Agenda item

Councillor Woolf, Executive Member for Community Safety, presented his annual report to the Committee.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·        The Executive Member highlighted key actions in his portfolio over the last year. Partnership working with the Police had delivered a 10-point action plan for how the BCU would deliver the Met Police turnaround plan locally; the council had worked with the Police to deliver cultural competency training to 600 front-line police officers, approximately one-third of the 1,500 officers working in the borough. Walk-and-talk sessions had been held in 16 wards, and this included evening sessions. A governance review had been commenced to ensure that policing and neighbourhood structures were aligned.

·        Islington had seen the largest reduction in public order crime types across the 32 boroughs; motor vehicle crime, robbery, VAWG, knife crime and firearms discharges had all decreased. The Executive Member commented that it was important not to be complacent, but these figures reflected the strong partnership approach taken to reduce crime in Islington.

·        The Executive Member commented on the importance of the “critical friend” approach to working with the Police, calling out where improvements were needed, and championing examples of good practice.

·        The Executive Member commented that the Safe Havens scheme continued to develop. The council was also implementing Bleed Control kits across the borough. The borough’s knife bins had now collected 4,000 knives.

·        Implementing the recommendations of the ASB transformation programme had been a key theme over the past year, and the Executive Member thanked the committee for their review of ASB, which was aligned with the objectives of the transformation programme.

·        The Executive Member noted that the restructure of the Community Safety, Security and Resilience directorate had consolidated services in his portfolio, and some further amendments to the structure were being explored to enable a 24/7 response service.

·        A discussion was had on the prevalence of hate crime, and if the reduction in figures may actually be representative of under-reporting. This was a complex issue and there was a need to build trust and confidence in the police among all communities. The council had trained 50 Hate Crime Champions to raise awareness of hate crime in the local community. It was suggested that LGBT communities may be reticent to report hate crime, and a member suggested that engaging with local LGBT venues may be beneficial.

·        A member expressed concern at the Police posting photos of large knives recovered on social media, suggesting that this may be counter-productive, as young people may feel the need to arm themselves. The Executive Member indicated this would be considered further. Although it was a concern that 4,000 knives had been handed into knife bins, it could also be viewed as 4,000 positive choices being made.

·        A member noted that 824 HMO inspections had been completed and asked if this meant that 60% of properties had not been inspected. In response, the Executive Member noted that this was outside of his portfolio, however he would check.

·        Following a question, it was advised that evidence is needed to take action against hate crime, and a new form was being launched to collect the necessary information. However, there would always be the option to report via telephone.

·        A member suggested that increasing the visibility of Safer Neighborhood Teams may improve resident perceptions of safety.  The Executive Member referenced the additional police resources being allocated to the borough and the ending of the carosel system which would help local officers to build relationships in their communities.

·        Following a question, the Executive Member noted that Ward Panels were police-led events. The Executive Member had received feedback from councillors that these events were not always functioning as they should be, and the Executive Member would be meeting with the Police on quarterly basis to discuss this issue.

·        The Executive Member commented on joint work with Finsbury Park Mosque and Muslim Welfare House to raise awareness of hate crime reporting mechanisms. It was important to ensure that hate crime did not become normalised and accepted.

·        A member questioned the council’s use of contractors to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for littering. The Executive Member commented that this appeared to be working successfully, and this resource enabled the compliance team to focus on persistent and serious fly-tipping.

·        It was clarified that the number of knife crime offences in London was increasing, but decreasing in Islington. A discussion was had on the broader work to challenge and discourage knife crime, including preventative work. Trading Standards had issued fines to businesses for selling knives to children.

·        The Executive Member commented on the work of the Youth Safety team in developing a summer plan to mitigate and respond to any serious youth violence.

·        The Committee considered moped, electric bike and scooter enabled theft targeting young people as they left school; members expressed concerns that young people were being targeted for mobile phones and that this appeared to be organised crime. It was asked what more could be done to prevent this crime and empower communities. The Executive Member commented on the need for ongoing safety advice, targeting police resources at hotspots, diversion activities, and listening to the concerns of young people. The Committee suggested that a cross-borough approach may be needed to address this issue effectively.  

The Committee thanked the Executive Member for his presentation.