Agenda item

Mr Dan Kennedy, the Council's Head of Business Performance, Policy & Standards, advised that the report included the information that had been presented to the Safer Hillingdon Partnership (SHP) at its September 2016 meeting.  The information was correct as at the end of June 2016 (Q1) and covered three priority themes:

1.    Reduce violence;

2.    Reduce offending; and

3.    Identify and protect vulnerable residents and locations.

Over the last six months, the SHP had been reviewing its targets to ensure that they were fit for purpose.  It was noted that there had been a time lag for the reporting of some information but it was anticipated that this would catch up. 

Although there had been an increase in robberies (84 in Q1), the overall trend over the last three years was a 16% reduction between July 2014-June 2015 and July 2015-June 2016.  The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) was confident that this target would be back on track as it tended to be skewed over the summer months. 

There had been an increase in the number of domestic abuse incidences reported to the police.  The crime had previously been underreported so it was thought that this better reflected the current position.  Figures reported earlier in the week showed that the gap in reaching the target had reduced to 4% but consideration would still need to be given to ensure that incidences were reported correctly on the police system.  It was noted that domestic abuse was one of the top police priorities locally and that a significant amount of work had been undertaken following the Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs). 

65% of Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) cases that had been reported to the Council had been closed and the problem resolved (against a target of 75%).  Members were advised that, although some cases were resolved quickly, some experienced a time delay between the action taken by officers and the case being closed which meant that the cases could span more than one period/quarter.  Mr Nigel Dicker, the Council's Deputy Director Residents Services, noted that officers needed to be encouraged to resolve cases and close the incidents on the system so that the data available was up to date.  It was anticipated that, as practices and procedures improved, resolutions would be found more quickly.  Consideration was also being given to how the issuing of notices could be improved.  However, it was recognised that there were times when, no matter what action was taken by officers, the situation could not be resolved to the residents' satisfaction.  Mr Dicker agreed to provide a breakdown of these unresolved cases and the reasons why these cases had been unsuccessful. 

The data in relation to reducing the number of arson fires, carrying out free home fire safety visits (HFSV - the London Fire Brigade (LFB) could provide specialist alarms for the deaf, arson proof letter boxes and fire retardant throws and bedding for smokers who were bed bound) in priority postcodes and reducing the number of dwelling fires had not yet been reported.  Mr Martin Wilson, the LFB Hillingdon Borough Commander, advised that he would be liaising with Hillingdon's Social Services and community partnerships such as Meals On Wheels to raise awareness of the HFSVs and associated interventions.  He would also forward the outstanding data to Democratic Services for circulation to the Committee. 

Mr Wilson advised that he would be looking more closely at arsons in the Borough as there appeared to be too many vehicle arsons which, he suspected, might be linked to a prolific arsonist from a few years ago. 

With regard to improving confidence with the Police by 10%, Hillingdon had achieved 58% against a target of 69%.  Mr Kennedy noted that a task group had been established to strengthen confidence, particularly in the Hayes area, and an event would take place on 19 October 2016 to engage the Somali community and deal with any queries.  As there was a relatively low crime rate in Hillingdon, it was thought that there must be other issues that were affecting residents' satisfaction (improving overall satisfaction with the police had achieved 79.8% in Q1 against a target of 82%).  As such, engagement work would be key to further improvements.

Mr Kennedy and Mr Dicker had met with the MPS Borough Commander's team to discuss residents' confidence in the police.  Fly tipping had been identified as an issue and incidents had been mapped out across the Borough showing that they were more concentrated in certain areas.  Consideration would need to be given to what constituted fly tipping (for example, should it include bin bags put out by residents on the wrong day?) and whether something should be classed as ASB as it currently depended on the way that it was reported.  Although the MPS recognised its role in deterring fly tipping with increased patrols in the areas of prevalence (CCTV was controlled by the Council), a more joined up approach was needed.  The Council was also taking a stronger approach to ensuring that businesses had contracts in place for the disposal of their waste. 

Members were aware that everyone, including residents, needed to have pride in their areas and take responsibility for their own behaviour rather than the Council regularly clearing up after them.  As young people tended to be concerned about their immediate environment, it was suggested that work be undertaken to raise awareness of the fly tipping issue in schools and colleges. 

Repeat ASB offences were usually in relation to noise, overgrown gardens and blocked drains and were often related to mental health issues.  If the issue was in relation to a property, it was dealt with in piecemeal fashion and legal advice might be sought.  In addition, Community Protection Notices could be used to address low level behaviours and case reviews were regularly undertaken in relation to well known offenders and, where necessary, other agencies could be consulted.  Mr Kennedy's team would be able to plot ASB occurrences using GIS if required. 

The Committee requested that, by its meeting on 15 February 2017, Members be provided with information on the 10 main objectives (and performance against these) for each of the following organisations in relation to crime and disorder:

1.    London Borough of Hillingdon (Youth Offending Service, Community Safety and ASBIT);

2.    Metropolitan Police Service;

3.    London Fire Brigade;

4.    Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group; and

5.    Public Health.

Once this information had been received, Members would be able to request further information on specific issues.  It was agreed that the Committee would like representatives from the following organisations to attend its meeting on 15 March 2017:

1.    Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT);

2.    London Probation Area; and

3.    British Transport Police.

With regard to the reduction of violent crime, the Committee queried whether knife crime had been included, whether this was an issue in the Borough and, if it was, what action was being taken to address it.

Mr Wilson advised that, as the London Ambulance Service (LAS) was stretched, the LFB had been assisting.  Four London boroughs had been taking part in a pilot since April 2016 to deal with medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest.  All front line fire appliances already carried defibrillators so the equipment was available and had been carried by the LFB for several years prior to the trial.  Fire engines in the pilot boroughs could be called out to a cardiac arrest if it was thought that they could arrive quicker than the LAS.  Ambulance staff would also respond to the call and take over from the LFB once they had arrived at the scene.  The fire engines would be dispatched fully manned so that, if needed, they could take a fire related call directly after dealing with a medical call.  It was noted that all fire officers undertook a 3/4 day course on how to use a defibrillator as part of the LFB's normal training programme. 

Although the results of the pilot were looking positive, it was unclear how many lives had been saved as a result and consideration was being given to whether the pilot should be rolled out across London and whether it should be extended to other medical conditions.  If other conditions were added, further training would need to be provided for the fire officers. 

Mr Wilson noted that some drivers still failed to give way to fire engines.  He suggested that this might be as a result of loud music, ignorance or because they didn't want to receive a ticket for going through a red light or box junction. 

Out of the 3,000 calls received by the four Hillingdon fire stations in a year, 50 were hoax calls.  It was not thought that this figure was excessive and had reduced over the last 5-6 years.  As the majority of hoax calls had previously been made after school and when pubs closed, it was thought that the Junior Citizen Scheme and 'call challenge' had helped to reduce this number.  With regard to repeat callers, Mr Wilson advised that he would be taking a closer look at two individuals. 

It was noted that it was not always easy to resolve issues that spanned more than one service.  As such, information sharing and communication between the services needed to be clear.  Mr Dicker advised that the police provided the Council with a list of repeat callers.  However, information sharing between the local authority and A&E was more difficult and a change in the law would be needed to allow certain information to be shared. 

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    Mr Dicker provide a breakdown of unresolved cases and the reasons why they had been unsuccessful;

2.    Mr Wilson forward the outstanding LFB data to Democratic Services for circulation to the Committee; and

3.    the presentations be noted.