Agenda item

To consider the attached report.

The Community Safety Manager, C Wiggins, introduced the work of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) over the last year. The annual report outlined the highlights and gave a flavour of what the Community Safety Team had accomplished during the year. It demonstrated the Council’s commitment to the CSP and the work of Essex Police, whose area encompassed both Epping Forest District and Brentwood.

Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) were first introduced nationally in 1998, to provide a multi-agency solution in response to crime and the fear of crime within communities. They supported the work of the Police and other statutory agencies, this was considered the most effective approach to finding joint solutions to local community safety issues.

In Epping Forest, the responsible authority group, which had a statutory responsibility to reduce crime and disorder, protect the community, reduce reoffending, combat the misuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances and help people feel safe was made up of Epping Forest District Council, Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue, Essex Community Rehabilitation Company, Essex County Council and the National Probation Service. However, the delivery of the community safety agenda was not restricted only to the agencies identified as the responsible authority group, they worked with various voluntary sector groups across the district.

The CSP did not replace the work of the Police or the day-to-day business of the organisations involved, they were a channel for agencies to work together. The Strategic Board of the Partnership met quarterly and much of the work that emanated from the CSP was undertaken and led by the Council’s Community Safety Team.

In July 2018 the District Community Safety Hub opened. The Hub saw the Council’s Community Safety Team working alongside three Council funded Police officers, which created stronger links between the Council and the Police. The Safety Hub was a first for Essex and was being watched closely by other local authorities across the UK.

The Community Safety Manager advised that the CSP had launched a Twitter account and a two-weekly newsletter which was available to the public and advised a more timely detail of the work of the Community Safety Team.

Councillor H Whitbread stated, In terms of community engagement, you advertised your email address online, therefore would it be preferable to report Anti Social Behaviour (ASB), to the CST or the Police. The Community Safety Manager advised that all cases of ASB should firstly be reported to the Police where it would be recorded. The sort of ASB situations the CST would deal with would be for example do we need to remove a bench, was it a crime generator, that was where the CST came into their own strength.

Councillor Patel stated that the work of the CST was fantastic and long might it continue and asked what would the CST like Councillors to do to enable you to do more in the community. The Community Safety Manager stated that it would be helpful if Councillors could get the message out there to residents to report all crime, no matter how small they thought it was to the Police and not advertise it on social media. If residents didn’t want to ring 101 they could report any incident online.

Councillor Patel asked, in terms of the work of the CST, what was the extent of their engagement with Parish and Town Councils. The Community Safety Manager replied that A Belgrave, Clerk of Chigwell Parish Council sat on the Community Safety Partnership Board and the team spoke to Parish Councillors on a regular basis. We try to support and give advice to any Parish or Town Councils that contact us and were currently advising Chigwell Parish Council with regard to CCTV that they were installing. She also advised that she would be willing to attend another meeting of the Local Councils’ Liaison Committee to advise them on the kind of work that the CST were involved with.

            AGREED:

            That the Annual Report of the Community Safety Partnership be noted.