Agenda item

Councillor Paul Skinner introduced a report by the Assistant Director – Wellbeing and Community Leadership setting out a Community Safety Strategy for 2022-25.

The report detailed the duties placed on local authorities and other named statutory agencies in relation to crime and disorder and outlined the current Community Safety Partnership arrangements across the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership area and in Lincolnshire as a whole.

The Community Safety Strategy had been produced to demonstrate the work of the South and East Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership (SELCSP) which was working collaboratively with the County Safer Lincolnshire Partnership (SLP), to address crime and disorder at a local, sub-regional and County level.

The Strategy had been prepared using the format of the last partnership plan of 2016-19.  An Action Plan for 2022/23 would support the strategy and sit with the SELCSP. 

Information from the county strategic assessment had been reviewed along with routine data on crime and anti-social behaviour from Lincolnshire Police, information from the pilot initiative StreetSafe which allowed people to anonymously report areas they felt unsafe, and perception data from the Lincolnshire Crime and Policing Survey.  This had been considered alongside the county priorities identified for the SLP.

Five priorities were detailed in the plan which was attached at Appendix A of the report:-

• Anti-social behaviour (ASB)
• Hate crime
• Safer streets and night time economy
• The safety of women and girls
• Vulnerability and safeguarding

It was noted that a Strategy had not been produced since 2019, however it was recognised that the work undertaken locally should be acknowledged and communicated to partner organisations and the public.

The Strategy promoted the dedication and commitment of partners working across the SELCP in tackling crime and ASB and aimed to provide a focus for actions to be developed to address the priority community safety issues that impacted on communities within the sub-region.

The report had been considered at the meetings of the Corporate and Community Committee on 6 October and Cabinet on 9 November, and the recommendations were endorsed.

The strategy and partnership working were welcomed by Members, but some concerns were raised regarding:

• The decision to switch off street lighting which was detrimental to the safety of the community;
• Omissions in the strategy in respect of disabled, partially sighted and blind residents particularly in regard to cars being parked on pavements which resulted in people having to walk on the roadway;
• People congregating in large groups and street drinking caused fear and intimidation;
• Fear of crime was discouraging people to visit the town which was detrimental to the businesses.

It was highlighted that the concerns raised were not within the control of the Council, they were the responsibility of the Police or Lincolnshire County Council.  The dual hatted Members were urged to relay the concerns to the County Council.

In summing up the Community Safety Team were thanked for an excellent example of cross partnership working in the production of the strategy and Members reminded of the survey being conducted by the Police and Crime Commissioner which everyone should be encouraged to complete.