Issue - meetings

The Committee received a report regarding the policing and safer neighbourhoods trends from Maureen Tsentides, lead officer for the CB1 development in the Safer Communities Team, on behalf of Lynda Kilkelly, Safer Communities Manager, and from Nick Skipworth, Safer Neighbourhoods Inspector and Police Sargeant Ian Wood.  The report outlined actions taken since the Committee’s meeting on 2 October 2016, identified on-going and emerging crime and disorder issues, and provided recommendations for future priorities and activity.  The report listed previous priorities and the actions taken in response:

·        Combatting ASB in the CB1/Brookgate development;

·        Promotion of road safety with specific reference to prioritising schools parking; and

·        Drug dealing/use in the south of the city.

Sargeant Wood explained that the role of PCSOs was to be highly visible gatherers of community intelligence.  The aim was to map issues and to do anything possible to persuade individuals to reconsider their behaviour and lifestyle choices.  He drew attention to the Community Speedwatch scheme, and invited anybody interested in signing up to the scheme to let his team know. 

Inspector Skipworth asked the Area Committee to choose three policing priorities from the six proposed in the report and outlined the background to each of the suggested priorities.  He extended an invitation to Councillors to attend the weekly meetings at which Police discussed their priorities; any Councillor wishing to attend should contact him.

In discussion, members

a.   welcomed the re-inclusion of Cambridge Leisure Park and the Cambridge Lakes.  Inspector Skipworth confirmed that all the areas of policing listed would still be policed; what was being offered was additional work, for example putting highly visible patrols into areas affected by burglary, but this would be at the expense of some other area of work

b.   noted that additional work proposed to combat drug dealing would involve contacting directly individuals whose premises were believed to have been taken over for drug dealing against their will

c.   expressed concern about possible unintended consequences of work to reduce sexual exploitation, and reported having spoken at national level to people who had been told that they had been safeguarded, but had then found that they were unable to follow their safer working practices.  Inspector Skipworth said that Operation Mantis across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough was looking at sex workers behind closed doors; there was an online community offering sex for sale to a large number of mainly men, and involving a large number of young non-English-speaking women.  For the Police it was a matter of safeguarding; they gave out packs with rape crisis cards and condoms.  In the South Area, the additional work proposed would involve tracking down and educating landlords.

Antony Carpen suggested asking 16 to 19-year-olds what their priorities would be, given that there were two large further education colleges in the area.  Inspector Skipworth replied that they did actively engage with young people around policing issues, and would welcome this input.

The Area Committee went on to consider its choice of priorities.  Each member voted for their preferred three schemes; those finding most support were combatting drug dealing and burglary, with youth ASB, road safety and sexual exploitation attracting an equality of votes.  The Chair exercised his casting vote and selected sexual exploitation as the third priority.

It was resolved (unanimously?) to nominate the following three priorities for focus over the coming months:

1)    Combatting ‘county lines’ drug dealing

2)    Burglary (in response to the recent crime spike)

3)    Sexual exploitation (specifically of women coerced or controlled as sex workers).