Agenda item

[To monitor progress to date in delivering outcomes detailed in the Crime Reduction, Community Safety and Drugs Strategy 2014-17.]

Cllr Elias Mattu and Karen Samuels, Head of Community Safety, provided a progress report relating to delivery of the City’s Crime Reduction, Community Safety and Drugs Strategy 2014-17.

The Head of Community Safety outlined delivering the outcomes against each of the strategic priorities:

·         Reducing reoffending

·         Substance misuse

·         Gangs/youth crime

·         Violence against women and girls (VAWG)

·         Prevent

·         Support for victims

·         Safeguarding: Reducing harm and vulnerability

The Head of Community Safety explained that the delivery of the strategy is being undertaken against a backdrop of unprecedented organisational change and resource reductions across all sectors and informed the panel that the ‘Local Police and Crime Plan’ enables sufficient flexibility to be maintained within partner operating models to respond to changing need and that this needs to be supported by regular monitoring and negotiating with partners.

The Head of Community Safety referred particularly to the areas of Safer Wolverhampton Partnership (SWP) that are underperforming and have not improved:

·         Contracted drug and alcohol service

·         Levels of Public Place Violence with Injury (PPV)

She advised of the mitigating circumstances outlined in the report and gave assurance that they are being closely monitored and that improvement plans were in place.

CI Tracey Packham, West Midlands Police, informed the panel that trying to turn around the performance relating to PPV is a priority for the police.  She advised that there has been an increase in policing of the night time economy between the hours of 24:00 – 03:00 and that other changes were being made relating to drugs agency referrals. She advised that from time of the performance report to date that there had been a 30% reduction in PPV and that this was good news as only two local policing forces in the country to see a turn-around in this type of offending.

Cllr Richard Whitehouse welcomed the report and congratulated the police on performance improvement. Cllr Simkins referred to the guns and gangs strategy and asked how the Council and partners mitigate against the reduction in youth provision and resources in the city. The Chair voiced concerns at the low level of resource to deliver preventative measures and asked what recourse this would have for the broader areas.

In response to questions the Head of Community Safety outlined a number of measures and remedial actions that were taking place to mitigate the reduction in resource. She advised that in relation to PPV preventative measures are small actions which will reduce the risk of PPV, such as better street lighting/street furnishing. Further changes are occurring Wolverhampton is a provider of services relating to drugs rehabilitation; the relationship between licensing, Council and the police has been strengthened as shown in the draft statement of licensing policy (item 7 on the agenda).

Cllr Stephen Simkins asked for a paper to be brought back to this panel relating to the strategy of the Council to work with businesses and police to reduce crime in the City. The Service Director, Keren Jones referred to the City Centre bid and advised that environmental improvements and safety are at the top of the list. CI Tracey Packham advised that there is a lot of work on-going to establish a purple flag standard flag to improve safety.  Colin Parr, Licensing Manager, referred to the inclusion for a place of safety for people who have consumed excess alcohol to sit, to get them off the streets, keep them in a safe environment and get them home safely. He supported the suggestion of purple flag standard in the city and said it may be possible if we work in triage with partners.

Resolved:

That the comments of the scrutiny panel are noted in relation to progress achieved to date in delivering the City’s Crime Reduction, Community Safety and Drugs Strategy 2014-17.