Agenda item

To consider the draft Strategic Assessment for 2018/19 against the Partnership Plan, and advise the Cabinet of any information, concerns or actions they might wish to put forward for consideration for inclusion in the 2019/20 Plan.

Cllr Beck disclosed a non-pecuniary interest as the Chairman of the New Forest Association of Local Councils which was a consultee on the appropriate assessment, leading to the development of the Partnership Plan.

Cllrs Carpenter and White asked that it be recorded that they were members of Hampshire County Council and that their comments and decisions at this meeting were based on the information now before them, but they reserved the right to change their view in the light of any additional information.

The Panel was advised that, normally, the local Chief Inspector of Police would have been present at this meeting, but unfortunately the new Chief Inspector would not be taking up their post until the end of January 2019.

The Panel considered the strategic assessment prepared by the Safer New Forest Strategy Group on behalf of the responsible authorities for discharging crime and disorder functions in the District.  This assessment looked at statistics and trends for the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 to inform the development of the annual Partnership Plan which would set out agreed strategies for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

It was noted that interpretation of the crime statistics and trends was difficult for a number of factors, including changes in the way certain crimes were classified and recorded; and also the use of percentage increases, which could give the erroneous impression of large increases in certain categories.  For example, there had been an increase in recorded instances of theft, but the increase in this District was lower than surrounding areas and the national trend.  There had also been an increase in the number of recorded vehicle offences, but this was partly as a result of instances of criminal damage to vehicles now being included.

For last year the Partnership had decided to be more focussed in their work and had introduced 4 priority areas, each of which had a lead partner and which was supported by actions throughout the year to ensure delivery.  The priority areas were:

·      Children at Risk

·      Modern slavery and human trafficking

·      Drug and alcohol related harm

·      Domestic abuse

The statistical trends demonstrated that this approach was being successful and it was therefore proposed that the Partnership should retain these priorities to allow them to embed further.

One innovation in the last year had been the organisation of the first Safer New Forest Conference.  Over 200 organisations had supported the event, which had been held at Brockenhurst College. This had been a valuable opportunity to identify the resources that were available through each organisation and to look at potential synergies and opportunities for directing the resources that were available to meet the identified needs.

Members were advised that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner had been looking at developing a database for each community safety partnership to give them a more detailed analytic overview of the crime data.

In the ensuing debate Members identified the harm being caused by the various cybercrimes that were becoming increasingly prevalent.  The fraudsters were increasingly convincing and could be threatening.  This crime intruded directly into people’s homes and could be very damaging, both materially and psychologically.  It was likely that such crimes were very under reported as people would not wish to admit that they had been attacked in this way.  In addition, with an older population, there was likely to be a greater level of vulnerability in the local population.  This was very much a hidden crime.

Members were advised that this type of crime was addressed through the National Fraud Office, not locally.  Their concerns were noted; particularly bearing in mind the specific vulnerability of the local demographic and also that the government was itself increasingly requiring people to engage with them through electronic means, which exacerbated this problem.  Locally, whenever possible, steps were taken to increase awareness of the latest scams, but consideration could be given to using additional means, for example by using mechanisms through the New Forest Association of Local Councils.  Members’ concerns would be forwarded to the Safer New Forest Partnership.

Members also raised concerns about the level of anti-social behaviour, citing Lymington as having a particular problem at the present time.  Local knowledge suggested that drugs were a key factor in this increase.  The lack of police resources to respond to incidents was concerning and perpetrators were encouraged in their offending behaviour by their perceived low chance of detection and resultant consequences.  In the ensuing discussion it was established that there was a mismatch between recorded incidents and what councillors knew, from local intelligence, was actually happening.  Members were reminded that the direction of police resources was very much intelligence led, based upon reported incidents.  It was therefore essential that incidents were reported and that intelligence about perpetrators was passed on to the police, using the Crime Stoppers confidential phone service if that was most appropriate.  This was the only way to ensure that the police were aware of the problems locally and could then assign a commensurate priority for the allocation of resources.  Members were reminded that there was already a mechanism in place to allow town and parish councils to submit information directly to the police, using a specific form.  New Milton Town Council, for one, already took advantage of this service.  It was agreed that the officers would ensure that all the town and parish councils were reminded of the availability of this service.

The Panel was reminded that the strategic assessment document, by its very nature, being full of statistical information, was hard to interpret and was not helpful to the wider public in understanding what was happening in the District.  The Partnership Plan, which would be prepared to respond to the strategic assessment, was more public facing and would set out, in more understandable terms, the actions and priorities for the coming year.

It was emphasised that the New Forest remained one of the safest place in the UK to live, work and visit.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Safer New Forest Partnership be advised that the Panel supports the continuing focus on the 4 priority areas that have directed activities in the current year and concur with the view that further time is needed to allow these priorities and supporting actions to embed and deliver outcomes;

(b)       That the Partnership be advised of the Panel’s concern about the increasing prevalence of cyber-crimes and the need to take action to protect local people; and

(c)       That the officers ensure that all town and parish councils are aware of the mechanisms that are already available for bringing concerns about crime and disorder, antisocial behaviour and information about offenders to the attention of the police.