To receive a presentation from Chief Inspector Julie Wheatley and Sergeant Alan Clark, Hertfordshire Constabulary.
Decision:
Sergeant Alan Clarke thanked the Chairman for the invitation to address the Committee.
The Chairman thanked Sergeant Clarke for his presentation.
Minutes:
Sergeant Alan Clarke thanked the Chairman for the invitation to address the Committee.
Sergeant Clarke advised that he would give a brief overview of crime figures and some information regarding the Safer Neighbourhood Team, the work undertaken in the last year and the challenges faced.
Safer Neighbour Team
The Safer Neighbourhood Team for Letchworth consisted of a Sergeant, 4 PCs and 4 PCSOs.
One PC had recently left the Team and a replacement was being sought.
Statistics
All Crime
· North Hertfordshire was third safest in Hertfordshire, in terms of crime per 1,000 of population;
· North Hertfordshire was a safe place to live, work and travel through;
· North Herts had an increase in crime of 17 percent;
· Hertfordshire had an increase in crime of 13.4 percent;
· 2,206 reports of crime in Letchworth, an increase of 13 percent.
Residential Burglary - Dwelling
· 70 reports in Letchworth, a decrease of 6 reports;
· 1 report of aggravated burglary;
· North Herts and Hertfordshire had both experienced an increase in this area.
Residential Burglary – Non Dwelling
· 38 reports, an increase of 18 reports;
· North Herts and Hertfordshire had both experienced an increase in this area.
Burglary – Business and Community
· 67 reports, an increase of 7 reports.
Motor Vehicle Crime
· 175 reports an increase of 19 reports;
· Keyless entry and tools available on the internet such as master keys were a big contributing factor to the increase;
· Transit vans had been targeted particularly;
· The Police had held events such as tool marking with the aim of educating people about how they cold best protect their property.
Domestic Abuse
· 350 reports, an increase of 14 percent;
· Domestic abuse covered a broad spectrum of abuse between family members including assaults and arguments;
· The Police were actively encouraging people to report all cases of domestic abuse;
· A specialist Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit was in operation.
Robbery
· 14 reports, a decrease of 3 reports.
Violence against the Person
· 717 reports, an increase of 20 percent;
· 243 of the above involved people with injuries
· North Herts had an increase of 25 percent
· Hertfordshire had an increase of 17 percent;
· Covers anything from malicious communications to assault.
There were various reasons for the increases in crime reporting including:
· There were more ways for the public to report crime than were previously available;
· National Crime Reporting Standards required that every report was recorded.
Arson
· 20 reports;
· The main offender was identified and was currently in secure accommodation awaiting sentencing.
Criminal Damage
· 314 reports, and increase of 44 reports;
· This included graffiti;
· It was important to report incidences so that Police resource could be directed efficiently.
Shoplifting
· Increase of 12 reports
· The Police worked very closely with local shops
· An outcome rate of 41 percent had been achieved.
Anti-Social Behaviour
· 743 reports, a decrease of 102 reports’
· The Police had worked closely with the NHDC and North Herts Homes Anti-Social Behaviour Officers to secure closure orders at various addresses’
· The Police now had the power to issue Community Protection Notices, which had been very useful in reducing anti-social behaviour.
Sergeant Clarke advised that they continued to encourage Neighbourhood Watch Schemes, which currently had 10,500 members in North Herts and almost 2,000 of those were in Letchworth.
They were also encouraging membership of the OWL system, which enabled two-way communication between residents and the Police.
Members queried whether there was any specific area that was responsible for the increase in crime
Sergeant Clarke advised that the increases were across the board however the one area of concern was motor vehicle crime, which was a current challenge for the Police. However, it should be noted that North Herts was the safest place in Hertfordshire regarding motor crime.
Members asked whether there had been any reports of coercive control.
Sergeant Clarke advised that there had been a number of reports of coercive control. Prosecutions regarding someone controlling another person in any way had been made easier by the powers given to the Police, which had resulted in a number of successful prosecutions.
Members asked whether the shops in Letchworth used the communications system.
Sergeant Clarke advised that the shops used the system all of the time and that it was permanently on in the office and a PCSO had it switched on when patrolling. The shops logged onto the system in the morning and logged off in the evenings and the communication channel was open at all times in between.
Members asked what percentage of time was spent on crime prevention, crime detection and other activities
Sergeant Clarke advised that the first priority was preservation of life, therefore if a report of a high risk missing person is made, that became the prime focus. PCSOs were expected to spend 80 percent of their time engaging with the community, PCs spent slightly less time in the community and Sergeants spent a lot of time on administration.
Members queried whether social media sites were used by the Police and what action would be taken if a resident reported the smell of cannabis.
Sergeant Clarke advised that the Police monitored social media, but chose not to engage with residents via these formats
In respect of reports of cannabis use, the Police would initially check to see whether any information was held regarding the person or address, this would be followed by a Police visit and investigation. It should be noted that the smell of cannabis on its own was no longer sufficient for stop and search, but it could help with the issuing of a Community Protection Notice.
Members queried whether the places in Hertfordshire where crime rates had reduced, had any correlation with whether these places still had a police station.
Sergeant Clark advised that he did not quote statistics from other areas. There was an internal communication system that enabled Officers to advise of specific problems and to ask what was happening in other areas. He would be concerned if there was any great disparity in percentage gains in any particular area, but this was not the case.
Members asked about clear up rates and whether these could be included in future presentations.
Sergeant Clarke advised that outcomes were where someone had faced some form of punitive action to address the crime they had undertaken and in Letchworth the outcome rate was 21 percent which was the second best in Hertfordshire.
Members asked if a reason for the increase in reports of crime could be identified and how much crime was drug related.
Sergeant Clarke advised that the way the crime was recorded changed regularly, however it was a fact that crime rates had increased nationally. Although he did not wish anyone to be a victim of crime, he wanted people to report incidents. They had been a victim of their own success in certain areas such as domestic abuse, where people had gained confidence in the Police that action would be taken and therefore reported incidents that in the past would not have come to light.
In respect of drug-related crime, Letchworth had no more of a problem than other areas and there was nothing that caused great concern.
The Chairman thanked Sergeant Clarke for his presentation.