Agenda and minutes

Councillors Ginny Klein, Roger Steel, and Mohammed Saghir, were all on Other Council Business

Councillor Marcia Watson

None.

To confirm the membership of the Call in Panel and to elect a Vice-Chair

Resolved to withdraw Councillor Azad Choudhry from the membership of the call in panel, and to appoint Councillor Thulani Molife who is appointed Vice-cCto the call-in panel.

Subject to including Councillor Anne Peach as attending, the Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 12 May 2014 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of the Head of Democratic Services

Peter Moyes, Director of Crime and Drugs Partnership, delivered a presentation to accompany the 2014/15 Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership Plan. Paddy Tipping, Police and Crime Commissioner, was also present to respond to questions from the Committee.

 

The Committee is exploring the relationship between the Crime and Drugs Partnership and the Police and Crime Commissioner since his election a year ago, including progress against targets.

 

The performance targets aligned between the Crime and Drugs Partnership and thePolice and Crime Commissioner for 2014/15 include:

 

• reduce all crime by 6% (over 2013/14 baseline) by March 2015;
• reduce all anti-social behaviour (ASB) call to the Police by 50% (over a  2006/07 baseline) by March 2015;

 

with the Crime and Drugs Partnership identifying 2 further targets :

 

• increase the number of people completing drugs treatments to 5% above the Core Cities average by 2015;
• reduce re-offending from 29.9% (2009) to 26.6% by March 2015.

 

In addition to the information within the plan, the following points were made and responses given to questions:

 

(a)  there is nearly a 60% reduction in crime in the City since 2005 while other areas of the country are experiencing rising crime. Nottingham no longer ranks highest in crime statistics amongst the most similar family cities and crime figures continue to fall;

 

(b)  there are still improvements to be made but the drop in crime is evidence of successful policy and actions;

 

(c)  within the group of similar family cities, there is no particular crime type where one city is doing better than another. Mobile phone and metal theft were previously an issue nationally but instances of these crimes is dropping off;

 

(d)  there is an increase in reporting of domestic violence but this may be the result of campaigns to raise awareness and encourage reporting;

 

(e)  there is no significant decrease in overall violent crime and it is still higher than would be preferred. Reducing violent crime in the City does need further attention and long-term financial commitment;

 

(f)  ‘Home Office Counting Rules’ regulate how crimes are classified. Classifications are then checked and Nottinghamshire Police are achieving 95% accuracy in categorising crimes;

 

(g)  the success of treatment of drug addicted offenders varies depending on the intervention as approaches vary between GP, and the court or custody suite. It is predicted that alcohol may possibly be included within the addiction figures during the next year;

 

(h)  violent crime is influenced by the availability of alcohol but the approach to reducing these figures must consider the broader economic benefits to the City. Reductions have been made in alcohol fuelled violent crime but there is still work to be done;

 

(i)  there is a new focus on ‘legal highs’ as users of legal highs and the people around them, are more likely to become victims or perpetrators of violent crime;

 

(j)  60% of people who are arrested for being drunk and disorderly, go on to commit a violent crime within one year of that arrest;

 

(k)  the Crime and Drugs Partnership have requested investigation into whether the price of alcohol influences consumption. This is still under review;

 

(l)  there is a cultural element to drinking and drunkenness in Britain. Generally there are very different attitudes to alcohol in European cultures where alcohol is cheaper, still easily available and where there are fewer reported alcohol fuelled violent crimes and general trouble;

 

(m)  it was naïve to believe that by extending licensing hours the drinking culture would change as it has not;

 

(n)  for some groups of drinkers, price is not an inhibitor to drinking but the scale of alcohol fuelled crime does decrease when prices rise;

 

(o)  the Crime and Drugs Partnership have requested that Paddy Tipping write to the Home Office regarding a change to alcohol pricing, but price is not the only factor;

 

(p)  it is a concern that university students appear to have a culture of drinking, especially around 'rag week' as an expected element of university life. This is being challenged by the police which are working with universities to address this culture so it is not seen as normal behaviour;

 

(q)  the Crime and Drugs Partnership are working with ‘Drink Aware’ and other partners to target and engage 18 to 21-year-olds to encourage sensible drinking with a healthy attitude towards alcohol;

 

(r)  anti social behaviour (ASB) is also often a result of alcohol. Police log alcohol-related issues including noise, but the issues are as much about how people interact with each other on a neighbourly basis;

 

(s)  since June 2013, the City Council has changed the way in which reporting of noise issues are directed, Citizens are encouraged to call '101' to ensure consistent reporting although the actual issues may not be dealt with directly by the Police. As a result, reported ASB has increased;

 

(t)  Policing powers to tackle noise related ASB are to be increased from  October 2014;

 

(u)  with regard to police and ‘Drink Aware,’ currently resources are focused in Nottingham City and Mansfield. Attention must also be paid to the City's conurbation areas as this is where people come from into the City to drink;

 

(v)  new policing powers to address ASB will come into force from November 2014 and include substance misuse and legal highs;

 

(w)  with regard to combating counterfeit alcohol, some good results have been achieved from the Council’s Environmental Health officers and the Police working together on a fully integrated approach;

 

(x)  where intelligence is provided, is promptly responded to. Partners agree that increasing feedback to those who have contributed intelligence is required;

 

(y)  with regard to the Crime and Drugs Partnership Plan 2014/15, arrangements are strong but not all partners agree on all aspects. With regard to the 20% reduction in Policing budgets during the last 3 years, large cuts made to Local Authority budgets, and the suggestion that public health budget will be cut further,  better value for money can be achieved when partners work together;

 

(z)  early intervention is important and is being addressed in Nottingham. Indicators would suggest that crime would rise in the current financial climate but actually crime in Nottingham, overall, is slowly reducing;

 

(aa)  the probation service has changed and more consideration is given to how people are released following their punishment. Everyone needs at least some help when they are released the probation service can offer assistance but, as is common across the board, are required to do more with fewer resources;

 

(bb)  with regard to Police beats, for some Councillors and officers, it is frustrating for some city council wards to be covered by 3 different Policing beats. This makes gathering crime statistics for wards and not beats, very complicated and it is appreciated that it may not be easy for ward specific criminal issues to be identified. While Councillors may prefer beats and ward boundaries to align, the police will endeavour to provide any statistical information required for specific wards. The suggestion that Policing beats should align to ward boundaries will be forwarded to the police;

 

(cc)  future target setting is an on-going discussion between the Police and Crime Commissioner and members of the Crime and Drugs Partnership. All partners are encouraged to be involved their contributions valued;

 

(dd)  current partners are displaying a mature understanding of the current and future tough circumstances for public bodies and how the austerity cuts are forcing everyone to work more closely and smarter.

 

Committee members made the following comments:

 

(ee)  residents of some communities which have overcome serious drug issues, are concerned that monitoring is not taking place and problems may begin to increase again;

 

(ff)  many people in prison have mental health issues or special educational needs. These problems need to be addressed at an early age, even before school age, to try and prevent the development of criminal behaviour;

 

(gg)  there is a toxic lack of ambition and aspirations in some of Nottingham’s communities, this needs to be addressed;

 

(hh)  while statistics show that crime is falling in Nottingham it is a concern that the perception of some citizens is that crime is rising;

 

(ii)  Police have the power to detain and arrest but they need to have more time to spend with people and be more customer orientated to further cultivate respect and confidence in the Police;

 

(jj)  the Committee could, in future, consider a view on partnership working as several areas have previously been City Council led and it is important that partnerships operate as effectively as possible.

 

RESOLVED

 

(1)   to support the Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership Plan 2014/15, especially the focus on talking violence and alcohol related crime;

 

(2)  to continue to monitor the Crime and Drugs Partnership Plan targeting setting and achievement;

 

(3)  to consider at a future date whether a review of partnership working, excluding that led by the City Council, could be effective in strengthening partnership working;

 

(4)  to record the thanks of the Committee for the attendance and contribution of Peter Moyes and Paddy Tipping.

Report of Head of Democratic Services

Angelika Kaufhold, Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordinator, presented the report which presented the Committee with a proposed programme of subjects to scrutinise and outlined the process applied in determining if a subject can be feasibly scrutinised by the Committee.

 

RESOLVED

 

(1)  to agree the work programme for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for 2014/15 to December, as summarised in the report;

 

(2)  to appoint Councillor Carole Jones as the Chair of the Scrutiny Review Panel relating to the Nottingham Citizen’s Survey, with the membership to be approved at the next meeting;

 

(3)  for the Scrutiny Review Panel exploring the implications of the 'Changing Educational Landscape'  to be temporarily halted at the request of the Chair of the Panel as nationally there are changes being suggested which might impact on this review.