Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies received at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

To approve the Minutes of the Executive, Policy & Community Safety Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 31 January 2019, copy attached.

Councillor Bambridge proposed, Councillor Campbell seconded and Members agreed the minutes as a correct record of the meeting that was held on 31 January 2019.

Councillor Game, Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods introduced the report. She said that the Community Safety Partnership work plan for 2018/19 focused on actions aimed at reducing offending and re-offending, safeguarding vulnerable individuals, improving community confidence and agency collaboration. Key activities included tackling anti-social behavior, domestic abuse, violent crime organised crime domestic abuse and anti terrorism.

The Partnership was working on 21 projects from 7 themes during the period under review. Direct mediation support was provided to individuals who were victims of antisocial behaviour so that they could move forward in confidence, (through the Moving Forward Programme). First aid training was commissioned for staff working in agencies that provided a public facing service, including the Restart a Heart Campaign with support from Kent Fire & Rescue Services.

The Partnership continued to support multi agency task forces street week campaigns, working on a GPS project that helped reduce missing persons for individuals suffering from dementia and tackling drug gangs using closure orders (to shut down premises used for criminal activities) and other legislative powers available to the Partnership. Young people projects were delivered to local youths to reduce anti social behavior in the district.

Responding to the presentation, members of the Panel sought clarification on why there some of the project activities had not been completed. They also requested for comment on the performance of activities to tackle gang related crimes across the district (i.e. County Lines). Members indicated that the reporting could be enhanced by providing performance indicators and more concrete outcomes in the end of year report.

Penny Button, Head of Safer Neighbourhoods said that some activities were still on-going and would be continuing into 2019/20. She suggested that the Partnership could produce an evaluation report for the Panel to review for the 2019/20 and this would be fed back to the members of the Executive Committee.

Members noted the report.

One Member requested for a presentation to the Panel on ‘Violence against women, particularly in housing tower blocks in Dane Valley.’ However other members of the Panel felt that this issue could best be tackled by approaching the Council’s housing department to address the problem, as it most likely affected a specific area in Dane Valley.

The Panel agreed that the Margate Task Force be invited to make a presentation at the March meeting on “the specific work the Margate Task Force were currently undertaking and comment to the success of their work in the district.”

Members then noted the report.

Members noted the report.