Agenda item

That the report be noted.

3.1       Councillor Brenda Dacres, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities and Deputy Mayor introduced the report and provided information on the Safer Lewisham Partnership Board. The Board was multi-agency and met regularly with a range of partners to work to keep Lewisham a Safer place.

3.2      James Lee, Director of Communities, Partnerships and Leisure, and Jannet Hall, Head of Safer Communities also addressed the Committee and gave a summary of the presentation. In the subsequent discussion, the following key points were raised:

·           The information in the presentation was relevant to both the current Safe Lewisham Plan and the work on the future plan being set for the next few years. The new plan would have a greater focus on data.

·           Members of the Committee welcomed the increased emphasis on data in the new plan and the focus on community engagement.

·           A member of the Committee asked how the responses from surveys on stop and search would be used to change how things were done by the Police and reduce disproportionality. In response the committee were informed that depending on the responses, there might be clear details of what elements of practice have been most unpleasant which would then give the opportunity to share this qualitative information with the Police. There may also be work the Council could undertake on public information and engagement. Currently the Council only had data through the Police so this would be a chance for the Council to analyse its own data.

·           A member of the Committee asked that in respect of the work with partners discussed in the presentation, this should include academics in particular from Goldsmiths University. The Committee were informed that there was work being undertaken to investigate how to work more closely with Goldsmiths University as a partnership.

·           A member of the Committee commented that the data did not show outcomes to date to help the committee evaluate and scrutinise the work from the current plan. In the next municipal year it would be important that outcomes on this came back to the committee based on the 9 work-streams. The Committee heard that some data was already available and could be further shared with the Committee.

·           A member of the Committee asked about incidents of violence involving dogs in Catford South. The Head of Community Safety would welcome additional information on this and it could be discussed further.

·           In response to a question from a Member, the Committee heard that the Council wasn’t working with the courts and magistrates on disproportionality. It could be possible to do more on this but would be challenging with the level of resources available within the service. This was however being done in the Youth Offending Service.

·           Following a question on the use of swords and knives, the Committee heard that removing knives from the streets remained a key reason why stop and search could be a useful Police tactic. Knife amnesties were considered to not necessarily target the right people and could be used by people who wanted to dispose of evidence.

3.3      RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.