Agenda item

6.1       The Head of Safer Communities introduced the report which provided an overview of community safety performance in 2016-17 and partnership priorities for 2017-18. She advised that a partnership event was planned for later in June to review and refresh priorities for future years.

6.2       The following points were made in response to questions from the committee:

Crime reporting

·         Sussex Police has advised that upward trends in some categories of crime reflect an increase in reporting, rather than being indicative of an increase in crime. The accuracy of figures is a question which can be taken up by the Police and Crime Panel which will be receiving a report on changes to reporting arrangements.

Prevent programme

·         The effectiveness of the Prevent programme is considered by the Prevent Board. Evidence seen by the Board suggests that interventions across schools and colleges have been very successful and these have been subject to independent evaluation.

·         The partnership secured Home Office funding for the ‘Think, Protect, Prevent’ programme (particularly focused on children with autism) which will be fully evaluated by the end of June but has been successful in terms of people completing the programme. A small number of referrals (fewer than five in the last 12 months) have been made to the national Channel intervention programme where there were specific concerns.

·         Partners are confident in the ability to identify concerns about young people through work in schools and colleges, and to make appropriate referrals to Channel.

·         The Prevent programme has been reviewed in light of the Sussex Counter Terrorism Local Profile and has had positive feedback. There is an ongoing focus on vulnerable young people who may be subject to influence rather than people from a particular background or faith.

·         There has been no specific new guidance on Prevent in light of recent terrorist attacks but the temporary increase of the threat level to critical affected the local authority response. After the Manchester attack the partnership proactively provided a presentation to local schools to help them talk about the issues as they felt appropriate.

Drug and alcohol misuse

·         There has been a positive impact from introducing community detox as an alternative to the residential service. There is no cap on the number of people able to access the service. As there is a very low level of representation once people complete the programme (80% stay clean) most are new attenders. There is an increasing need but also the capacity to manage it.

·         A reduction in drug paraphernalia left in public places is expected following a meeting with the pharmacy council which has now agreed to supply single needles rather than larger packs which lead to surplus needles being left unopened and abandoned.

Domestic abuse

·         The increase in referrals to Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) is linked to increased staff training and they are under pressure. Work is being undertaken in conjunction with the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) to review the capacity of MARACs across Sussex and officers are confident that changes will be introduced from September which may include extending meetings or changing their frequency and identification of potential repeat cases at an earlier stage.

Modern slavery

·         Officers attended a regional PCC event on modern slavery and how the issue is being addressed locally. East Sussex initiated a pan-Sussex network with Police and other key partners to look at issues including raising awareness. This will draw on resources developed by other parts of the country , particularly in terms of training staff at the frontline to recognise the signs. Further thought will be needed on how best to inform the public about risks and signs.

·         There are specific requirements on organisations who turnover £30m or more to make a statement on how they employ staff and modern slavery, but businesses of concern may have a turnover below this scale. There are a number of ‘days of action’ set up for partners to go into premises to undertake environmental checks and Sussex Police is sharing quarterly data on the number of referrals to the national programme.

·         It is difficult to get a clear picture of the scale of the issue in East Sussex. There is a range of different categories and there are links to serious organised crime. However, a clearer picture is beginning to emerge and referral figures are starting to increase as awareness rises. Local data is provided at Sussex Police level.

It is recognised that sometimes people are relatively content with their situation compared to what they experienced in a country of origin. It is therefore necessary to think about supporting people over the medium to long term to avoid worsening their overall situation. This involves partnership work to look at all the action needed across a range of fronts to support people such as on housing or benefits.

Partnership priorities

·         The partnership has avoided focusing on areas already being led successfully by partners and has now prioritised four key areas where the East Sussex Safer Communities Partnership is best placed to take leadership. These priorities have been based on a considerable amount of consultation and use of a new tool to identify the issues causing the most ‘threat’,  ‘harm’ and ‘risk’. Other work is reviewed through the partnership and themed groups to ensure there is ongoing oversight beyond the four key partnership priorities.

Hate crime

·         There have been a number of spikes in hate crime related to Brexit and national incidents. The information recorded in relation to hate crimes has not changed. There is a national plan looking at how to encourage reporting and the accuracy of data has improved.

Fire Safety

·         Existing plans will be reviewed in the light of the Grenfell Tower fire, identifying any additional steps and associated communications needed. This work sits within existing emergency planning and business continuity work. Emergency plans set out how agencies use available intelligence to identify vulnerable people.

6.3       The Committee RESOLVED to note the report and request a further annual update in June 2018.