Agenda item

That the report be noted.

6.1       Geeta Subramaniam-Mooney, Head of Public Protection and Safety, presented the report to the Committee. Gary Connors, Strategic Crime, Enforcement & Regulation Service Manager was also in attendance.

During the discussion that followed, the following key points were raised.

·         A document outlining the public health approach to serious youth violence was handed round to the Committee, a copy of which will be included with the agenda documentation.

·         Within the Council’s Public Protection and Safety division there were the following teams: Youth Offending Service; Crime Enforcement and Regulation (CER); Food Standards and Safety; and Environmental Protection. The service was also responsible for commissioning supported accommodation for vulnerable groups and commissioning public health interventions.

·         The Youth Offending Service and CER were the service areas that were most relevant to the Safer Stronger Communities Select Committee’s remit.

·         The Crime Enforcement Team included: antisocial behaviour; closure notices; statutory licensing function; trading standards; CCTV suite and digital recognition; Prevent and counter-extremism; Hate Crime; Violence against women and girls (VAWG); and serious violence.

·         Each local authority in England and Wales had a statutory responsibility to formulate and implement a strategy to reduce crime and disorder in their area. There was also an obligation to work in partnership with a number of statutory bodies through Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. In Lewisham this is undertaken through the Safer Lewisham Partnership and the plan produced in the Safe Lewisham Plan.

·         There were currently 19 third-party crime reporting sites throughout the borough. A list of these would be provided to members of the Committee.

·         The Council worked closely with MOPAC on a number of issues and Council officers sat on a number of London-wide networks.

·         Members of the Public Protection and Safety Team had been on a visit to Glasgow to gain a greater understanding of their model and focus on serious youth violence. There was a strong focus on getting it right for every single child regardless of background, perceived disadvantage/advantage etc.

·         The Lewisham approach to the night time economy was based on embedding the area’s culture, arts and heritage and not on a 24h/7 culture.

·         Councillor Morrison left the room from 8.45pm to 8.50pm during which time Councillor Rathbone chaired the Committee.

·         There would be three dedicated Police Licensing Officers within the Council Licensing Team from October 2018.

·         Parenting orders were no longer used as they could often be seen as a blaming tool. A more supportive approach offering advice and highlighting services available was seen as more positive.

·         In terms of exclusion panels it would be positive if schools were able to adopt a trauma-informed approach to help support children to stay in mainstream education where possible.

·         The Council’s Noise Team structure was reviewed 3 years ago. There had never been an out of hours service but there were pre-organised out of hours visits. Out of hours provision was not feasible as there was a need for a Police presence and it wasn’t a productive use of resources. There were currently proactive teams who monitored complaints and attending sites following calls and evidence.

6.2       RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.