Issue - meetings

The Committee received a report from Sergeant Jim Stevenson regarding the policing and safer neighbourhoods’ trends.

 

The report outlined actions taken since the East Area Committee on 20 July 2017. The current emerging issues/neighbourhood trends for each ward were also highlighted (see report for full details).

 

Previous priorities and engagement activity noted in the report were:

i.        County lines issues

ii.       Responding to street life ASB issues in Mill Road; and

iii.      Road safety in known hot spot areas

 

There were six recommendations which the Committee had been asked to make their recommendations for focus over the coming months:

i.        Coleridge Rec. ASB

ii.       Dwelling burglary

iii.      County line drug dealing

iv.      Road safety

v.       Safeguarding young people

vi.      Mill Road ASB

 

Lynda Kilkelly, Safer Communities Section Manager informed the Committee that a number of injunctions had been served on those individuals who had been identified as causing difficulties; the street life working team would in the first instance offer continued support and only when the behaviour did not change, enforcement action would be taken.

 

In response to the questions and comments from members of the public and the committee, Sergeant Stevenson, Safer Neighbourhoods Inspector Rogerson and the Safer Communities Section Manager said the following:

 

i.        Would advise members of the public to feed information          concerning illegal activity onto the Police web portal. The           information was then assessed / graded on a weekly basis        with the Prevent Team who identified problem areas           geographically and action to be undertaken. This could be      arranging high visibility patrols to deter illegal activities such           as drug dealing.

ii.       While it may be perceived there was a gap in communication between reporting illegal activity (such as drug dealing), and      the Police taking action; the information delivered to the central intelligence unit or the prevent team was anonymous.           Therefore the individual would not receive any update as        Officers simply did not know who had supplied the    information. This was to negate the risk to the individual to        be identified by those carrying out the criminal activity. 

iii.      Agreed to speak with the ICT team to add an additional category of ‘pavement parking’ underneath the vehicle    heading of the web portal and enquire if photographs could          be submitted by the public.

iv.      Publicity of the Cambridge Street Aid Initiative was          constantly being expanded but there was a resource issue;     to contact every retail unit to request if they would put up a     poster in the window was very time consuming. A plan was     in place to continue to publicise the Initiative and have        locations across the City which would allow an electronic     donation to be made. There were also plans for an App to be     developed. To date a total of £23,000 had been donated with          £17,000 of grants allocated.

v.       Would be happy for Councillors to distribute fliers providing     advice about Cambridge Street Aid.

vi.      Street Aid was promoted by the Police when visiting       universities, residential schools and at the language schools    as part of the Community Safety Crime Prevention          presentation.

vii.     Noted the comments that Mill Road should not be seen as      two separate areas regarding the proposal to reduce the     Cumulative Impact Area (removal of Romsey Road).        However this had been instigated by the results of new data   analysis of what had been taking place in the area. It would     be the decision of the Cambridge City Council Licensing          Committee to determine if the proposal should be approved   or rejected.

viii.    Could not comment on the two tragic deaths of cyclists which           occurred in November and December 2017 as these were       on-going investigations; one was at a junction and the        preliminary investigation would indicate that speed was not a           factor for the second accident.

ix.      Partnership working was required to look at speed           enforcement, road and cycle safety and education; a       separate meeting with East Area Committee members would take place to discuss this further. 

x.       Would look at the work of the County Wide Road Safety          Partnership and how this could be enhanced locally by the     Police.

xi.      The Police would not ignore those people smoking cannabis in public as this was an illegal activity. However by the time the Police arrived after an incidence had been reported it was more than likely that the activity had ceased. 

xii.     Shop lifting was a national problem often seen as a        victimless crime and career criminals had realised that they were given a shorter prison sentence for this crime.

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved unanimously to approve the following four priorities:

 

i.        Coleridge Rec:  Anti-Social Behaviour

ii.       County line drug dealing – focusing on Godesdone Road and          Stanley Road in the Riverside Area.

iii.      Road Safety

iv.      Mill Road: Anti-Social Behaviour.