Agenda item

Mrs Jacqueline Robertson, Service Manager – Community Safety Team, advised that, at the time the Safer Hillingdon Partnership (SHP) targets had been set for 2020/2021, it had been difficult to judge the impact of COVID-19 on crime levels.  As such, the 2019/2020 targets had been rolled forward into the current year and would be reviewed as the year progressed. 

Mrs Robertson noted that crime rates had reduced during the height of the pandemic and were now starting to increase again from a low base as restrictions were being lifted.  The following targets were noted:

·         Reduce residential burglary by 1% per annum for the next three years (2020/21 to 2022/23) – this figure had decreased by 35.2% between Q4 in 2019/20 (446) and Q1 2020/21 (289).  It was suggested that this reduction could be related to the increased number of people being confined to their homes during lockdown which made it more difficult to burglarise their properties;

·         Reduce non-residential burglary by 1% per annum for the next three years (2020/21 to 2022/23) – this figure had decreased by 19.7% between Q4 in 2019/20 (122) and Q1 2020/21 (98);

·         Reduce knife crime with injury by 5% per annum for the next three years (2020/21 to 2022/23) – this figure had reduced by 8.7% between Q4 in 2019/20 (23) and Q1 2020/21 (21);

·         Reduce ASB reported to the police by 5% per annum for the next three years (2020/21 to 2022/23) – there had been 5,976 ASB reports to the police during Q1 2020/21 compared to 2,016 in Q4 of the previous year.  It was thought that a large proportion of these report would be in relation to individuals not abiding by social distancing rules rather than typical ASB reports;

·         Reduce repeat victims of domestic abuse by 5% - all areas and services had seen an increase in reporting.  It had been recognised by the Council’s Domestic Abuse Steering Executive and bodies such as MOPAC that the lockdown would likely give rise to an increase in honour-based violence and domestic abuse (DA).  As such, work had been undertaken with Crimestoppers and a six week media campaign had launched on 21 May 2020 to signpost victims to support and to encourage perpetrators to look at their behaviour and the impact that it had on others.  The campaign also looked to encourage bystanders to speak up through a combination of digital billboards and leaflets and the use of Facebook and Instagram.  All DA services such as the refuge, HESTIA, IDVA service and Richmond Fellowship had continued to provide their services during lockdown although, in some instances, this had been remote provision.  As remote provision had provided a number of challenges, work was underway to revert to face-to-face services as soon as was safely possible.  

During lockdown, a number of charitable organisations had promoted their services to those subject to DA.  Members asked whether consideration had been given to joining up Hillingdon’s efforts to promote the support available in relation to DA with the efforts of other councils or charities to maximise the effectiveness of any action taken.  It was also suggested that consideration be given to partners across the country contributing to a national television campaign to raise awareness and tackle DA.  Mrs Robertson advised that HESTIA was a national organisation and that safe spaces for victims had been provided in places such as Boots the Chemist and supermarkets.  As such, links had been made with national organisations during lockdown and this had been disseminated through stakeholder briefings. 

Mr Dan Kennedy, the Council’s Director of Housing, Environment, Education, Performance, Health and Wellbeing, advised that, over the last few months, the authority had drawn on the commissioned services that had been in place as well as the voluntary sector and the police.  Work was now underway to learn from lessons experienced locally and elsewhere around the country in a coordinated approach and to draw on best practice at a local level. 

Members were assured that the local MARAC (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference) enabled local services to work in partnership to review particular cases / high risk individuals and agree a coordinated community response to domestic abuse.  Mr Kennedy believed that the increase in demand had been managed well in Hillingdon with input from services such as housing.  Whilst the Council was confident that it continued to draw on best practice and provide a joined up effort to protect and safeguard victims, it would never be complacent. 

Chief Inspector Richard Watkinson, Neighbourhoods Partnerships and Tasking - West Area Basic Command Unit (BCU), advised that, although the increased levels of DA during lockdown had been lower than anticipated, the numbers were still too high.  The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) had been working with the Council to identify victims so that plain clothed IDVA support could be offered to them to provide them with an opportunity to speak to someone away from their aggressors.  Members were pleased with the DA work that had been undertaken over the last few months but were cautious that this needed to be maintained as the current situation was likely to have a cumulative effect. 

CI Watkinson advised that it was unclear what would happen now that young people were going back to school.  As such, officers would be visiting all schools in the Borough over the next couple of weeks to identify ‘at risk’ children.  The Council had been working closely with the police schools officers to engage with head teachers across the Borough who were seeing this as an important issue. 

During lockdown, police officers had engaged with offenders to talk to them about how to avoid offending.  About 20% of those offenders that had been visited had showed an interest in joining the scheme to stop them from committing crime. 

It was noted by Members that there did not appear to be a target on the SHP performance scorecard summary for hate crimes related to race/ethnicity.  Officers advised that they would need to get back to the Committee with this information as it had been omitted.  CI Watkinson confirmed that there had been very few instances of race/ethnicity related hate crime reported in the last quarter. 

Members noted that there had been changes in leadership in the West Area BCU and queried whether this had had an impact on the delivery of services.  CI Watkinson advised that the direction of travel for the West Area BCU had been set by MOPAC and the local authorities so it mattered not who the Borough Commander was.  It was to be expected that senior leadership figures would be moved to more challenging positions if they had demonstrated strong performance but this did not lead to a drop in local performance. 

CI Watkinson advised that no one borough was prioritised over another in the West Area BCU.  There were now more than 40 officers in each of the three response teams in Hillingdon and there had been 23 days sickness per day (excluding COVID-19 related absences) which compared favourably to the same period last year when there were 28-30. 

Members were advised that the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted the need to work with the London Borough of Hillingdon and teams on the ground.  It was noted that a group of new probationers would be attached to Hillingdon from the end of September 2020 for six months to increase police visibility in the Borough.  However, the previous week and this weekend would see fewer officers in the Borough as they were needed to provide support elsewhere in London. 

CI Watkinson advised that all officers needed to start somewhere and that probationers currently made up around 40% of the response teams.  The uplift in Safer Neighbourhood officers had been as a result of the recruitment of probationers who were placed in a Ward where they would be working with experienced officers.  Mentors were also always available to ensure that probationers were completing the learning and development that they needed.  The majority of these new officers had been recruited from London so they were aware of the issues being faced locally. 

With regard to the recruitment of additional police officers promised by the Prime Minister, the West Area should have increased to 1,159 officers but had already increased to 1,246.  As such, the pace of recruitment had been slowed.  It was noted that there had been a huge reduction in the number of officers leaving the MPS as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Members were advised that, over the last few months, a lot of work had been undertaken to get virtual Ward Panels up and running in the Borough.  Residents had been getting involved in these virtual meetings. 

Concern was expressed that police vehicles were not always available for officers to use in the West Area BCU and that the siting of specialist officers outside of Hillingdon might slow down response times to incidents in the Borough.  CI Watkinson advised that there were police vehicles available to the officers to use.  He also noted that CID was based in Hounslow as that was where the prisoners were taken and that detective cars were put out to Hillingdon. 

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    Officers provide the Democratic Services Manager with performance against the target for hate crimes related to race/ethnicity for circulation to the Committee; and

2.    the presentation be noted.