Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Town Hall - Maidenhead

Contact: Karen Shepherd  01628 796259

Items
No. Item

113.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

 

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Grey and Quick, and from Parish Cllr Margaret Lenton. Cllr Bullock was attending as a substitute.

114.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 217 KB

To receive declarations of interests from Members of the Panel in respect of

any item to be considered at the meeting.

 

Minutes:

None.

115.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 130 KB

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 5 October 2017.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on October 5th 2017 were unanimously agreed as an accurate record, save for the minute on Cllr Da Costa’s question at the Annual Presentation by the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner being amended to:

 

Councillor Da Costa thanked Thames Valley Police on behalf of residents of Windsor and especially Dedworth for the great work in the last few months. He asked, given the increased level of anxiety amongst Windsorians about the recent spate of serious crimes in Windsor including two dreadful rapes and a murder, what steps are being taken by TVP to reduce the chance of such crime occurring again? Cllr Da Costa also asked whether TVP had any suggestions for RBWM to help reduce crime and to help solve crime more quickly, and whether there were any plans to update TVP’s  “Thames Valley Alert App” or supplement it to allow citizens to report crime?

 

The wording had been circulated to Members via email prior to the meeting.

116.

Appointment of Vice Chairman

To appoint a Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the municipal year

Minutes:

The Chairman proposed Cllr Sharma as Vice Chairman. The motion was seconded by Cllr Story and unanimously agreed by Members.

117.

Modern Slavery

To receive a presentation from Superintendent Rai of Thames Valley Police on combatting Modern Slavery within the Royal Borough.

 

Minutes:

Superintendent Bhupinder Rai introduced the item and reminded Members that she had given a presentation on trafficking and slavery to the Panel a year ago. She explained that her latest presentation included a case study example of an operation that had been carried out within the Royal Borough. Supt Rai explained that modern slavery can take many forms, including human trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude and sexual and criminal exploitation. Victims could become enslaved due to blackmail, debt bondage and cultural and belief differences, in addition to not being allowed to leave a property.

 

Supt Rai informed the Panel that since November 1 it had been a legal obligation for all public authorities – which included the police and councils – to inform the Home Office when they had encountered a potential victim of modern slavery. It was Thames Valley Police policy to inform partner agencies when a referral had been made. Supt Rai informed the Panel that great steps had been taken in combatting modern slavery over the last year, and that problem solving was now seen as the policing golden thread as crime investigations had become more complicated over time.

 

Supt Rai explained one of the major issues affecting the Thames Valley Police area was that of ‘county lines’, where organised crime gangs would set up their criminal businesses in places where they were not known and where organised gangs did not previously exist. Many of these gangs came from the London area. Supt Rai explained that the county lines gangs were usually large scale drug dealers, and once they had set up their businesses associated crimes such as theft and burglary would usually follow. She explained that the county lines gangs would then look to exploit people during the running of their businesses, such as using children to carry drugs as they were less likely to be stopped by the police.

 

Supt Rai stated that drug gangs had not traditionally been a major problem in the Thames Valley, and new ways to combat drug problems had been needed. She explained, for example, that while a traditional Section 23 search warrant of a property would often lead to an arrest of an individual, it did little to combat the organised crime element associated with drugs. Supt Rai explained that Partial Closure Orders, which prevented anybody other than the occupier from entering the property, were being used to great effect. She explained county lines gangs would often take over a property as part of a drug operation, and use of Partial Closure Orders had led to the arrests of many gang members for being in breach of the Order. A Full Closure Order would not be sought unless the occupier was criminally involved, as the properties involved usually belonged to local authorities and/or housing associations and closing them for would place an additional burden on the demand for such housing. Supt Rai stated that HMIC had said Thames Valley Police used Closure Orders to great effect. Over the past  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

118.

Prevent

To receive a presentation on the Prevent strategy

Minutes:

The Head of Communities, Enforcement and Partnerships informed Members that he would be attending a meeting of the national Channel Panel Chairs the following day and would be in a position to provide a fuller update after this briefing. It was therefore agreed to defer the item to the next Panel.

119.

Budget Preparation 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 179 KB

To comment on the report being considered by Cabinet on 23 November 2017.

Minutes:

The Head of Communities, Enforcement and Partnerships introduced the item and explained that the Budget Preparation paper was being brought to Overview and Scrutiny two months earlier than usual in order to set a budget in challenging financial circumstances; however, more details on the budget would be available in the new year. He explained that this was the first time that a Budget Preparation paper had been brought to the Crime and Disorder Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

 

The Head of Communities, Enforcement and Partnerships explained that an overall efficiency saving of £4.1million had been identified; of most relevance to the Panel was the saving of £202,000 which had come from the optimisation of the expected upgrade of CCTV. The Head of Communities, Enforcement and Partnerships informed Members that £1.3million had been brought forward from the Capital Programme in order to fund the CCTV network upgrade, and that this figure had already been through the Cabinet cycle and agreed. Members were informed that a basic Council Tax increase had been proposed, as had a three per cent increase on the Adult Social Care levy.

 

The Vice Chairman asked about funding of the permanent Hostile Mitigation Factors in Windsor, noting that the current mitigation was temporary. He also noted that a budget of £1.8million had been agreed in principle for this project, of which half would be paid for by Thames Valley Police. The Head of Communities, Enforcement and Partnerships reminded Members that the National Barrier Asset had been deployed as a temporary measure in response to the Westminster terrorist attack in March. Since then the Council had, along with Thames Valley Police, looked into what integrated mitigation factors were needed, especially when the historic setting and conservation issues were taken into consideration. The Head of Communities, Enforcement and Partnerships said the permanent structures were being developed with the specialists who had installed the temporary Hostile Mitigation Factors, and this was being managed by a project group. A proposed scheme had recently been submitted; however Members were reminded that before it could be fully implemented it would need to be considered for possible  planning consent and conservation approvals. Members were informed that other factors, such as when they would be implemented and where, and the impact on the flow of traffic through Windsor when they were deployed, were also being taken into consideration. It was hoped that identifying strategic locations for the mitigation factors would minimise disruption to traffic and residents.

 

The Chairman asked if the specification for the upgraded CCTV system had been agreed in writing with Thames Valley Police, in order for funding to be obtained. The Head of Communities, Enforcement and Partnerships informed Members that Craig Miller had previously written to TVP to confirm that the Council was developing specifications that would allow TVP to use the system in line with their own arrangements. These would be discussed again at a meeting on December 7th. The Chairman asked to be kept updated on any developments regarding the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

120.

Future meeting dates

·         Wednesday 7 February 2018.

·         Monday 16 April 2018.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman informed Members that the dates of the next meetings were as follows:

 

·         Wednesday 7th February 2018

·         Monday 16th April 2018

 

The Chairman invited Members to raise any other issues that had not already been covered in the meeting. Cllr Werner stated that he was concerned that there was no evidence of the doubling of the number of Community Wardens by April 2019, and asked for a report on the progress on this matter at the next Panel. The Chairman stated he would look into having an agenda item on this issue at the next meeting.

 

Cllr Hilton suggested that the minutes of the Community Safety Partnership, which he was Chairman of, could be considered at a future Panel meeting. He also suggested that the latest CSP Action Plan could be considered by the Panel. Cllr Hilton informed Members that the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, Fire Service and Health team all attended the meetings. Cllr Hilton informed Members that the previous grant funding system for the CSP had recently changed, with ten per cent of the figure being taken by the Police and Crime Commissioner and groups wishing to apply for a share of the funding needed to submit full proposals that included costings and outcomes. There was £22,000 remaining for groups to apply for in the remaining year.

 

The Chairman agreed for the CSP Action Plan to be circulated amongst Members via email.