Agenda item

Richard Webb, Director of Community Safety and Enforcement provided a brief summary of the work of the Community Safety Partnership. He highlighted the following key points:

• The Making Hayes Safer Project aimed to reduce violence in Hayes and supported the Serious Violence Strategy.

• Completion of community safety strategic assessments and development of a new dashboard for monthly crime updates were planned.

• Plans were in place to develop an overarching Community Safety Strategy by the beginning of the next financial year.

• A Community Safety Survey would be launched in the near future to gather residents' and businesses' input on partnership priorities. This information would feed into the Community Safety Strategy.

Chief Inspector Ben Wright of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) presented the police report, covering strategic context and key issues. Key points highlighted included:

• The impact of recent disorder across the UK and the minimal manifestation in Hillingdon was highlighted. It was noted that there had been a knock-on effect for the MPS locally due to the supply of resources to the rest of the United Kingdom and the MPS at large. This had resulted in minimum resourcing in Hillingdon whilst those matters had been ongoing. Members heard that there had also been an after effect whereby people who had been on duty for extended periods of times on operations required rest and recovery periods.

• Challenges relating to prisoner releases and the recidivism rate were highlighted. Statistics for the United Kingdom were 25% recidivism rate i.e. 25% of offenders had been convicted of a crime within a year of being released from prison.

• There were issues with court backlogs which had an impact on victims of serious offences. These backlogs affected the MPS’ ability to prosecute.

• The effect of international conflicts on local community relations was noted. Members heard that the response from community leaders and religious leaders in Hillingdon had been excellent in terms of supporting the Council and the police to work through these issues in a collaborative way; this had borne some fantastic results. The MPS had contributed a considerable number of resources to safeguard the communities affected.

• Immigration-related challenges were noted including crimes relating to the Colnbrook Immigration Centre which significantly impacted MPS resourcing.

• Recruitment challenges at a national and local level and the implementation of a new policing model were highlighted. It was noted that the Commissioner had implemented a New Met for London plan and aimed to drive significant change in the organisation. There had been some successes in terms of recruitment of PCSOs which meant more people out in the communities to improve the information flow. It was hoped that the situation in respect of the recruitment of PCs would continue to improve.

• In terms of local performance, Members were informed that figures for burglary were broadly unchanged year on year. There had been a reduction in theft from / of motor vehicles and homicide rates were down by 75% year on year (from 4 to 1).

• Schemes such as Right Care Right Person were highlighted – these ensured people were referred to the correct pathway for treatment thereby freeing up police time to deal with criminal matters and bolstering the public protection strand. It was confirmed that the public protection strand within West area impacting Hillingdon was fully staffed. These were the people who investigated matters such as rape, serious sexual offences and child abuse. Members heard that this strand was prioritised the most in terms of resourcing due to the high level of harm associated with these offences.

• It was confirmed that the release of the Stop and Search Charter was awaited but significant work was being undertaken locally to ensure that stop and search was conducted in a professional manner. Vetting work was also underway to ensure the right people were recruited to the MPS. Moreover, the Committee was informed that there had been a significant increase in the number of people being removed from the organisation for incorrect behaviour. Misconduct cases were also being held on a monthly basis. In terms of diversity, it was noted that West Area had the highest degree of diversity of any of the London BCUs and generally had the highest level of recruitment from diverse communities.

• It was confirmed that Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and efforts to enhance security on public transport remained a key focus of the MPS. There had been an increase in VAWG offences on buses hence the area of focus operationally was enhanced security on buses in partnership with TfL, schools and other mediums.

• Councillors were advised that figures for robberies were broadly the same as in previous years and a lot of preventative work was ongoing in this area.

Members noted the focus on neighbourhood policing and sought further clarification regarding the transition to a new messaging system.

In response Chief Inspector Ben Wright confirmed that the current messaging system was widely used in Hillingdon with around 7 million messages being sent each year. It was noted that approximately one third of homes were using OWL. Members were informed that the MPS was currently looking at an alternative system - decisions around funding were led by MOPAC. Maintaining communication with residents was key and plans were in place to manage the transition to the new system. It was agreed that it was important to have a new system up and running as soon as possible.

Members enquired how the MPS could prepare to resource centrally driven events such as the Notting Hill Carnival to minimise the impact on local policing in Hillingdon and keep residents safe. It was confirmed that such matters were managed by the resourcing department. It was acknowledged that this was a challenge as demand had increased exponentially. The MPS did everything possible to ensure officers were safeguarded and given an opportunity to recover when they returned from central aid. The MPS also ensured it sustained minimum staffing levels on response teams to enable them to respond to urgent calls.

Members expressed concerns about early offender releases and their impact on community safety. It was agreed that this was a challenge, but it was noted that the majority of those released did not reoffend. When people did reoffend, the police response was intelligence-led and data-driven. Local teams were aware of the crimes that were occurring in their areas and had detailed local knowledge. When people were released into their communities, crime patterns were monitored with that in mind.

Councillors enquired how e-bike theft was being addressed and noted that some e-bikes were being modified and could achieve considerable speeds. The Chief Inspector confirmed that some good work had been carried out locally in respect of this. All members of a particular gang responsible for a recent spate of e-bike crime in Hillingdon had been arrested. Members heard that i-phone theft was a concern locally at present and a lot of work was being done in schools to raise awareness of this.

The Committee expressed confidence in the police's handling of high-level crimes but raised concerns about their response to low-level crimes such as theft, shoplifting, and anti-social behaviour. It was noted that these crimes had a significant impact on people's businesses and well-being.

Chief Inspector Ben Wright acknowledged these concerns and explained the police's approach to prioritising calls based on risk. He highlighted the reintroduction of neighbourhood officers to address grassroots issues and mentioned successful operations targeting repeat offenders and trouble spots for shoplifting. The support of the local community was invaluable in this. It was noted that, when possible, security teams at larger stores were able to intervene proactively by detaining shoplifters until the police could arrest them.

The Chief Inspector also discussed the challenges of resourcing and the broader societal issues contributing to crime such as alcoholism, drugs, housing issues and mental health challenges. Members heard that there were some very active ward panels in Hillingdon setting local priorities which ward officers targeted.

Members enquired about ways to improve communication and promote the good work done by the police. They suggested collaboration with Councillors, community groups, and residents' associations to share positive news stories.

Chief Inspector Ben Wright welcomed the suggestion and emphasised the importance of simplicity in communication platforms. He mentioned ongoing efforts to focus officers on tackling crime and the potential for a new platform to improve communication in the future.

Councillors raised concerns about the trust issue between residents and the police. The reluctance of some residents to report crimes was highlighted.

Chief Inspector Ben Wright acknowledged the importance of trust and detailed the police's efforts to engage with schools, faith groups, community leaders, and local tasking panels. He emphasised the need to balance engagement with addressing crime effectively.

Members raised the ongoing issue of Violence Against Women and Girls and the reluctance of victims to report crimes. The need for male police officers to engage with women's groups in order to build trust was highlighted.

The Chief Inspector shared the police's commitment to tackling VAWG and mentioned initiatives such as Operation Soteria to improve outcomes for victims. It was confirmed that Operation Soteria had been implemented in the MPS, which was very much based on research and focused on improving outcome rates for people who reported rape and serious sexual offences to police. It was reported that, since implementing this initiative, the MPS was seeing increases in detection rates and positive outcomes which were statistically significant and meaningful. The importance of focusing on offenders and providing support to victims through engagement and forensic resources was highlighted.

The Select Committee raised concerns about the barriers to reporting crime through the 101 service and online platforms. The need to ensure public meetings were attended by individuals with the right intentions was also emphasised.

The Chief Inspector acknowledged the issues with the 101 service and online reporting and promised to feed back to the relevant teams. He noted the importance of public meetings and the need to address inappropriate behaviour of attendees. Members heard that people who were not displaying the right behaviours would be removed. Offences would be investigated, and Members were requested to provide further information and names of any specific individuals of concern to the Chief Inspector outside the meeting to enable him to explore this further. It was suggested that increased training regarding the effective running of ward panels would be beneficial.

Members enquired about the use of Stop and Search and the impact of not having a front desk at Uxbridge police station. Concerns regarding the strain on police resources due to the need to transport detainees to other locations such as Acton, Heathrow or Fulham were also raised.

In response, Members were reminded of the challenges of managing resources and the impact of funding on police operations. The difficulties posed by the lack of a front desk and the need to travel to other locations for detention were acknowledged.

RESOLVED: That the Residents’ Services Select Committee noted the contents of the reports and asked questions in order to clarify matters of concern or interest in the Borough.