Agenda item

That Simon Dobinson, John Newing and Nathan Hobson be thanked for attending the meeting and for their reports and presentation.

4.1       Chief Superintendent Simon Dobinson, Borough Commander, SE BCU gave a presentation to the Committee, a copy of which will be included in the Committee papers and on the Council’s website.  During the discussion that followed, the following key points were highlighted:

·         A member of the Committee asked about whether the capacity to provide crime prevention advice around burglary had been impacted by reduced numbers of officers. The Borough Commander responded that there was a focus on targeting neighbours and neighbourhoods where there had been burglaries and providing advice and smart water kits etc. This was through the dedicated ward officers and PCSOs.

·         Information on fraud prevention occurred through targeted Police campaigns. The Council’s Crime Reduction Team had also been working on an operation called “Operation Neptune” focussing on scams and fraud. Work was done through trading standards and in partnership with other organisations. There was also a rapid response vehicle. 

·         The Pensioners Forum and other groups had been working with partners on practical examples of helping people be aware of scams and rogue traders.

·         A member of the Committee highlighted that there was a lack of attendance by Police Officers at some of the Council’s Local Assemblies. Written reports had been helpful but attendance would be more useful for the public that attended.  This had been experienced in Lee Green/Blackheath. Members felt that some PCSOs would be able to substitute for officers at assembly meetings on occasions if that was appropriate.

·         A member of the Committee highlighted that the Safer Neighbourhood ward panels had been challenging to work with recently due to high turnover of staff. The generic e-mail address was no longer being responded to. It would be useful to have a clear procedure for contacting the teams.

·         A member of the Committee commented on the emergency response time for incidents following a personal experience where an emergency response took over 25 minutes and where he was informed that the resource was not available to investigate. The Borough Commander would look into this specific incident to understand the details and provide more information.

·         A member of the Committee commented that the 101 number was ineffective as the wait was so long for calls to be picked up that people give up. This was a national system and at a local level there was no control over the speed of answering the call. Online reporting was being encouraged.

·         The figures for crime in Lewisham showed that between May 2018 and April 2019 crimes across London had risen by 8% compared to a 5% rise in Lewisham. Robbery had fallen by 1% across London compared to a 7% increase in Lewisham. Knife crime with injury had decreased by 11% in Lewisham and Gun crime had decreased by 7% in Lewisham compared to an 18% increase across London.

·         Regarding the neighbourhood ward teams, members of the Committee felt it would be useful to find a way to better engage. The Borough Commander would look into the issue of e-mail contact addresses and get back to the Committee.

·         A member of the Committee commented that the Police recorded figures on their own were not always that helpful due to under-reporting and asked as a borough, for our own statistics, whether Lewisham would be able to triangulate with other data sources such as the Crime Survey for England and Wales or Hospital data to get a more accurate picture. The Committee were informed that the Police local intelligence teams did use a range of data for crime patterns and analysis.

·         Ward data was used in analysis and targeting resources. The Director of Lewisham Youth Offending Service would provide additional information on this to the Committee.

·         A member of the Committee raised an issue with reporting to Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) in terms of data being passed on. Local residents had complained that they were reporting moped related incidents to the SNT in Ladywell as they occurred in Ladywell Fields. When Councillors tried to follow up on this they were informed by the Ladywell Team that it was related to Rushey Green so they had no details and the Rushey Green Team said they had not received the reports. It was important to ensure that there were processes to ensure that SNTs appropriately shared information. The Borough Commander reported that he would look into this and respond to the Committee.

·         Quality of some CCTV was variable and not always able to be used. The Council managed CCTV was focussed in the town centres. Officers worked 24/7 so cameras could be targeted. There were 185 cameras in total plus with partners such as Lewisham Homes. Additional information on where the cameras were placed would be provided to the Committee.

·         Members of the Committee were invited to visit the Council CCTV operation room. Members of the Committee were also invited to attend a ride along or walk around or to attend the Police operations room.

4.2       John Newing, Borough Commander for Lewisham, London Fire Brigade presented his report to the Committee. Nathan Hobson, Station Commander for Lewisham Fire Brigade was also in attendance. During the discussion that followed, the following key points were made:

·         Members of the Committee were invited to receive awareness training on corrosive substance attacks.

·         A member of the Committee asked whether pay levels were a challenge for recruitment. There were support mechanisms in place through the Firefighters charity and financial advice etc. was available. The Borough Commander was not aware of issues around officers in Lewisham needing to use food banks but would be happy to look into this if more details were available.

·         The Fire Brigade would only charge for flooding call outs if they were related to commercial premises. Many of the call outs were from vulnerable people often on a low income.

·         A member of the Committee asked whether the comparative London borough figures were based on overall incidents per borough or whether they took into account the number of residents to give a per head figure. The Borough Commander would look into this and update the Committee.

·         A member of the Committee asked whether there was appropriate access to training across all levels of staff and how the service was doing in terms of equal opportunities including the number of female staff and whether the workforce reflected the diversity of the community. The Borough Commander would provide more information on training to the Committee.

·         There were 342 female fire fighters in London. Work was on-going with Bromley Fire Brigade to support female applicants. Lewisham Fire service was more diverse than many but still not representative enough compared to the population of the borough and work was on-going on this.

·         Regarding hoarding, a member of the Committee asked for additional information on the process for supporting people that Councillors identified as at risk. One method could be to phone and connect to the nearest fire station to speak to them regarding fire risks, then the fire service could support the individual case. The Fire Service also worked with partners to identify vulnerable people and provide some support. There was a Council Hoarding and Self-Neglect Protocol which would be circulated to Committee members. Members of the Committee felt that a related information sheet for Councillors would be useful. The London Fire Brigade may also be able to provide phone numbers for Councillors.

4.5       RESOLVED:

That Simon Dobinson, John Newing and Nathan Hobson be thanked for attending the meeting and for their reports and presentation to the Committee; and that the requested information as listed above be provided to the Committee.