Agenda item

The Committee received a report of the Commissioner providing an update on recent community engagement activities, community priorities and forthcoming events.

The Commander made reference to the restructure of Wards Policing teams, which he explained were no longer geographically based but instead now divided into separate teams for residential, business and street engagement. Positive feedback had been received so far, particularly from residents in the Mansell Street area. In response to Members’ questions, he clarified that whilst there were no longer any specifically dedicated “ward” officers, particular officers would of course continue to work in particular areas to ensure their links with and knowledge of areas were put to best use. With regard to engagement with businesses, he explained that officers from the team made visits to meet and engage with companies and that the Force also had a communications network in place allowing them to contact over 4500 SMEs in City, who also received regular newsletters from the police keeping them up to date with the latest information.

The Commander also made reference to an event held within the last week which had been aimed at engaging with hard to reach groups, which had been very successful with over 250 representatives from the City’s Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities in attendance. The Force’s intention was now to build on this event and maintain good engagement with these communities.

The Chairman noted the section updating on work with the Safer City Partnership and, as Chair of the Partnership advised the Committee that he was currently seeking to expand the group to involve other interested agencies, for example the UK Border Agency. He asked Members to inform the Town Clerk should they be aware of any others bodies which could play a useful role with the Safer City Partnership.