Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Commander Wayne Chance, Kate Cinamon, Doug Wilkinson, Lorna Corbin, Nicole Vincent and Laura Marshall. 

There were no declarations.

Minutes of the meeting held on 12^th January 2015.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the last meeting held on the 12^th January 2015, be approved as a correct record.

The Policy Officer for LDAP wanted to thank the Mayor of London for providing funding for the Party People Christmas campaign which had been actively supported by the Safer City Partnership and had enjoyed a positive response from the public and major City Businesses.

The Chairman thanked Simon Murrells for his many years of service to the Group and went onto welcome Peter Lisley as the new Deputy Chairman. 

The Community Safety Manager informed the Group that the Hotel Toolkit had been signed off and preceded to distribute copies to all Members during the meeting.

In response to a question, the Community Safety Officer explained that the Hotel Toolkit had been created to a specified requirement. However, the Committee agreed to meet with Members and colleagues to discuss further pertinent information which could be included within it and explore the potential of developing the toolkit for a broader audience.

The City of London Police Superintendent informed Members that the Community Remedy would be brought to the next meeting once the public consultation had taken place.

The Borough Commander of the Fire Brigade informed the Group that the Fire Brigade Cadet training would be completed by March. At which point a full review of the process would take place with a report being circulated to the Group before the next meeting of its findings. 

Report of the Assistant Director Street Scene and Strategy, Built Environment

The Group discussed a report on progress against targets by the Safer City Partnership for the period Q3 2014/15.  The Policy Advisor for LDAPF noted that rough sleepers performance had improved although continued to be an ongoing issue, and that there had been a increase in the number victim based crime incidents. He concluded by noting that the increase in incidents was due to the increase in reporting.

A Member noted that further funding had been allocated from the Proceeds of Crime fund for pop up hubs which intended to address the issue of rough sleepers within London.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Verbal update from the Borough Commander, London Fire Brigade

The London Fire Brigade Borough Commander provided an update on recent work by the London Fire Brigade in the City, noting that there were three primary fires one of which had been serious, additionally dwelling fires were still a concern mainly occurring in homes for elderly or disabled people. He concluded by noting that fire awareness training was being targeted at the right people and places.

In response to a question, the Director for Community and Children Services noted that fire prevention training was focused on people in social care and suggested that this be extended to a wider selection of the community. 

A Member sought clarification over whether response times to fire had remained the same. The Borough Commander assured Members that although there had increase in response time this was due to the Fire Brigade now covering a larger area, nevertheless they were still under their target response time.  

RESOLVED: that the report be noted.

Report of the Community Safety Manager

The Community Safety Manager introduced the Community Safety update, noting that residents had raised concern around anti-social behavior in Middlesex Street. Both the City of London Police and the Community Safety Team had attended a residents meeting to listen to concerns raised by residents. The Group was informed that until individuals were identified, appropriate enforcement action could not be taken to remedy the situation.

RESOLVED: That the report be received.

Report of the City of London Police

The City of London Police Superintendent Hector McKoy provided an update for the Group, noting that there had been an increase in violence without injury. This was reflected across London, the increased reporting was due to crime awareness initiatives around Harassment and Stalking being promoted by the Community Safety Team and the crime of Harassment not requiring proof for inclusion in the statistic. He went on to note that organised crime gangs were stealing motorcycle to enable thefts from jewelry shops, the City of London Police had made significant arrests, however, this was an ongoing issue. In addition, he noted that there was an increase in pedal cycle thefts. The City of London Police held an event focusing on bike safety by marking bicycle with identifying information and had asked people to trial sturdier locks which had led to an 18% decrease in thefts where they had been used. 

RESOLVED: That the report be received.

The Group received a presentation by the Metropolitan Police regarding the Bridge Pilot. This was a joint initiative of the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police to reduce the number of suicides that occur from bridges within the City of London. The focus would be on London, Waterloo and Hungerford Bridges for a 6 month period. A record would be kept on the suicide rate over the six month period and reported back to the Group at a later date.

The Metropolitan Police requested permission to use City of London bridges for advertising the Samaritans as part of the pilot. The Assistant Town Clerk noted that the street furniture on bridges was owned by Transport for London and the Department of Built Environment would need to be consulted to clarify the demarcation lines before any posters were hung.

RESOLVED: That;

·         The Department of Built Environment to provide information on the demarcation lines on the three bridges which are part of the pilot,  to allow advertising as part of the pilot; and

·         To note the presentation. 

The City of London Police Superintendent Hector McKoy provided an update on the 20MPH zone for the Group, noting that the scheme was working well and was receiving the full support of the court. During launch week fliers were handed out to motorists to advise them of the new 20MPH zone, any motorist who exceeding the speed limit within an agreed threshold were offered a Speed Awareness Course. However, if the speed was above any agreed threshold, motorists would receive a Fixed Penalty Notice or Court Process depending on their speed. In addition, there were 3 levels of fines imposed by the Court with the highest taking 150% of a defendant’s weekly income.

In response to a question, Superintendent Hector McKoy agreed to provide information on whether the 20MPH zone had improved safety at a later date.

RESOLVED: That ;

·         Superintendent provide a report on whether the 20MPH zone has improved safety; and

·         the report be received.

The Group noted the quarter 1 statistic for Domestic Abuse.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report of the Substance Misuse Partnership Manager, Community & Children's Services

The Policy Officer for LDAPF provided an update on behalf of the Substance Misuse Partnership.  He highlighted a positive improvement in drug testing upon arrest.  The results of the joint City and Hackney Substance Misuse Needs Assessment would be available for the next meeting.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report of the Port Health & Public Protection Director, Markets & Consumer Protection

The Director of Port Health and Public Protection provided an update on public protection service activity, noting that the late night levy was working well, with a report going to the Licensing Committee on its first 6 month in operation. He added that the City of London Corporation continued to work with the community to ensure that ongoing building work across the City did not cause a noise nuisance.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report of Community and Children Services

The Assistant Director of Community and Children’s Services introduced the Annual Children and Adult Safeguarding report. He noted that both the Board’s were jointly working with Hackney Council. He added that by virtue of the Care Act 2014, adults were given the same level of care as children. This required Health and Wellbeing Board within local authorities to review their current safeguarding arrangements for adults. He concluded by noting that the City of London Corporation’s Dementia Strategy had been successful in raising awareness and assisting with self-assessment.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report of Remembrancer 

The Parliamentary Assistant introduced the Counter-Terror and Security bill, noting that the bill had now received royal assent, and that this placed two new duties on the City of London Corporation and the Court of Common Council, Prevent and the Channel programme. The Act also imposed a general duty to ‘have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. He concluded by noting that there would need to be a review in the future on the work undertaken by the City of London Corporation  to meet the requirements of the new Act. The Group agreed to hold further discussions on follow up actions that were needed to implement the duties imposed by the Act on the City of London Corporation and associated bodies.

The Community Safety Manager informed the Group that a workshop on the Prevent duty for the City of London Corporation had taken place recently. The workshop had helped identify gaps between services that needed to be addressed.

The Group discussed the requirement imposed by the Act on convening a Channel Panel to deal with cases of terrorism. Members were asked to inform the Town Clerk if they were interested in being part of the Panel

RESOLVED: That:

·         the Group would discuss any further action needed to implement the Act on a adhoc basis; and

·         Members will inform the Town Clerk of their interest in becoming part of the Channel Panel

The City of London Police Superintendent Hector McKoy provided an update on Street Pastors, noting that they are trained volunteers from local churches who assist the public and Police during busy periods to reduce crime without discrimination. He added that wherever Street Pastors patrolled crime and anti-social behavior decreased. He concluded by asking the Group to approve the Street Pastors Scheme.

The Group was informed that Paula Wilkinson would be moving on to lead the Prevent programme with David Macintosh taking over the management of the Community Safety Team.

The Chairman thanked Paula for all her work whilst in the role of Community Safety Manager and wished her well for her new role as the Prevent Lead. He went onto welcome David Macintosh as the new Community Safety Manager. 

RESOLVED: That the Street Pastors Scheme be agreed.

Report by Children and Community Services

This item was moved into the public domain.

The Director of Community and Children’s Services introduced the findings of the Strategic Review for Domestic Abuse in the City. He noted that the review focused on the effectiveness of the City’s response to domestic abuse and that a multi-agency approach would be needed to deliver an effective service to domestic abuse victims. He added that the Safer City Partnership would be the right forum to take the initiative forward. He concluded by thanking Nicole Vincent and Paula Wilkinson for their work on the Strategic Review.

The Group discussed the recommendations within the report. The Town Clerk informed the Group that funding for a Vulnerable Victim Co-coordinator had been secured, as part of the London – wide joint commissioning budget for victims. The Town Clerk was waiting for formal signoff from the Deputy Mayor of London (The representative of the Commissioning Body) for 2015/2016 funding.

RESOLVED: That;

·         the recommendations in the Domestic Abuse Strategic Review be agreed;

·         the colocation of domestic abuse service as part of the Community Safety Hub be explored; and

·         the report be noted.