Issue - meetings

The Committee received an oral report from Sir Graham Bright the Police and Crime Commissioner.

 

Sir Graham Bright the Police and Crime Commissioner made the following points:

i.             A Speedwatch service had been set up around Cambridge as there was an issue with motorists complying with the 20mph speed limit.  The Police would issue tickets where appropriate and any money that was collected from fines would be spent on road safety projects. 

ii.            There were issues with cycling and cycle theft on East Road, a stolen bike was retrieved from Mill Road.  Currently there was a campaign to educate people on the dangers of cycling without lights as this not only put the cyclist in danger but also other road users.

iii.           The Police would like to see as many lights on in the City as possible, the risk to road users and pedestrians needed to be measured and considered.

iv.          A Victim Hub had been established to help support victims of crime to recover and cope with their experiences.  The Hub had three psychiatric nurses and it was hoped that people would take advantage of this service.  The Victim Hub was the first set up in the Country and other Counties were using this idea.   

v.           The number of frontline Police Officers had been kept constant and the public said that they feel reassured when they saw Police Officers around Cambridge.

vi.          Concerns surrounding domestic abuse remained, however there had been an increase in reporting incidents and all Officers had received special training in this area.

vii.         Requested that any suspicions regarding human trafficking were reported to the Police.  

viii.       A Cyber Crime Unit has been set up in Cambridgeshire, and a lot of work has been done with children in schools to educate them about cyber crimes.

 

Members of the public asked a number of questions, as set out below.

 

1.        Mr Woodburn asked whether the speed cameras in Cambridge were dependant on film which had to be taken away to be processed.  Mr Woodburn also stated that he thought it would be better to install more high tech cameras which might be expensive to purchase but would cost less money to maintain.  The enforcement of the 20mph speed limit would be easier to enforce if had modern speed cameras.

 

Sir Graham Bright said that road traffic was organised on a three county basis and was led by Bedfordshire.  The speed cameras were digital cameras and they flashed what was seen straight through to a control room.

 

The speed cameras in Cambridge were due to be replaced with upgraded pieces of equipment.  Sir Graham Bright also asked that hot spot speeding areas were reported to the Police so that tickets could be issued, portable cameras could also be used in problem areas.  

 

2.     Mr Gawthrope asked about the 101 non-emergency telephone number and stated that when he had phoned the telephone number he gave up due to the length of time he waited for the call to be answered. 

 

Sir Graham Bright stated that he had had a meeting about the 101 non-emergency telephone service 3 days prior to the Committee meeting.  He also stated that there was a target to answer calls within 30 seconds, with a further target of an initial pick up within 5-9 seconds.  It was also confirmed that authorisation had been given to recruit extra staff for the 101 service, 7 new members of staff had been recruited however it took 8-9 weeks to fully train staff members.     

 

3. Mrs Cranmer asked whether mobile speed cameras required street lights to be lit so that the speed cameras could work effectively.

 

Sir Graham Bright said that he did not know the technical details but would find an answer.

 

The Committee discussed the following issues:

i.             Pleased to hear that a Cyber Crime Unit had been set up.

ii.            Questioned what percentage of funds would be received from speeding tickets and how this would be used.

iii.           Requested clear data on domestic violence as domestic violence covered a multitude of crimes.

iv.          Questioned what was being done about bad parking on the pavement.

v.           Questioned whether there had been a freeze on the recruitment of Police Community Support Officers (PSCOs) and whether there was a threat to the number of Police Officers on the beat as budgets were to be cut for the Police.

 

In response to Members’ questions the Police and Crime Commissioner answered:

          i.             Emphasized that Members of the public needed to report domestic violence crime to the Police.

         ii.             Confirmed that cash received from ticketing for speeding crimes was collected on a three county basis being Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  A reasonable sum of money would be received back for Cambridgeshire and the money would be put towards road safety.

       iii.             If someone parked in such a way to cause an obstruction then the Police can take action.

       iv.             The numbers of PCSOs had been reduced however there were more Police Officers than when he came into office.  Currently the Police had a balanced budget for this year and the next year, further work had been put into joint working with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in order to make further savings.