Issue - meetings

Representatives of the Safer Communities Team will talk about the work they do to address Anti-social Behaviour across the city.

The Committee received a presentation from the Safer Communities Section Manager and Anti-Social Behaviour Officer about how the Safer Communities Team tackled anti-social behaviour.

In response to comments from members of the public, the Communities Section Manager and Anti-Social Behaviour Officer said the following:

     i.        Thanked the member of the public for their positive comments on the success to stop drug taking, rough sleeping and the associated anti-social behaviour, in Hills Road. Six individuals had been served with injunctions, four of who had been housed.  To ensure the success, the Safer Communities Team had worked with various agencies and local residents all of whom were aware from the start that the process would take a great deal of time to resolve, and did not stop reporting all the issues that were witnessed.

    ii.        The Hills Road model was currently in place for Mill Road and injunctions would be sought on certain individuals.  Members of the public were encouraged to keep reporting any criminal activity or associated anti-social behaviour.

   iii.        Confirmed that the two CCTV cameras’ installed by the Home Office on Mill Road were still operational. 

  iv.        Bike theft was a crime but although CCTV in the city was operational it was not monitored every day. Therefore it was important to give the Police a limited time frame (if possible) of when the theft occurred. 

   v.        If information was reported to the Safer Communities Team on criminal activity or associated anti-social behaviour this was always passed onto the Police with the permission of the witness.

  vi.        In the first instance it was always quicker to report criminal activity to the Police.

 vii.        With regards to needle finds, these could be reported to Streets and Open Spaces and they would be removed very quickly.

viii.        The Safer Communities Team could be contacted on the following details:

Safer.communities@cambridge.gov.uk  or 01223 457950

The Committee then made the following comments:

     i.        When reporting criminal activity or associated anti-social behaviour it was important that the footage was kept on the device it was taken on to report. The evidence on the device could then be used in a court of law. Images could not be used if they had been uploaded to a cloud or stored elsewhere.

    ii.        There had been no Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO’S) on Mill Road before Labour came into power at Cambridge City Council. PSPO’s were now in place on Petersfield Green, Ditchburn Place and the Cemetery. If the PSPO’s needed to be extended further then the Council would consider such action.

   iii.        For six months there had been weekly reporting from residents on Argyle Street regarding the dealing of drugs and taking of drugs in one particular area. Resident(s) had been threatened with a knife by a drug dealer recently but were told there was no police available to investigate. Drugs and drugs dealing was a problem in the area and all were potentially high priority crimes.

  iv.        The Police representatives had not attended the previous meeting as scheduled and could not attend this meeting. It was imperative that the matter of attendance be raised with the Police and requested that the matter be brought to the attention of the Police and Crime Panel. A letter should also be sent stating the importance of attending the East Area Committee as Residents needed to be heard. (Action).

   v.        All incidents should always be reported and if this could not be done by using the Police website which was difficult to navigate, then facebook or twitter were alternative options.

  vi.        Questioned if a ban on street drinking along the whole of Mill Road was possible, as this would include the pavement cafes.

 vii.        There were various ways to report criminal activity to the Police but from experience the use of the police website live chat had been positive.

viii.        Suggested a community action group could be formed to take issues forward.

Councillor Massey advised that as the City Council’s representative on the Police and Crime Panel, the lack of police presence at East Area Committees would be brought to the Panels’ attention.  The matter had been mentioned to the Police and Crime Commissioner previously regarding the July meeting. The subject of Police not attending to residents when a crime had been reported was also discussed. The Commissioner had advised that 80% of the times Police were responding to non-criminal activity, such as dealing with mental health issues and the other 20% dealing with criminal activity