Agenda and minutes

(Assistant to the Chief Executive)  To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

The Panel noted there were no substitute members.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive). To declare interests in any items on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

No declarations of interest were made.

To agree the notes of the last meeting held on 1^st September 2009.

The notes from 1 September 2009 were agreed as a correct record.

To consider the attached report.

The Director of Environment and Street Scene and the Chairman of the Epping Forest District Safer Communities Partnership, John Gilbert welcomed the Safer Cleaner Greener Standing Panel to their new Crime and Disorder Scrutiny role. Due to recent changes in the law local authorities are now required to have at least two meetings a year devoted to scrutinising crime and disorder matters. The next meeting was scheduled for February 2010.

He introduced the representatives from the Safer Communities Partnership which included Chief Inspector Alan Ray from Essex Police, the Community Safety Manager, the Community Safety Officer, an Anti-social Behaviour Investigator and Councillor Mrs S Stavrou, the Council’s Safer Communities and Transport Portfolio Holder.

The meeting noted that the Safer Communities Partnership (SCP) was working well, last year there was an 8% reduction in crime and although this year they were not quite meeting their targets there was still less crime this year than last. 

It was the intention that the public should be invited to attend meetings of this special Scrutiny Panel to put their concerns to the SCP officers attending. It was hoped that this would begin at the February 2010 meeting.

The two items that were scheduled for discussion were i) the cross border effects of anti-social behaviour and dispersal orders; and ii) the protection of vulnerable individuals/families from targeted anti-social behaviour. There had been another topic proposed on crime/violence and licensed premises, but this would be discussed at another meeting.

The Chairman, Councillor Pritchard, asked that Councillor Jacobs give his concerns on the first topic, cross border effects of anti-social behaviour.

Councillor Jacobs started by saying that this arose about two to three months ago, when traders in Ongar were having problems with youths being bussed in by parents  from Brentwood. It had transpired that the police in Brentwood had established a curfew there, so their parents had brought them into Ongar.

Councillor Bassett said there was a similar problem in Nazeing, with groups of youths coming in from Hertfordshire. The residents were having to deal with low level anti-social behaviour. There were reports of groups of thirty to forty youths gathering, with reports of drug dealing, convoys of cars and loud music. He had a meeting with the local police who said that the Hertfordshire police were having a crack down on anti-social behaviour in Broxbourne. There was no place for them to go but into Essex. The Essex police had gone into a reactive mode of policing and were doing all that they could as they did not know that the Hertfordshire police were conducting this exercise.

Paul Gardener, EFDC’s Safer Communities Officer, commented that this was a complex problem, and they had identified cross border crime as one of the District’s main priorities. The Communities Safety Team had just finished a study on burglary. Over a five year period 48% of offenders arrested and dealt with came from the London Metropolitan area. The majority came from within 11 kilometres from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

To consider which reports are ready to be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its next meeting.

It was agreed that the successful first meeting of this crime and disorder scrutiny panel be reported to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The next programmed meeting of the Panel will be held on 8^th December 2009; and then on:

25^th February 2010; and

29^th April 2010.

The dates of the Panels future meeting were noted.