr Kate Anolue raised the need to address the social inequalities, employment, earnings and housing disadvantages and the institutional racism faced by young black men, and that there would be no improvement until all were treated equitably.

Cllr Stefanos Ioannou raised the historical issue that Southgate College imported crime, and of transported crime linked to the Piccadilly tube line. Supt Rhona Hunt confirmed the work with British Transport Police and with after school patrols and schools officers. A London-wide campaign to ‘look up, look out’ was also currently running. The CHiPS community help point scheme was also in place and included the Alan Pullinger Centre.

Cllr Mustafa Cetinkaya asked about use of libraries for youth clubs. It was confirmed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To receive the report of Julie Tailor, Domestic Violence Co-ordinator.

RECEIVED the report of Julie Tailor, Domestic Violence Co-ordinator.

Julie Tailor introduced the report and provided updates on the priorities in Enfield. It was highlighted that domestic abuse accounted for a quarter of all crime reported in Enfield, and was recognised as likely to be under-reported. The programmes and schemes to support victims were set out, and the recent progress made. There was a need to have an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) in the borough, and work was being done with providers to understand costings.

In response to the Chair’s query, it was confirmed that the Night Time Safety Charter named champion was Joanne Drew.

Officers also agreed to raise the importance of the area around Enfield Town Station being well-lit at night with colleagues in Street Lighting.

In response to Cllr Mahmut Aksanoglu’s queries regarding an ISVA, officers had contacted neighbouring boroughs to find out if they had ISVAs and to explore working in partnership. Some MOPAC funding had been held for this, driven by the data. An ISVA would work to support victims navigating the criminal justice system.

To receive the report of Andrea Clemons, Head of Community Safety and Ashley Webb, Community Safety Intelligence Analyst.

RECEIVED the report of Andrea Clemons, Head of Community Safety.

Andrea Clemons introduced the report, which set out the performance against agreed priorities of the Safer and Stronger Communities Board. It was noted that the set format may change going forward as a data system had been developed by the Mayor’s office and would soon provide what was needed for the performance reports. The key points in the report were highlighted. A rise in drugs offences and possession offences was also due to proactivity. There were comparisons provided for levels of crime in Enfield in respect of the difference the Covid-19 pandemic had made. The information on gun crime offences in Enfield on page 41 of the agenda pack should read ‘increased by 1.4%’ rather than decreased.

It was noted that burglary peaked at around Christmas time and awareness messages were being put out at the moment:   https://twitter.com/i/status/1601486880423305216

The increases in hate crimes were also noted, but that these were now levelling off.

In response to Members’ queries, it was confirmed that visits by Police to every victim of burglary should be a priority going forward. Car theft and theft from cars was higher in Enfield than for London overall due to the bigger population and higher rates of driving due to the geography of the borough.

To note the Crime Scrutiny Panel Work Programme for 2022/23.

NOTED the Crime Scrutiny Panel work programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

To note the dates of future meetings as follows:

·         Wednesday 1 March 2023

NOTED the date of the next meeting: Wednesday 1 March 2023.

The Chair wished all attendees a happy Christmas and New Year.