Issue - meetings

Police Sergeant Mišík highlighted the police activity since the Committee last met in September.

A member of the public asked a question about an increase in begging around the Histon Road shopping parade area and if the police were aware of this?

PS Mišík reported that the City Council had funded accommodation in Master’s House on Histon Road as part of its response to the Covid-19 crisis to provide accommodation to people in need of housing. There has been an increase in the people engaging in begging in the area. The police are aware of the issue and are in regular contact with the onsite security company and the Council’s housing department.

Citing reports from residents of a lockdown party that took place in an Airbnb property on City Road last week, Councillor Martinelli asked how often lockdown parties are reported and the reasons why in such instances the police would not be able to attend?

PS Mišík believed the police were not able to attend the mentioned incident when it occurred as they were busy that evening. However, PS Mišík confirmed that they were able to speak with those involved soon after the event. PS Mišík did not believe that lockdown parties were a regular occurrence in the city.

Councillor Bick thanked PS Mišík for engaging with the King Street and Willow Walk police priority. Councillor Bick asked whether there could be further coordination between the police and the hostel management at Willow Walk prior to an eviction taking place to ensure that this would happen smoothly?

PS Mišík acknowledged there could be a coordinated approach towards tenant evictions from hostels and this could be achieved through improving communication between the police and the hostels and through exploring the use of community protections orders. The police are in regular communication with several hostel providers in the city that attend the fortnightly meeting of the Streetlife Working Group.

Councillor Bick asked whether PS Mišík could provide details on the plans for managing the city centre night time economy under the new tier system due to be introduced?

PS Mišík highlighted several ways the police are preparing to manage the city centre’s night time economy under the new tier system including:

·        PS Mišík attends a weekly meeting chaired by the Head of Streets and Open Spaces where ongoing issues are discussed.

·        PS Mišík’s team’s deployment plan for December has been finalized.

·        A weekly police tactics meeting is held to discuss ongoing issues across the southern district. The Senior Leadership Team pick the priorities for the following week to allow for resourcing from various teams across the city against those priorities. It is likely that the night time economy will be one of those priorities.

·        The police are working in partnership with the City Council’s Covid Marshalls and Cambac radios.

Councillor Nethsingha asked for feedback on how to mitigate an increase of vehicles delivering goods to homes that cause obstructions to pavements and cycle lanes.

PS Mišík advised to contact the delivery company to address the issue where this is possible.

Councillor Nethsingha followed up by asking if there is capacity to use cameras similarly to the operation of bus lane cameras?

PS Mišík would explore if this is a possibility and will report back.

Action point: Councillor Nethsingha and PS Mišík

Councillor Gehring asked if the night time economy could be replaced by cycle theft as a police priority?

PS Mišík stated that the night time economy posed a significant risk and required policing. PS Mišík also confirmed that cycle crime is policed, and work is ongoing with partners in the background to tackle cycle theft. It was confirmed that bikes are being seized, but highlighted difficulties around returning the bikes to their owners as they are often not reported to the police as stolen, or the frame numbers are not known by the owners.

Councillor Gehring raised concerns of the rise of vigilante groups in retaliation to cycle theft which PS Mišík acknowledged was also a concern for the police.

Action point: PS Mišík to feedback progress of tackling cycle crime at the next Committee meeting.

A member of the public raised the following issue:

Overall solution for Amazon style delivery vans in local areas is to reduce
parking in these areas and make some space for deliveries.

Tesco was suggested as a good practice example. This is not the case.
Please can the police deal with this location? (The member of the public shared a Twitter link of Tesco Express on East Road).

Bus lane cameras - the government is working to enable this - may already
be possible. Camcycle may have expert knowledge - please do contact them.

The Committee agreed to maintain the following priorities:

·        Anti-social behaviour in King Street/Willow Walk

·        Anti-social behaviour in open and green spaces

·        Night time economy/alcohol related disorder