Agenda item

Northants Police

To receive evidence from

Laura Mayor,

Minutes:

Laura Major, Acting Deputy Head of Community Safety (substantive post Crime Prevention Manager) attended the Panel to discuss responses to the core questions. Written responses had already been submitted from other departments within Northants Police. The main points of discussion were as follows:-

 

Serious Acquisitive Crime

 

 

Across the commands of the police, there are different departments addressing different aspects to tackle Serious Acquisitive Crime, including Local Policing teams, the Crime Prevention team within community safety and the Crime Support department.

 

The main functions of the Crime Support department are:-

·         Intelligence Function

·         Burglary and Autocrime Teams- two sites

·         Integrated Offender Management (IOM)

 

 

The prevention of SAC through detection of crime and reducing reoffending is within the remit of the IOM. 

 

Wider preventative strategies sit within District Safer Community Teams and the Community Safety Department, with the Crime Prevention Officers, and Crime Prevention Design Advisors (CPDA). The role of the CPDA is to ‘design out crime’ at the planning stage in new and regenerated developments.

 

The District Chief Inspector and Police Crime Prevention Manager attend the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and take part in identifying priority locations and then target resources accordingly. The police have an analyst team which identify crime patterns and seasonal peaks. Both local policing teams and Crime Prevention Officers work alongside NBC on areas identified for partnership work and prevention of crime.

 

Under Operation Guardian there are High Impact Days targeting specific SAC crime (burglary/vehicle crime/robbery), these are undertaken on particular areas, and include enforcement activity around offenders as well as prevention and community engagement.

 

IOM works closely with the probation services to assess offender’s needs and potential pathways out of offending as well as enforcement.

 

There is good engagement with the Council but there needs to be further high level engagement around policies. For example, it is not understood how housing and maintenance prioritise upgrades and continued maintenance programmes and whether these are in line with the priorities set within the CSP. It would also be useful to have more engagement prior to planning application determinations, at the pre application stage.

 

There have been challenges as both partner organisations have undertaken structure changes, which do highlight gaps. There needs to be work done on how to fill the gap previously covered by Neighbourhood Coordinators.

 

In addition the police have started an intensive engagement project, with 4 projects Countywide. The Northampton project is looking at community engagement with a view to improving SAC levels. This work has highlighted a gap with no clear partnership forum available to set community identified prioritised, and to work with partners (including the community) on the necessary solutions.

 

Reduction of re- offending in Northampton could be helped if it featured as a Borough priority in support of the Community Safety Strategy.

 

Violence

 

A written submission has been provided in relation to Operation Challenge, focusing on violent crime.

 

The Crime Prevention Officers, undertake home surveys of high risk victims of Domestic Abuse and utilise funding as and when available to implement safety measures in the home. In addition to ‘target hardening’, where the risk is raised further, the installation of Sanctuary’s (a safe room) is undertaken. Clarity regarding funding is required.

 

Last years County Schools Challenge delivered the “One Punch” campaign anti-violence messages, this years County Schools Challenge is focused on the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and will engage the County’s secondary schools.

 

Police Community Safety has reviewed and restructure of Operation Nightsafe, the Force operational response to the policing of the local night time economy. 

 

A “consequences workshop” is being trialled elsewhere in the County, where youngsters who have been convicted off ABH or Common Assault are faced with the consequences of their actions. It is hoped this programme will be rolled out across Northampton.

 

A key factor to success is information sharing to identify potential key violence triggers.

 

In response to questions relating to the Community Engagement work.

 

·         There has been some specific work done in certain areas of the County. The South West sectors focus has been on community engagement, with a very intensive canvas of local areas designed to identify community priorities and build upon community assets. In other areas the topics of focus have been Confidence in the Police, Anti-Social Behaviour perception and Violence. The University is engaged with the project, and it is thought an evaluation of each project (what worked, what didn’t) will be completed.

 

 

Additional Questions:

 

·         There is a need to reduce the impact of the “broken window syndrome” on member of the community; such issues are identified raised through Environmental Audits produced by Crime Prevention Officers for the use of the CSP.  Members asked how the Police liaison with the Borough Council could be improved in this area. This is currently done between local policing teams and local wardens. One possible improvement could be being able to provide an enhanced maintenance service in hotspot areas.

 

 

Members of the Panel thanked Laura Major for her response to its core questions.

 

 

Supporting documents: