Agenda item

To review and comment on the Norfolk County Community Safety Partnership’s draft Safer Norfolk Plan 2021-2024.

The DFC introduced the report and informed Members that he was presenting as the NNDC representative on behalf of the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership (CSP). It was stated that the Partnership was formed in 2012 when the District Community Safety Partnerships had been merged, and that a key aspect of its work was to undertake an annual strategic assessment to determine priorities, and to consult with the public on the issues identified. This was then used in the development of the Safer Norfolk Plan to replace the last Plan adopted in 2018. It was noted that the landscape had changed significantly since the last plan was developed, as Covid-19 had caused a substantial shift in community safety requirements. The DFC stated that changes in legislation and the election of a new PCC could also be expected to impact the development of the new Plan. He added that the Plan had been developed using the Cambridge Harm Index, to consider the impact of more harmful crimes. It was reported that the priorities outlined in the Plan included serious violence including domestic abuse, sexual abuse and county lines linked violence, preventing extremism, criminal exploitation, neighbourhood crimes, hate crimes and fraud. The DFC stated that the Plan would go out for public consultation for eight weeks from 24^th May, and had already been reviewed by the CSP Scrutiny Panel.

Questions and Discussion

       i.          The Chairman noted that many priorities raised in the Plan would be funded by the PCC, and that Committee had not had an update on the Plan or Partnership for some time.

      ii.          Cllr C Cushing referred to the average number of road traffic incidents and stated that he was therefore surprised that the Plan did little to address speeding offences. The DFC replied that whilst road fatalities had not been identified as a priority by the CSP, he expected it would be a Police priority handled separately, though could be fed back as a concern if necessary. He added that the OPCCN had committed funding of £500k to tackle the priorities raised within the Plan, and that a memorandum of understanding had been agreed with NCC to ensure improved joint working practices going forward. The Chairman noted that road safety incidents were regularly raised at Parish level meetings, and it was therefore important to raise its omission from the Plan.

     iii.          Cllr W Fredericks noted that there was little understanding of how the CSP operated, which caused concern that the Plan could change following the election of a new PCC.

    iv.          Cllr N Housden stated that it was important to understand how the Plan would be implemented, as he was aware of fraud incidents with little support for victims and no clear agency responsible for dealing with these crimes.

      v.          The DFC responded to concerns and stated that the Plan was a strategic level document developed to identify CSP priorities, as opposed to an operational document that established policing priorities. In response to Cllr W Fredericks’ question, he added that the election of a new PCC could influence the direction of the Plan, however the document transcended the OPCC as it was based on the strategic assessment of issues from all CSP partners.

    vi.          The Chairman suggested that concerns raised should be shared with the CSP and the OPCCN to ensure that all CSP partners were aware, with responses shared at a future meeting.

   vii.          Cllr N Housden reiterated that it was important to see a detailed agency specific response on how the plan would be implemented. The DFC replied that it would be appropriate for the Committee to seek clarification on this matter in order to  scrutinise performance of the CSP. He added that the new CSP Team would allocate officers to each District to improve communication between authorities, potentially leading to more regular updates. The Chairman suggested that it would be helpful to identify these officers and determine how many would  be available. He added that it would also be important to know how outcomes would be recorded.

  viii.          Cllr G Mancini-Boyle referred to the £500k funding made available and asked how this figure had been determined, and how many Police would work on the Plan’s priorities. The DFC replied that the funding would be available across the County for partner agencies to apply for to fund specific community safety initiatives. He added that in terms of delivering the Plan, the CSP had been established in 2012 with District representatives. It was noted that steering groups had been established to lead specific elements of the Plan, to which officers with the relevant expertise had been assigned. The DFC noted that the Council’s representatives were currently under review following the management restructure. He added that there were no plans to create a single liaison team, as the Plan was too broad for this to be effective, though it was accepted that there was a need for greater representation from the CSP at  District level.

    ix.          Cllr A Brown stated that he was confident of the Plan, other than its successful delivery depending heavily on external organisations that were subject to resourcing limitations.

      x.          The CE explained that NNDC was a member of the CSP which recognized that no one authority had complete responsibility or control for ensuring delivery of the Plan, as the structure brought together agencies to contribute to making Norfolk safer. He added that the questions raised were relevant, and whilst not all priorities within the Plan would be relevant for the District, the Committee had to recognize that it could not control delivery of the Plan. It was noted that there was a Police and Crime Scrutiny Panel at NCC that would be expected to hold the PCC to account, and further questions could be asked on the matter at a future crime and disorder update.

    xi.          The Chairman noted that previous community safety arrangements had relied more heavily on Police, with Districts creating their own strategies, though the current partnership arrangements had helped to broaden their remit. The CE added that the national trend of partnerships allowed partners to focus more on strategic issues such as county-lines crimes, racial discrimination and extremism.

   xii.          Cllr S Butikofer referred to issues with speeding, and suggested that this could be raised at the NCC Crime and Disorder Panel. She added that the OPCCN could also be approached to consider allocating a District representative at NNDC.

  xiii.          Cllr H Blathwayt referred to a recent community policing update, and noted that priorities identified included road traffic offences, fraud awareness and women’s safety, which suggested that concerns were being heard.

 xiv.          Cllr L Withington stated that she welcomed the draft Plan, and hoped that the newly elected PCC would pay attention to its priorities. She then referred to the strategic partnership arrangements and stated that these were important to avoid the localisation of issues, by ensuring that support was available across all localities. It was confirmed that the Safer Norfolk Plan would be considered as part of the development of the OPCC’s Crime and Policing Plan. Cllr L Withington asked whether it would be necessary to consider making recommendations to ensure the monitoring and implementation of Plan was adequate. The DFC replied that NNDC had a representative on the NCC Crime and Disorder Panel that could report back to the Committee on implementation and performance. He added that if there were any specific outcomes Members wished to monitor, they could request an update on this specific information.

   xv.          The Chairman noted that there were concerns about how the Plan would be implemented, monitored and funded in the future, and suggested that in addition to sending questions, the PCC could attend a future meeting to provide an update on the implementation of the Plan. Cllr N Housden added that it could be useful for Committee Members to read the Cambridge Harm Index to understand how the priorities had been determined. The DSGOS noted that whilst the Committee were not able to make formal recommendations on the Plan, the questions raised could be shared for a response, and an update on the implementation of the Plan could be a topic for the next Crime and Disorder update. He added that the NNDC representative on the NCC Crime and Disorder Panel could be asked to provide an update on the Plan at a future meeting.

 xvi.          The recommendation was proposed by Cllr G Mancini-Boyle and seconded by Cllr H Blathwayt.

RESOLVED

1.     To review and comment on the Norfolk County Community Safety Partnership’s draft Safer Norfolk Plan 2021-2024.

ACTIONS

1.     Scrutiny Officer and Chairman to agree questions raised by the Committee on the draft Plan to forward to the NCSP lead officer and to the OPCCN for written responses and to review those responses at a later meeting to consider the extent to which they have either been reflected in their respective plans or covered in some other way.