Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Director of Law and Governance

Further to Minute 13/24, the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee considered a Briefing Note of the Director of Law and Governance which provided an update on the consultation process to develop the Community Safety Partnership Plan and seeking the Committee’s contributions to shape the final Plan.

Chief Inspector Gohhania Hamir, West Midlands Police, attended the meeting and was welcomed by the Committee.   

The Briefing Note indicated that Community Safety Partnerships (CSP) are required to develop an overarching Community Safety Partnership Plan under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The Plan provides an overview of the work and priority areas that fall under the responsibility of the CSP. The Plan is intended to focus upon those issues of most concern to residents, that cause the most harm to communities and require a coordinated approach to deliver lasting change.

A 12 week public consultation period on the development of the Plan had commenced on 10 July, 2024. A list of stakeholders invited to participate in the consultation was appended to the report. Workshops were also held by sub-groups of the Police and Crime Board to obtain the views of partners and other stakeholders.  A summary of the Office of the Police Crime Commissioner (OPCC) priorities was also appended to the report.

The Briefing Note detailed the outcome of the 696 responses received from the Council’s consultation (Crime Survey) and indicated that one of the main emerging themes is that residents generally feel safer during the daytime than at night in Coventry. Other emerging key issues were concerns with Environmental Anti Social Behaviour (ASB), ASB, vehicle crime and drug offences.

Workshops were undertaken with stakeholders and various partners who reviewed the findings of the Strategic Assessment and gave their professional perspective on what considerations should be in the Community Safety Partnership Plan. These workshops were organised in the theme of Place, Victim and Offender. Some of the key themes emerging from these workshops included lack of resources being a challenge and the need to support vulnerable people and protect them from exploitation.  The partners felt improvements could be made by improving multi-agency networks, engaging with communities and making it easier to report crime. They also felt that there was a need to provide more information on success stories. 

Good practice guidance recommends that Community Safety Partnerships consider various aspects of crime. The primary elements of a crime include the victim, offender, and location. Analysing crime from this perspective assists partners in pooling resources to set priorities and allocate resources effectively to reduce crime and disorder in their area. The Plan therefore addresses the following three key themes:

• The reduction of Offending, Re-Offending and Serious Organised Crime:
• Public Place Safety and Reassurance; and
• Tackling Exploitation and Protecting Victims of Crime.

It is proposed that under these themes, a range of priorities will be developed based on the feedback from the consultation.

Feedback was sought from the Committee to further develop the Plan. A survey has also been developed for Members to complete so that the results can be integrated into the Plan, a copy of which was appended to the report. The Committee noted that the full set of results and recommendations for the Plan will be submitted to Cabinet on the 18^th March 2025. 

The Committee asked questions, sought information and assurances and made comments on a number of issues, including:-

·  The inclusion of faith groups in the list of stakeholders. It was noted that consultation with the Faith Group Alliance and Street Pastors had taken place

·  Work undertaken with a range of communities was welcomed

·  Police resources in Coventry, including deployment of officers in the city centre

·  Priorities in the City, particularly in relation to Domestic Abuse and violence against women and girls

·  Parking on kerbs

·  Work undertaken in relation to ensuring the consultation was far reaching, and ways this may be improved in the future, including consulting with the BID and local businesses outside of the city centre

Chief Inspector Hamir was thanked for his attendance and contribution to the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee:-

1)  Note the consultation questions and responses provided at Appendix 3.

2)  Note that all Members will be provided with an opportunity to respond and contribute to the consultation process.

3)  Note that Cabinet will consider the Plan at their meeting on the 18^th March 2025.

4)  Request that that future consultation includes the BID and businesses outside of the city centre.