The scrutiny panel will hear from the following outlining priorities and key issues for 2019/20:
· Cllr Nneka Keazor, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Cohesion
· Andrea Clemons, Head of the Community Safety Team
· Superintendent Farooq Sheikh, Metropolitan Police
The Cabinet Member and officers will be asked to leave the meeting at this point.
Minutes:
Councillor Keazor provided a Cabinet Member’s perspective. She highlighted key areas of focus as:
· Burglary
· Tackling Youth Crime. There will be public events in Edmonton two weeks before the school holidays, the young mayor and deputy mayor will attend. This will include showcasing available summer activities
· Working with faith and hard to reach communities. There will be events with the Somali community, faith groups and the parent engagement panel. There is also work being undertaken with the Pupil Referral Unit supporting both the young people and their parents.
Andrea Clemons, Head of Community Safety Team introduced herself and advised that at the start of the financial year the Safer & Stronger Communities Board (Enfield’s Crime Reduction Partnership) agreed to retain the priorities with a refreshed action plan. The priorities are:
· Reducing burglary and keeping people safe at home;
· Tackling violent crime – in all its forms
· Keeping young people safe and reducing their risks from crime;
· Promoting cohesion and tackling hate crime;
· Dealing with anti-social behaviour
As part of the process of setting priorities MOPAC (Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) suggested that vehicle crime was included. However, the priorities did not change as the board felt that they wish to focus on the high harm offences.
Andrea highlighted the following:
· Looking at holding a community MARAC (Multi Agency Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference) to look at ASB.
· Total Notifiable Offences are up around 10% in the last 12 rolling month. This is twice the average increase across London
Andrea suggested that when the Panel set their priorities for their work programme these were areas that they may want to include:
· Invite other partnership groups on the SSCB to hear about their work such as the Fire Brigade
· Burglary has seen increases
· Serious Youth Violence whilst there has been a 5 % reduction over the last 12 rolling months. Enfield is still the 3rd highest in London. The panel may also wish to explore robbery and or knife crime within this.
Superintendent Farooq Sheikh then introduced himself and his background. The priorities for the BCU (Basic Command Unit) are to reduce crime and disorder, increase trust and confidence in the police and ensure that justice prevails.
He endorsed everything Andrea had said. He has been in post one month and is looking how the figure for total notifiable offences can be bought down and what resilience the police have. Members were advised that Enfield now has 2 marked police vehicles. He wants to ensure that there are police officers where the demand is and at the right time, creating a more visible police presence to prevent crime in the first place. He is looking at using Pulse patrols, where an increased number of officers are in an area for a period to patrol the area, actively engage with the public to gather any intelligence on issues and deter criminals from operating in the areas. This proactive style of policing which will involve looking at officer shift patterns
Other key police issues:
· Reduce TNO’S particularly burglary.
· Dismantling and disrupting organised crime
The following discussions were held, and questions raised:
· Members were keen on the use of pulse patrol and suggested that these could be used in Bowes Ward.
· Burglary felt better communication needed on this, residents should feel that this is treated seriously, and offenders will be apprehended. Supt Sheikh provided assurance that he takes burglary very seriously and its effects on the person their family and the neighbours.
· The issue of prostitution was raised, and the pictures have been shared on social media of activities occurring outside people’s homes and the distress this causes. Further discussion took place on prevention and enforcement activities that have occurred on this including actions taken for residents on public health concerns. It was noted that prostitution is an issue in many areas
· Would like to see more people involved in CAPE meetings.
· Cllr Anderson had posted on social media inviting residents to list areas of concern and they had identified the following:
o Burglary
o Shop lifting (of both small and large stores)
o Modern slavery
o A10 speeding
o A406 speeding and aggressive begging at junctions
o Parks- residents had a perception that some are becoming no go areas
o Wanted to see increased police presence which provides a sense of security
Q: Why is Enfield the 3rd highest in London for Serious Youth Violence?
A: There are a variety of factors such as; Enfield has the 4th largest youth population in London, significantly more than half of these live in the eastern corridor in areas which overlap with areas of deprivation. Many young people travel in and out of the borough to attend school. There is a link to the end of the school day and violence taking place up to 3 hours afterwards. It is very important that any activities are in the right place at the right time and target those most vulnerable.
Q: What are the anticipated objectives from the meetings with young people?
A: The objectives are; to engage with more young people, hear issues from them and see how the council can support them; showcase activities and projects and and their locations, engage with parents making them aware of what is available and where they can go to for support
Q: Do the police still run 5 a side football events as this seems is a good way to engage and connect with young people?
A: This does still happen Supt Sheikh will explore further. The police have organised basketball events with Enfield Scorpions using Oasis School hall, this has involved contributions from lots of different partners.
Q: What are the vacancy rates across the Met and how does Enfield compare?
A: The figures from earlier in the year showed that there are vacancy rates of around 5% across London. However, lots of new recruits are coming through Hendon and the police are still recruiting. There will still be officers leaving for a variety of reasons but there are more officers coming in than leaving.
The Chair thanked Cllr Keazor, Superintendent Sheikh and Andrea Clemons for their contributions and looked forward to working with them.