Agenda item

Mr Dan Kennedy, the Council’s Deputy Director, Housing, Environment, Education, Health and Wellbeing, advised that the Community Safety Partnership (known locally as the Safer Hillingdon Partnership (SHP)) was a statutory body with the partners prescribed in legislation.  SHP meetings were chaired jointly by the Council’s Chief Executive and the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS’s) West Area Basic Command Unit (BCU) Commander.  Other partners included representatives from the Probation Service, London Fire Brigade, Public Health and the Community Rehabilitation Company (who had attended the last SHP meeting) as well as the relevant Cabinet Member and the Chairman of Hillingdon’s Domestic Abuse Steering Executive.  The SHP’s role was to provide oversight, champion and steer community safety and reduce the fear of crime using clear communication and the appropriate use of resources.  The SHP reviewed its priorities and set targets annually. 

Mr Kennedy stated that there had been real progress to reduce burglaries in the Borough which were deemed to be a high impact crime in that it impinged on residents’ personal space.  This reduction had been supported by the provision of Council-funded police officers and through the MetTrace project where covert operations were undertaken by proactive neighbourhood teams and cocooning which was a reactive strategy to protect against the reoccurrence of residential burglary.  Burglary would remain a priority for 2018/2019.  The longer winter nights could mean an increase in the number of burglaries, so prevention was equally important.  As such, Autumn Nights would see police patrols being placed in key areas around the Borough. 

Challenges had been faced in the Borough in relation to violent crime and knife crime in particular as these offences were often linked to drugs and alcohol.  It was noted that the target for “Reduce violence with injury by 5% per annum for the next three years” had not only been missed in 2017/2018 but had also been higher than the baseline for 2016/2017.  Members were assured that the use of corrosive liquids had not been a significant issue in the Borough and that processes were in place to respond accordingly. 

Superintendent Ricky Kandohla advised that, although there had been no incidents in the last 3-4 weeks, there had been an increase in knife crime in the Borough, particularly round West Drayton and Hayes.  Whilst Hillingdon compared well with other boroughs, any small increase in the number of incidents resulted in a disproportionately large percentage increase.  Operation Honeybadger had been put in place by the BCU to tackle knife crime and it was likely that this issue would remain a priority for at least 3-5 years.  MOPAC had asked that the local authority and BCU provide an action plan to tackle knife crime and youth violence.  The key themes of this action plan were:

·         Diversion - at school as well as outside of the school gates.  As well as school officers, Youth Engagement Officers now played a big role in diversionary activities with young people;

·         Prevention - it was anticipated that police visibility would act as a deterrent in some instances.  Leaflets had also been handed out and the ‘Your Life, You Choose’ programme had been running in schools in Ealing and Hillingdon.  Stop and search powers were also now being used more widely and had produced results.  The powers were useful if used legitimately, proportionately and ethically.  To support this, officers were issued with body worn video (BWV) and footage could be reviewed by Stop and Search Monitoring Groups.  Section 60 powers were also used to stop and search in an area;

·         Communication - it was recognised that the MPS was not always great at communication, but effort was being made to improve this.  The BCU had been using different ways to talk to the right people as well as listening to what they had to say, hearing what they said and then taking action.  Further work was being undertaken to capitalise on the use of social media to get messages across; and

·         Enforcement - activity had included the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to catch perpetrators across area borders.

It was noted that there had not been a reported spike in the level of hate crimes reported.  The MPS encouraged instances of hate crime to be reported (Tell MAMA) and Hate Crime Liaison Officers were in place at the BCU to speak to communities. 

There had been a concerted effort between the local authority and the MPS to reduce anti social behaviour (including littering, dog fouling and noise nuisance) which had resulted in the SHP achieving its targets.  Officers had been grant funded by the Council as anti social behaviour (ASB) was seen as a local priority.  Resources to deal with ASB included AirSpace (which supported the case management of anti-social behaviour), MARAC (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference), PSPOs (Public Spaces Protection Orders) and Section 35 dispersal orders.  Consideration needed to be given to any displacement that would be caused as a result of action taken to address ASB in a particular area. 

Grant funded resources had also been used in the last year towards the target to reduce the vulnerability score of 75% of those referred to CR MARAC - in 2017/2018 100% had been achieved.  MARAC had also increased the number of cases per 10,000 population from 18 in 2016/2017 to 30 in 2017/2018 which is well on the way to achieving the target of 40 cases over three years. 

Public confidence in the local police had increased to 64% in 2017/2018 against a 60% target.  It was thought that this might be as a result of an increase in police visibility around the Borough.  From Supt. Kandohla’s perspective, there were challenges involved in working with three SHPs and with three sets of communities and to physically get around 65 wards across the three boroughs in the BCU (Ealing, Hounslow and Hillingdon).  However, to ensure his visibility, he met with the Neighbourhoods teams as often as he could.  To give local context, Supt. Kandohla would provide a breakdown of the confidence figures by ward. 

Although domestic abuse (DA) had been a priority over the last year, there had been an increase in the number of repeat victims of DA with 1,515 instances in 2017/2018 against a target of 1,253.  MOPAC grant funding had helped to develop the DA strategy which had been agreed by Cabinet and Council in June / July 2018.  Work had been undertaken to strengthen the DA referral pathways and to refresh the engagement strategy to embed changes such as the risk assessment process.  Extensive training had also been undertaken with partner organisations.  It was noted that the courts and sentencing also took DA very seriously. 

Safeguarding vulnerable people was seen as a priority in Hillingdon.  Prior to the BCU, sufficient resources had not been available.  However, trained investigators were now in place to manage DA and provide a safe environment for DA victims to report and the safeguarding lead officer regularly attended meetings such as MARAC.  It was noted that Hillingdon had achieved the most DA charges in London. 

Supt. Kandohla advised that the new Basic Command Unit (BCU) structure had five strands which each had a Superintendent and a Chief Inspector: HQ, Response, Neighbourhoods, Investigation and Safeguarding.  There were seven Sergeants in Hillingdon that each managed the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams for 2-3 wards.  Each Sergeant had their own skill set, met with Ward Panels and managed their own administration.  The five strands were not yet fully staffed.  However, Supt. Kandohla advised that new officers were coming into the Borough, a recruitment drive was underway for PCSOs and police graduates were joining the Neighbourhoods teams.  He would provide a staffing report at the next crime and disorder meeting on 12 February 2019.

Although the new structure was still bedding in, the BCU had provided the ability to flex resources across three boroughs which had resulted in a better response to 999 calls with officers arriving after 84% of calls.  The Response Team had also grown in number and vehicles were now more available that they had been before. 

Whilst it was recognised that the former borough-based BCU was an anomaly and a larger command was more effective, concern was expressed in relation to the flexing of resources.  Information about response times did not appear to be on the MPS website so there was no way to know whether the introduction of the new BCU had resulted in an increase or decrease in these times.  Furthermore, it was queried whether the flexing mechanisms resulted in the performance of the BCU as a whole being scrutinised rather than that of the individual boroughs.  Supt. Kandohla advised that Hillingdon and the BCU as a whole were doing well with regard to response times and that he would provide the Committee with this more detailed information.  Whilst the ability to flex resources sat with the control room, wards were usually working at above minimum strength and each borough had its own proactive team which worked to prevent increases in crime. 

It was noted that a lot of things had not changed since the introduction of the BCU.  For example, although a number of buildings were no longer being used, many of the ward officers had remained patrolling the same area and had provided continuity.  A Response Team was still working out of Ruislip where there was also a dedicated policing team.  Although the geographic area may have changed, the policing concept remained the same. 

Members were advised that MOPAC required a minimum commitment in each ward of two police officers and one PCSO.  The flexibility now available meant that resources could be drafted in from elsewhere if this minimum strength was likely to be breached or bolster resources to help deal with an incident if needed.  The only times that minimum strength would not necessarily be adhered to was during Notting Hill Carnival, New Year’s Eve and the Million Mask March.  There would also be operational decisions to move officers around the BCU area in relation to gang retribution where there was a danger to life and to prevent harm. 

Supt. Kandohla advised that, although there was not a gang culture in Hillingdon, there had been some issues in Northolt and Rayners Lane with possible local affiliations.  However, there was no evidence to suggest that there were gangs operating in Hillingdon.

Concern was expressed that residents did not understand the process regarding reporting incidents or the response that they should expect and there had been incidents where calls from residents had not been answered or had been cut off.  Although residents were being told that they needed to report crimes, if they were unable to get through on the telephone to report a crime, it did not instil much confidence that the service was improving and would not reflect the true level of service demand.  Supt. Kandohla confirmed that it was not acceptable for calls to 101 to go unanswered or for calls to be cut off.  He advised that the pan-London service was outsourced and that the contractor had experienced some challenges with recruitment which had now been addressed. 

It was noted that the call operator was not based in the Borough and made the decision as to whether or not to send police officers to a reported incident.  Whilst it was acknowledged that victims of a burglary wanted to see the police, this was not always possible or practical depending on the information given to the operator.  However, the local police operations room did review the calls taken by the operators and could decide to take action.  Residents were also able to contact ward based officers on their mobiles.  Members agreed that they needed to collate more detail about the issues being raised by residents about specific incidents and pass this on to the police.  Furthermore, as some residents would be unaware of the new BCU arrangement, Supt. Kandohla suggested that local Neighbourhoods teams attend community meetings to provide residents with further information. 

Members were advised that most police officers now had tablets and residents were able to report crimes online.

West Area BCU had been the third BCU to go live in London.  Lessons had been learnt from the introduction of the first two BCUs which had helped the transition in the West Area.  It was noted that 999 call performance had improved and there were more officers available than there had been before. 

It was noted that, with regard to Section 136 of the Mental Health Act, a Borough Mental Health Liaison Officer had been appointed.  S136 gave the police the power to remove a person from a public place (when they appeared to be suffering from a mental disorder) to a place of safety.  It was confirmed that the MPS in Hillingdon did not put these individuals in cells as police stations were deemed to be a last resort as a place of safety. 

It was suggested that the targets set for 2018/2019 were not challenging enough and that it was disappointing that targets that had not been met in 2017/2018 that had still been rolled forward without any further thought.  A 40% increase in knife crime could not be seen as a success.  Mr Kennedy advised that a lot of work had been undertaken by the police  in relation to the knife crime target which had been based on the trends.  However, concern was expressed by Members that this rationale was weakened by the fact that the target remained the same as the previous year yet the BCU now had the ability to flex its resources.  It was argued that, if resources could be flexed to reduce instances of burglary in the Borough, why could this not also be done for knife crime. 

Although some Q1 results for 2018/2019 seemed high, it was noted that there were some seasonal variances.  Mr Kennedy advised that this was something that would be monitored at the SHP meetings. 

It was agreed that, as a large amount of statistical information was routinely provided at a ward level for Safer Neighbourhood Boards, rather than duplicate effort, Supt. Kandohla agreed to forward this information to the Democratic Services Manager for circulation to the Committee.  This information would then be included on the agenda as a standard for future crime and disorder related External Services Select Committee meetings. 

Supt. Kandohla advised that he was unaware of the detail of the proposed closure of the interview suite managed by the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences (CASO) unit in Northwood.  Once he had more information, he would pass this on to the Democratic Services Manager for circulation to the Committee. 

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    the West Area BCU provide a full staffing report at the meeting on 12 February 2019;

2.    the ward level statistical information provided to Safer Neighbourhood Boards be forwarded to the Democratic Services Manager for circulation to the Committee;

3.    ward level statistical information provided to Safer Neighbourhood Boards be included on the agenda for future crime and disorder related External Services Select Committee meetings;

4.    Supt. Kandohla provide more information regarding the proposed closure of the interview suite managed by the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences (CASO) unit in Northwood; and

5.    the report be noted.