Agenda item - NORTH AREA BASIC COMMAND UNIT UPDATE

Agenda item

NORTH AREA BASIC COMMAND UNIT UPDATE

To receive an update from T/Superintendent Neil Billany, North Area BCH (Enfield & Haringey) - Neighbourhoods

Minutes:

RECEIVED an update from T/Superintendent Neil Billany North Area BCU (Enfield and Haringey) – Neighbourhoods.

 

NOTED:

 

i)             Enfield and Haringey Police merged on the 9th January 2019 to form the ‘North Area basic Command Unit’.

ii)            This is part of a wider efficiency driven project across London that has seen the 32 traditional borough command units come together to create 12 BCU’s.

iii)           Since 9th January officers and staff have been assumed from two additional commands, with Child Abuse Investigations and Serious Sexual Offences now being managed and investigated locally.

iv)           The North Area BCU is currently led by DCS Helen Millichap with a wider SLT of 5 Superintendents and 6 Chief Inspectors. DCS Millichap will be leaving on 12th April 2019 at which point DCS Trina Fleming will take up the post. Superintendent (Neighbourhoods) Nigel Brookes had now left the MET to join Kent Police and Neil advised that he would only be covering the post temporarily until 8th May 2019.

v)            An update on each strand was provided namely; Headquarters, Emergency Response Teams (ERT), Neighbourhoods, Local Investigations and Safeguarding.

vi)           Since the 9th January response times are closely monitored as a key indication of how the merge is progressing. Response times have improved slightly since the point of ‘go live’ and are better than this time last year for both Enfield and Haringey.

vii)          Inspector Erica Crawshaw remains the Neighbourhoods Inspector for Enfield, with all 7 Sergeants working across the wards at the point of going live remaining in post.

viii)        Work is ongoing to find suitable accommodation for the losses of Southgate and Enfield Police Stations, with wards teams needing to remain base don, or close to, their allocated area in order to reduce travelling time and spend more time on the streets.

ix)           The Safeguarding Team is largely based at Edmonton Police Station with pan-BCU responsibility. Amalgamation of officers from the Child Abuse Command and Sapphire (Serious Sexual Offences) has seen new officers join the BCU, however the remit on Safeguarding is now larger than before, so comparisons around total officer numbers would be misleading at this stage.

x)            It is also fair to say that Enfield has benefited greatly of late from additional resources posted to the borough on a long-term basis, from the Territorial Support Group, the Violent Crime Taskforce, armed officers and mounted branch and dog patrols.

 

Following Neil’s update the following questions/comments were raised:

 

·         Challenges faced since the merge on 9th January were discussed and various questions were raised.

·         With regards to vacancies and the timescales for filling these Neil advised that conversations were currently taking place on how data will be presented across all 12 BCU’s and it was hoped that this would be available shortly.

·         Discussions took place regarding Section 60’s and how and when these were used.

·         Information was provided on the local CAPE meetings. These are an opportunity for members of the public, Police Neighbourhood Teams and Councillors to come together to discuss any issues and concerns in the ward, talk about crime figures and set priorities. All information regarding the CAPE meetings can be found on the MET Police website.

·         Members agreed that it was very important for the Neighbourhood Police Officers to attend the CAPE meetings as they provided the perfect opportunity to hear from residents what was going on in their wards as well as sharing ideas and good practice.

·         Inspector Erica Crawshaw said that in terms of the CAPE meetings Neighbourhood Officers were expected to attend and if this was not happening it should be flagged up. She went on to say that it was important for the CAPEs to be reflective of local communities, therefore if that meant changing the time that the meetings were held to allow for better attendance then so be it. It may also be worth looking at the frequency of the meetings to allow for enough time between each one for action to be taken on any issues raised. Each CAPE is individual and should therefore be set up in a way that works best for the ward.

·         Residents were also encouraged to attend their local Ward Forum meetings which again were attended by Councillors and the Police. All meeting dates are advertised on the council website at www.enfield.go.uk.

 

The Chair thanked Neil and Erica for their update and said that he looked forward to receiving future updates as the North Area BCU progressed.

 

 

 

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