Agenda item

This report updates the sub-committee on the work of the Epsom and Ewell Community Safety Partnership.

The Committee received a report updating it on the work of the Epsom and Ewell Community Safety Partnership (CSP).

The following matters were considered:

a)            Meetings of the CSP. The Committee requested that details of dates and attendance at meetings of the CSP be recorded in future reports to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee. The Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee that this would be provided in future and reported that attendance of statutory partners at recent meetings of the CSP had been fairly consistent.

b)            Community protection warning notices. A Member of the Committee asked how many community protection warning notices had been issued, and how they were enforced. The Head of Housing and Community informed the meeting that he would provide the number of notices issued in writing following the meeting, and provided a verbal overview of the process for issuing a Community protection warning notice (CPWN) or a Community Protection Notice (CPN).

c)            Collaboration between Council and Surrey Police. Following a question from a Member, the Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee that one of the key purposes of the CSP was to improve collaborative working between all parties of the partnership. With regard to the collaboration between the Council and Surrey Police, the Head of Housing and Community highlighted the recent successful bid to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Safer Streets funding which had led to the replacement of the Town Centre CCTV cameras as well as a number of measures intended to address violence against women and girls, and protecting the night-time economy of the town centre.

In response to a question from a Member of the Committee regarding a reported delay in providing information to the Police by the Council, Inspector Vale informed the meeting that a mistake had been identified in the procedure followed but that this had been corrected. A Member of the Committee asked for clarity as to whether this was a matter which could be called in to the Committee, and was informed that the Chair would look into the matter and inform all Members of the Committee following the meeting.

d)            JAG and CHaRRM. Following a question, the Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee that the number of Joint Action Group (JAG) and Community Harm and Risk Reduction Meetings (CHaRRM) held were reported to the CSP and could also be provided to the Committee in the future. The Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee that it would be difficult to report on the outcome of CHaRRMs, due to sensitive nature of the information considered. The Head of Housing and Community would consider whether information relating to JAG meetings could be disclosed to members of the Committee and provide an update following the meeting.

e)            RAG Status for Review of town centre crime data. A Member of the Committee identified that the “Review town centre crime data regularly to identify emerging patterns” objective listed on page 23 of the agenda pack was at red status, and asked how this would be addressed. The Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee that the relevant data was required to be analysed within a six month timeframe. Of the current period, 3 months had passed. The Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee that the data would be reviewed later in the week and that the target would be at green status by April 2023. Inspector Vale informed the Committee that Surrey Police also undertook weekly data analysis and that if this identified any emerging trends, the other relevant partners in the CSP would be informed.

Following a further question from a Member, the Head of Housing and Community informed the Committee that he would contact members of the CSP to ask whether the partnership would be in agreement to updating its report to explain that the target was currently listed as red status, but would be completed within the target 6-month timeframe, and that the review had also been completed in time for the previous 6 month period.

Following consideration, the Committee resolved with 6 votes for, 1 vote against, 1abstention and the Chair not voting to:

(1)      Note and comment on the work of the Epsom and Ewell Community Safety Partnership (CSP).