Agenda item

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services.

Inspector Annie Yates, Nottinghamshire Police, presented information on crime over the last quarter in the Berridge and Sherwood Area, highlighting the following points:

(a)  In Berridge, instances of dwelling burglary have decreased by 13, robbery by 3, and auto crime by 30. Instances of criminal damage have increased by 41, theft by 29, violence by 33, and all crime by 45. The sharp increase in criminal damage is mainly attributed to a one-night crime spree by one individual. Local residents have asked if the offender can be removed from living in the area, but it has transpired that he does not live in the area. The increases in thefts are mainly business premises on Sherwood Rise, and include a large amount of supermarket crimes.

(b)  The crime statistics are very healthy compared to this time last year, and there is an encouraging increase in citizens signing up to the Neighbourhood Alert scheme, a free service which the Police use to send out information about the local area to help protect against crime and anti-social behaviour (www.nottinghamshirealert.co.uk). Inspector Annie Yates will bring figures on Neighbourhood Alert sign-ups to the next meeting of the Area Committee.

(c)  In Sherwood, instances of criminal damage have decreased by 16. Instances of dwelling burglary have increased by 26, robbery by 16, auto crime by 14, theft by 101, and violence by 98. It is not clear what has caused a sudden increase in shop thefts. A large proportion of the incidents of violence are domestic violence. Visits to licensed premises are planned, to try and tackle associated crime. The March 2014 Week of Action will focus on crime in the Sherwood and Carrington area.

John Marsh, Locality Manager at Nottingham City Council, provided some additional information on other performance indicators in the Area, highlighting the following points:

(d)  From December 2013 to January 2014, Cleansing index scores improved in Berridge (from 89 to 93) and stayed nearly the same in Sherwood (from 93 to 92). Graffiti stayed the same in Berridge and Sherwood (17 instances across both wards). Fly tipping increased in Berridge (from 60 to 67 instances) and in Sherwood (from 18 to 23 instances).

(e)  Across both wards, there will be more activity on sweeping and on re-aligning the bulky waste system. A December Week of Action too place in Berridge, and the lighting event was very successful. The main concern for Berridge remains fly-tipping.

(f)  There was a successful budget consultation event in Sherwood, and a successful; lighting event. The Week of Action in Sherwood will be happening in March 2014. A twitter feed is also being launched for Sherwood during the Week of Action (www.twitter.com/sherwoodnottm). The Sherwood facebook page is the most successful of all the Ward facebook pages (www.facebook.com/mysherwood).

(g)  Returning bins to properties after they have been emptied has previously been raised as an issue, but it has resource implications. The refuse service is taking on 45 apprentices, who may be used to find a solution to this ongoing issue.

Questions and comments were made by the Committee:

(h)  The up-to-date figures provided at meetings of the Committee are very useful, and the Committee requested that more up-to-date figures should either be included with the agendas, or if that was not possible, then they should be emailed round to Councillors in advance of the meeting.

(i)  Bins at Kneaton Close have not been collected for 5 weeks, which now constitutes a health and safety issue. There are several disabled residents in the area, and one couple with a young child with severe health issues, and the bins are getting in the way of deliveries of medical supplies. All solutions seem to be quashed through lack of resources. There used to be a “bin lay-by” area for storage, but this space was boarded up. The residents are getting fed-up of calling to complain. John Marsh will take this issue up with the refuse service.

(j)  The Committee asked if, with the introduction of new landlord standards, action could be taken against landlords for fly-tipping. When contact details are found in amongst fly-tipped rubbish, action is taken against those concerned.

(k)  The Committee would like it to be noted that the increase in instances of fire in the Ward was not 29,000% as shown in the report. The increase is from 0 instances to 3 instances, and the software used to compile the report could not accurately show a percentage increase from 0. No individual figure is felt to be overly concerning, and they are generally positive, but everyone needs to remain vigilant and avoid complacency.

(l)  The Committee suggested that some people with English as a foreign language may not understand the bulky waste collection service, or that fly-tipping outside your home is not how bulky waste is disposed of. If some a symbol system could be introduced to advise those with poor language skills how to access this service, and a text request service, that would be very useful. Texting can be problematic, and a symbol for fly-tipping will be very difficult to convey, but John marsh will take these suggestions back to the call centre.

RESOLVED to thank Annie Yates and John Marsh for their presentations, and note the information provided.