Issue - meetings

The Committee received a report from DS Mazur regarding policing and safer neighbourhoods trends.

 

The report outlined actions taken since the last reporting period. The current emerging issues/neighbourhood trends for each ward were also highlighted (see report for full details). Previous local areas of concern and engagement activity noted in the report were:

      i.          Continue work to tackle vehicle-related antisocial behaviour and driving across the South of the City;

     ii.          Continue work (patrols and diverting young people away from crime and antisocial behaviour) across the South of the City, with specific focus on Trumpington Ward;

   iii.          Drug dealing, moped riding and anti-social behaviour around Cherry Hinton Rec and Cherry Hinton Hall; and

   iv.          Bike theft in Nine Wells and Trumpington Ward.

 

The virtual Area Committee would not be making a decision, so would not vote on priorities set by the Police. The Police reported back on the local areas of concern they were currently focussing on. Councillors and members of the public could not change these, but they could suggest ideas/issues for the Police to focus on.

 

The Committee discussed the following policing issues:

      i.          Launch of Pegasus scheme 1st September 2021.

a.    Pegasus is a free service for people who can find it hard to communicate with the police.

b.    People can register on a form by telling the Police their name, address and information that will tell the Police how people prefer to communicate.

c.    The Police will keep people’s details safe on a secure database.

d.    Once registered the Police will send people a ‘Pegasus’ card.

e.    Other Pegasus forces:

                                                   i.     Nottinghamshire Police

                                                  ii.     Sussex Police

                                                iii.     Surrey Police

                                                iv.     Dyfed-Powys Police

                                                 v.     Lincolnshire Police

                                                vi.     City of London Police

                                              vii.     Bedfordshire

                                            viii.     Herts to follow

     ii.          Crime in Red Cross Lane Area.

   iii.          Use of mopeds around the city:

a.    Anti-social behaviour (ASB).

b.    Noise.

c.    Speeding.

   iv.          ASB around Cherry Hinton lakes (although these are not open to the public).

    v.          Referred to current priority  “Continue work (patrols and diverting young people away from crime and antisocial behaviour) across the South of the City, with specific focus on Trumpington Ward.” The footpath which leads from Foster Road to the busway, passing between the Foster Road allotments/community garden and the chicken plots behind Drury Avenue. The surface is very good now, and it is much used by bikes and pedestrians, so there has been much discussion about lighting here. If CCTV was to be introduced along the busway, it would make sense to include this footpath, but lighting would be required.

   vi.          ASB from Airbnb short term lets.

 vii.          Joint working groups to address ASB on the Trumpington/Cherry Hinton border of City and South Cambridgeshire.

 

Red Cross Lane Area Neighbourhood Watch Scheme Coordinator & RARA Secretary raised the following policing issues:

      i.          The successes and stress of setting up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme & Residents Association in Cambridge.

     ii.          Can RARA ask how Red Cross Areas preventative approach can be prioritised and continued at a time of limited statutory and Police resources?

   iii.          In 2018/19 identified suspicious, anti-social and criminal activities often at unsocial and ad hoc hours.

   iv.          The Police, Council and Councillors need to be commended. Due to their response to calls for help, advice on how to report both suspicious and Police Incidents stopped the issues and over 3 years have continued to contain the situation.

    v.          Since the latest lockdown was lifted suspicious, anti-social and low level criminal activities were beginning to emerge and increase.

   vi.          Residents thought that targeting resources based on evidence of crime is an effective Policing method.

 vii.          However, the achievements in Red Cross Areas have been in containing and preventing crime taking hold. This is not always obvious to others let alone statistically quantifiable.

viii.          The success has been due to a joined up multi agency approach. How can this be prioritised and continued at a time of limited statutory and Police resources?

 

DS Mazur said the following in response to questions:

      i.          The Pegasus scheme was for children and adults. The Police had a safe-guarding role so parents/guardians or responsible adults would have to complete registration forms on behalf of others.

     ii.          Undertook to provide promotional information to Councillors.

 

Action: PS Chris Bockham or DS Mazur to pass information about the Pegasus Scheme to councillors. Also to pass SAC Councillor details to police colleagues so details of the scheme can be shared (by them) with public health partners.

 

   iii.          There were peaks and troughs in crime. Different people may cause the same types of crime in an area.

   iv.          Geography could assist or deter crime in an area. The Police would liaise with stakeholders and partners  to increase the Police profile to make areas such as Red Cross Lane less attractive for people to congregate and cause crime.

    v.          Police had to balance issues against other priorities to put resources  in the locations to get best results.

   vi.          The Police were monitoring trends and asked people to report issues and incidents to build up trend profiles.

 vii.          Although staff resources had been cut back, the Police would like to be invited to neighbourhood watch meetings.

viii.          Kensington and Chelsea had traffic cameras activated by noise instead of speed. Cambridge City would need a Public Space Protection Order to implement a similar type of camera.

 

Action: Maureen Tsentides to investigate if a Public Space Protection Order could be implemented so that noise activated speed cameras can be set up to combat noise caused by mopeds driven in an anti-social way.

 

Action: Councillor Beckett to pass on known details about mopeds driven in an anti-social way to Police.

 

   ix.          Referred to P7 of the Officer report: ASB in short-term lets. Airbnb was usually a breach of tenancy regulations. The power to address this depended on who had the property freehold. The freeholder could remove a lease from a leaseholder and so stop them from sub-letting to Airbnb. The Police needed to work with letting agents, free holders and management companies to address issues in future.

 

The Chair noted the following local areas of concern the Police were currently focussing on:

      i.          Continue work to tackle vehicle-related antisocial behaviour and driving across the South of the City;

     ii.          Continue work (patrols and diverting young people away from crime and antisocial behaviour) across the South of the City, with specific focus on Trumpington Ward;

   iii.          Drug dealing, moped riding and anti-social behaviour around Cherry Hinton Rec and Cherry Hinton Hall; and

   iv.          Bike theft in Nine Wells and Trumpington Ward.