Agenda item

Mr Dan Kennedy, the Council’s Director Housing, Environment, Education, Performance, Health and Wellbeing, advised that the organisations involved in the Safer Hillingdon Partnership (SHP) worked collectively to identify key crime types, set priorities and deliver programmes to prevent, detect and reduce crime.  Hillingdon remained one of the safest boroughs in London and overall levels of crime in Hillingdon were lower than the other two boroughs in the West Area Basic Command Unit (BCU).  Knife crime and drugs remained priorities in Hillingdon due to the significant links that these crimes had with other offences such as serious violence. 

Members were advised that MOPAC (Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) had announced that criminal activity was being mapped to identify criminal activity flows and hot spots in Hillingdon and neighbouring boroughs so that the response could be coordinated.  This work had highlighted the strong connections between drug related violence, knife crime and other offences.  The West Area BCU had a dedicated analyst that had been undertaking mapping analysis to identify hotspots.  This work aimed to disrupt supply and demand and divert young people away from criminal activity. 

Superintendent Ricky Kandohla, West Area (Ealing, Hounslow and Hillingdon) BCU, advised that the Metropolitan Police had been working closely with Thames Valley Police (TVP) in relation to issues such as county lines.  This work had resulted in a more joined up and cohesive approach to the issues being faced which had prevented displacement activity in the Borough.  Relations with TVP had strengthened, with information and resources now being shared which helped to tackle displacement issues. 

Concern was expressed that, within the BCU, resources would be concentrated in the more challenged areas and that this would shift criminal activity to neighbouring boroughs where resources were more scarce.  Supt. Kandohla assured Members that the BCU dealt with issues in their entirety to prevent this type of displacement.  A lot of investment and preventative and engagement work had been undertaken in partnership in areas such as Hayes.  Working with key communities had been an effective strategy. 

Although not formally identified as a key priority, it was accepted that drugs played a huge role in crime and was therefore a priority for the SHP nonetheless.  It was recognised that drugs provided a thread that ran through criminal activity so it was important to manage and address drugs issues to then have an impact on this other activity.  Consideration also needed to be given to safeguarding issues when dealing with individuals involved with drugs.  Voluntary sector organisations could provide support in these instances to help them move away from criminal activity. 

Supt. Kandohla advised that a pilot (Divert) had been running in South London.  This scheme worked by intervening with offenders at the point of police detention and asking if they had any interest in being rehabilitated.

Supt. Kandohla advised that Design Out Crime Officers liaised with developers when drawing up plans to help make new housing developments as safe as possible.  Although they could not dictate design to the developers or specify who was allowed to live in a development, the police used their influence to improve development design and ultimately reduce the opportunity for criminal activity.  To this end, developers such as Berkeley Homes had worked closely with the police. 

Members praised the Community Payback scheme that had been operational in the Borough.  The Council had been working with the police and the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) to increase the number of events (currently 2-3 per week) which had received positive feedback from residents.  Whilst these events transformed areas such as alleyways, the challenge was in keeping them clean and tidy. 

It was noted that multi national high street organisations had been working with the SHP.  With regard to Uxbridge Business Improvement District (BID), Mr Kennedy had met with the manager at M&S as well as the management of smaller businesses.  CCTV coverage in Hillingdon had been modernised and upgraded and would be monitored 24/7 from the Civic Centre in the near future.  Furthermore, it had been agreed that Uxbridge BID funding would be provided for a dedicated police officer in Uxbridge to complement the existing police officers funded by the Council. 

Mr Kennedy advised that work had been undertaken with regard to reducing serious youth violence.  Engagement work had been undertaken with young people in schools and knife arches had temporarily been installed in some by the Police Schools Officers.  Proactive police operations had included weapons sweeps and Stop and Search and a two week programme had been undertaken in Northwood where the Council and the police had worked with schools and local take-away establishments to reduce anti social behaviour issues associated with young people loitering on the street.  However, it was important to recognise that sometimes young people would be innocently meeting up and should not be targeted just because they were in a group.  It was suggested that the work undertaken with schools should be extended to groups such as the Scouts and Guides.  It was noted that the use of police cadets to deliver messages to older people about doorstep fraud had been very impactful. 

It was noted that the target to reduce knife crime with injury by 5% was currently largely on track but it was queried whether this performance could be sustained.  Mr Kennedy advised that dedicated resources had been provided to deal with knife crime and serious youth violence.  As well as an increase in information provided by the community, Stop and Search had had a significant impact on these issues in the Borough and was being supported by the public.

Concern was expressed that research undertaken in London indicated that Stop and Search did not work to reduce knife crime.  Furthermore, it was suggested that Stop and Search disproportionately affected BAME groups which created tension and trust issues and made it harder for the police to engage with those communities.  Conversely, it was suggested that, if some communities were being stopped more often than others, then this might be an issue that needed to be addressed by society. 

Supt. Kandohla believed that Stop and Search, when used correctly, was a very good tactic and that the body worn cameras provided evidence that the procedure was being used proportionately, legitimately and ethically.  A Stop and Search monitoring group oversaw this process and dip samples were taken to ensure that the tactic was being used appropriately and that it did not alienate people.  Youth engagement teams had been talking to residents at community engagement events and intelligence leading to Stop and Search was frequently originating from residents.  Although Stop and Search appeared to be welcomed by young people, early engagement with them in schools was undertaken as a preventative measure.

It was noted that under-reporting of Domestic Abuse (DA) and other forms of hate crime meant that victims were not being supported and that dangerous/violent offenders and dangerous places were not being identified.  Mr Gerry Campbell, the Council’s Strategic Programme Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) / DA, advised that there had been an increase in the number of DA issues reported and recorded.  This increase was thought to be indicative of the success of the DA Strategy.  The structured programme of training for front line statutory and voluntary sector professionals, and engagement with communities, had resulted in more victims coming forward and / or being identified by professionals.  It was also noted that there had been increases in the number of IDVA service referrals and subsequent referrals onto the MARAC, meaning that more victims and their families were being assessed and referred for multi-agency support.  Although there had been an increase in the number of reports, this was not necessarily indicative of an upward surge in DA offending given the local, regional and national levels of under-reporting overall.

Further concern was expressed that certain antisocial behaviour issues (ASB) were not being addressed.  Large quantities of used nitrous oxide (NO) canisters were being discarded on Bath Road in Heathrow Villages but, despite residents logging calls about the issue, the police did not appear to be responding.  Supt. Kandohla advised that the police had been looking at disrupting the supply of NO and had been using Your Life, You Choose to talk to young people at schools about the negative effects of the drug and ultimately prevent usage.  Proactive targeted work was also being undertaken by drugs workers and in hospital to address this issue. 

PC Victoria Hull, Serenity Integrated Monitoring (SIM) Officer for Hillingdon, was supported by a care coordinator at The Pembroke Centre and another at Mead House.  The SIM project had been initially introduced on the Isle of Wight and sought to provide an integrated response to crisis behaviours.  Results had shown a reduction in the number of S136s which had been against the national trend.  Members asked that PC Hull be invited to the meeting on 7 November 2019 to talk to Members in more depth about the SIM project. 

Concern was expressed in relation to the time that it had taken for the police to respond to reports made by Councillors regarding criminal activity taking place around certain alleyways in their wards.  These issues had only been addressed after they had been escalated.  It was noted that the police were able to report issues relating to Council responsibilities via the Contact Centre. 

With regard to employment, Supt, Kandohla advised that there were currently two vacancies in the West Area BCU.  He also noted that an additional 22 officers were being recruited into the area. 

Mr Kennedy advised that work had been undertaken in the Borough with intelligence based on risk factors such as school attendance and exclusion (Axis Project).  Partners had proactively been able to steer young people away from criminal activities by mapping their siblings and acquaintances and had significantly reduced the number of repeat offences.  This work had resulted in a recent MJ award for innovation. 

The matter of street begging was raised and Members were advised that Government funding had been made available to the Council to support rough sleepers into tenancies.  This involved a joint approach with partners.  There had been some evidence of persistent begging in the Borough which had been found to be undertaken largely by people travelling into Hillingdon from outside the Borough.  This had been addressed through joint working between the Police and the Council. 

Ms Natasha Wills, the London Ambulance Service’s (LAS) Assistant Director of Operations - North West, advised that the data provided in her presentation did not provide fine detail related to the issue reported.  For example, a call in relation to a penetrating trauma incident could be in relation to a knife wound or might be the result of a car accident. 

Members were advised that the LAS had made it easier for staff to report instances of assault by providing them with iPads and the numbers had reduced year on year.  To help keep staff safe, the Trust used a locality alert register which identified where LAS staff had previously been assaulted.  It was noted that there were two Category 1 patients (who had previously physically assaulted members of staff) in Hillingdon where the police would be asked to attend with LAS staff.  There was one Category 2 patient, two Category 3 patients (general verbal abuse) and one Category 4 patient (behavioural issues).  Ms Wills was aware that, despite being encouraged to report instances, sometimes LAS staff adopted the stiff upper lip approach.  As the LAS could not prosecute an offender, it was only if a staff member reported an instance of assault that management would get to know about it.  Generally, LAS staff did keep their line management apprised so that they could provide them with support and successful prosecutions were widely reported throughout the organisation to demonstrate that staff did not have to put up with that kind of behaviour. 

The Chairman asked that Supt Kandohla provide Members with an update on assaults on police officers when he next attended a meeting of the Committee. 

Ms Wills noted that the LAS had been involved a range of preventative work which included knife prevention and “Safe Drive, Stay Alive”, some of which had been in conjunction with the police.  Some of the most impactful presentations and demonstrations had used shock tactics that showed the audience what had happened to others.  It was suggested that greater collaboration between the emergency services might have a longer lasting effect.  Ms Wills was aware that LAS staff talking about shocking issues did provide perspective and advised that she would be taking this up with Supt. Kandohla after the meeting. 

RESOLVED:  That the presentations be noted.