Issue - meetings

Representatives from the local Police Team and Council’s Community Safety Team will present the latest report and answer questions.

The Committee received a report from Sergeant Stevenson 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. Anti-social driving

 ii. Cycle theft

iii. Drug dealing, ASB, and the protection of local young people –child criminal exploitation.

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.               Operation Helix was the Policing Operation around the murder of Jesse Nwokejiobi. The operation occupied 100 full and part-time members of policing staff across Cambridgeshire. This was about 8% of the total staff. Sergeant Stevenson was the school’s liaison officer. The Police had already been going into schools speaking to young people, especially year 9 to year 11 range. The Children’s and Young People’s team at Police Headquarters are refreshing and revamping the presentation that they delivered in schools.

ii.             Retail crime was managed by another officer and local police operations were run working with retailers. Sergeant Stevenson had not noticed an uplift in retail crime that he would link to food poverty. The bulk of retail crimes were driven by addiction issues by offenders. When someone was arrested for retail crime the Police did attempt to get to the bottom of what drove this behaviour. When offenders were released from police custody, they were handed a document with a list of support agencies.

iii.            The Anti-Social Behaviour Officer stated that there was a monthly peer group ‘People and Places' meeting. This was in response to an increase in youth related ASB post COVID 19 and attempted to put early interventions into place.

iv.           Sergeant Stevenson stated that the young people who had spoken to him were worried about how to fit in, be accepted by peers and how not to feel isolated in their community.

v.             Sergeant Stevenson was running a police cadet group in his free time. There were other groups run by the Fire Service and Ambulance Service. This was so young people could interact with people and make a positive contribution to society.

vi.           Sergeant Stevenson advised that he did not know the total number of police officers in Cambridge. He believed that they were on target. They were also actively recruiting.