Agenda item

(A report by Emily Spicer, Assistant Director Wellbeing & Community Leadership)

The Community Safety Manager presented the report, supported by Inspector Ian Cotton of Boston Police with Superintendent Lee St. Quinton, of Lincolnshire Police and the Zoe Walters Business Manager of Lincolnshire County Council presenting the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership (SLP) report within the covering report.  The Assistant Director for Wellbeing and Community Neighbourhoods was in attendance in support of the report.

Committee were advised that the annual report to a scrutiny committee, was a strategic requirement and whilst it was very comprehensive, it was important that members had full context of all the information.

Providing a brief overview of key data across the priorities members were advised that Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week was an annual campaign which had been successful in highlighting the work that the partners did to tackle incidents of ASB and, in raising public awareness of the importance of reporting ASB and how to report it. 

The Noxious Odour Policy had been adopted by Lincolnshire County Council, with all other authorities and the Police adopting it using the pilot scheme originated from Boston Borough Council

The Hate Crime Awareness Week campaign was an annual event to raise awareness of what such a crime was, how it should be reported and the help available to victims.  A communication plan had been delivered across the South East Lincolnshire Committee Partnership (SELCP) to further increase awareness.

One of the biggest projects undertaken was Operation Plotting aligned within the Safer Streets and Nighttime Economy priority and funding had been secured at the start of the current municipal year from the Serious Violence Fund which was managed by the County Serious Violence Core Priority Group.  Several projects had benefitted from the funding including the introduction of community rangers who were now operational within the town, the installation of planters and interviews were taking place for a Community Engagement Officer who would assist the minority communities, to understand UK customs and law through a targeted engagement programme. Additionally, work was ongoing to improve the CCTV provision in the hot spot areas of the town with the installation of a number of new cameras to cover gaps in Central Park, Wormgate and West Street.

Referencing the priority for the safety of Women and Girls, members were advised that the annual White Ribbon Day & 16 days of Action would again be delivered.  A substantial communications plan had been produced and delivered by the Domestic Abuse Partnership, supported by partner organisation to maximise its effectiveness.

Work continued in Boston to upgrade the CCTV camera systems within the Safer Streets Fund Round 4. It had taken longer than in Spalding and Skegness (both of which were now complete), due to the need to upgrade the BT fibre network. A Police CCTV volunteer continued to work within the CCTV suite to help with tasks such as image reviews and burning disks which frees up the CCTV Operators to focus on monitoring the cameras.

Addressing updates in respect of the Vulnerability & safeguarding priority, members were advised that the focus had been on identifying the range of scams and what mechanisms were required to deal with the issues.  Furthermore, Domestic Abuse Officers had now been introduced to all three authorities within the SELCP, who would be supporting the teams a key contact, and a member briefing would be scheduled towards the end of the year.

Referring members to section three of the report which detailed the regular statistical data, the Community Safety Manager confirmed that following a request by members from the previous years report, comparative data had been sourced over the last few years.

A brief overview of the work of the SLP was provided and members were advised that a Community Safety Partnership was a requirement for each local government area, uniting the police, local authorities, fire and rescue, health, and probation to formulate strategies for the reduction of crime. Boston Borough Council currently discharged its statutory duties for reducing crime and disorder at a strategic level through the SLP, and at an operational level be delivery services such as CCTV and ASB investigation and enforcement work.

The statutory duties included preparation and implementation of a partnership plan that set out a strategy for the reduction of reoffending, crime and disorder, combatting substance misuse, serious violence, community engagement and addressing the priorities identified in the strategic assessment. It further set up protocols and systems for information sharing and was required to regularly engage and consult with the public about their community safety priorities and issues. Additionally, it commissioned domestic homicide reviews following notification by the Police of a domestic homicide but had delegated the reviews to the Domestic Abuse Partnership. 

Members were advised that whilst the SLP had been an informal arrangement, agreed to by all partners to have one county wide strategic partnership across the county, moves were underway to look at it a change to a formal merger.  Discussions had agreed it would be appropriate to put forward a paper in respect of the opportunities and challenges, to ensure an appropriate consultation was undertaken. The timeline for the Strategy Board Time was their next scheduled meeting on the 27 June and all parties would be informed.

A strategic needs assessment was due to be undertaken to inform the current plan which was due to review.  New reporting included annual updates from the Stay Safe Partnership who delivered preventative information to the primary and secondary schools across Lincolnshire.

One question was tabled in advance of the meeting which asked the Police if they felt it necessary to walk around the wards to see what Policing was needed. Inspector Cotton responded and advised that it would be an option in an ideal world, but with budget restraints it was impossible to provide dedicated policing walking around in all neighbourhoods.  Members were however reassured that the ethos of neighbourhood policing was how to engage with communities, and this was practised very efficiently with partners, schools, youth groups and with key individuals within the communities.  Engagement led to problems being identified and then it was the practice to involve the communities in resolving the issues.  Resources were available for such activity.

Committee deliberation followed which included:

Responding to a question in respect any future provisions of the planters out into the Parish wards, the Community Safety Officer confirmed that the planters sited within the marketplace were through a funding stream for serious violence and the funding was ringfenced for hot spot areas of the town centre.

On questioning police representatives on their engagement with schools in respect of education on criminal matters, a member also enquired if education of ‘County Lines’ was provided, which whilst not a problem with Boston currently, would at some point become one.

Inspector Cotton confirmed that the Community Engagement Team along with the local PCSO’s were very active within all secondary schools in the Borough and fully aware of the need to be vigilant in respect of ‘County Lines’.

Superintendent St. Quinton advised that from a county perspective, the Stay Safe Team delivered education into every secondary school and achieved a reach of 92,000 pupils over the previous year, with 100% of secondary schools and approximately 87% of primary schools having some form of intervention by the team. The team had a strong commitment and were aware of the impact of their interventions on the children’s progression and education.

The Business Manager further advised committee of a new facility in Sleaford.  The ‘Happening’ was an immersive, preventative education centre and a county wide resource for referrals when required.  Members were encouraged to visit the site to view the facilities.

The Community Safety Manager confirmed that a member briefing would be scheduled in due course in respect of ‘County Lines’.

A member questioned concerns already raised on social media in respect of money laundering establishments, associated to some cash dependant businesses such as nail bars, barbers and launderettes, and the proliferation of such establishments over recent years. Many of these always appeared to be depleted of customers, but survived financially and the member asked what the police were doing in respect of such establishments.  Inspector Cotton reassured members that many premises had been closed due to the work of a joint agency response who were aware of illicit goods and focused their attention of such premises.  Furthermore, the Police actively supported ongoing lobbying for further changes in legislation.

Referencing ongoing incidents of serious violence over a long period within the same area of the town, a member questioned how much information was being gathered to try to understand the reasons for such incidents and to see if tension between the various communities was considered a factor in the violence. The Business Manager advised that there was a vulnerable localities index which was used in respect of antecedent and vulnerabilities within communities which assisted in layering information to identify target areas for support or interventions.  It took time to prevent violence by evidencing impacts based on population, with data layering being collated from schools and the national census of demography of communities, down to pockets of communities.  Superintendent St. Quinton further reminded committee that Lincolnshire Police had sought funding through the Home Office grants in April 2024 which had allowed support of the current Hot Spot campaign which was now well embedded within the Boston area.

Responding to calls for more shops to have radios enabling a more effective communication network within the town businesses and Town Rangers, the Community Safety Manager confirmed that was already in practice with the Rangers radios being connected to the CCTV Suite and the Council were encouraging businesses to have radios and was looking at potential funding to assist in the initial cost of purchase.

RECOMMENDATION:

Committee noted the report.