Agenda item

One of the roles and functions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees is to discharge the functions of Section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 and the Crime and Disorder (Overview and Scrutiny) Regulations.  As part of these functions Chief Inspector Simon Outen from Lincolnshire Police has been invited to attend the meeting.

The Chairman referred to the remit of the Committee which included functions under Section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 and the Crime and Disorder (Overview and Scrutiny) Regulations.  As part of these functions Inspector Simon Outen had been invited to attend the Committee and give a presentation.  The Chairman reminded Members that he attended the Lincolnshire Police Crime Panel and that the force budget would be known on 5^th February 2018.

Inspector Outen thanked the Committee for the opportunity to speak to them. He began with an overview of policing stating that nationally crime was increasing with crime in Lincolnshire being up by 10.18%, Grantham had one of the lowest crime increases and was the 6^th best performer in the County.  Anti-Social Behaviour was increasing, reasons included:

- current level of austerity

- reduction in police numbers

- social structures – how benefits were now being paid by a single payment

The current funding formula for Lincolnshire had still not been resolved, the formula that had been put in place previously was found to have been flawed and deficits in the budget meant that the police nationally were under funded and this impacted the service given.  Currently reserves were being used to maintain policing but these were due to run out for 2019/20.

Since coming in to post the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police, Bill Skelly has made rural crime a priority.

Inspector Outen then discussed issues specific to South Kesteven.  He did ask Members to treat the latest figures with caution.  Crime, vehicle crime, violence without injury and damage were all on the increase.  Violence without injury was not part of the night time economy and domestic abuse was on the increase although whether this was due to a genuine rise or more confidence in reporting these incidents he could not say.   He stated that recording standards had changed in relation to victim crime and this impacted the figures given.  Work was carried out with partner agency and third parties, domestic abuse was not acceptable in any form.

A question was asked about violence with injury crimes to which Inspector Outen replied that there was a long list of crimes and he had only highlighted a small sample, but violence with injury crimes had risen slightly.

The trend for burglary was down but changes to how burglary was recorded changed in April last year.  Burglary had been recorded as dwelling and non-dwelling/other. The changes meant that where garages, sheds etc. used to come under non-dwelling/other the changes meant that they now came under dwelling as it was anything within the curtilage of a property.    He referred to trends in relation to vehicle crime and how this worked cross border.

Inspector Outen then spoke about staffing issues.

-       Currently 19 new PCSO’s were being mentored (11 Grantham and 8 to cover Bourne/Stamford/Market Deeping), mentoring had taken place elsewhere but they were due to start towards the end of March this year

-       Two Community Beat Mangers were in place one located in Grantham the other Bourne/Stamford one was due to start in February.

-       A Rural Community Beat Manager had been created for North and South Kesteven working with colleagues across the force looking at hare coursing, liaising with farmers, night time poaching and thefts (batteries, scrap metal)

-       5 new officers were due to start in March bringing the total number of Constables to 69 although the actual was more likely to be 64 due to maternity leave, sickness and project work

Inspector Outen then spoke about the following issues and gave Members examples of the work that the police had carried out.

-       Local issues:

Vehicle crime, drugs, burglary, violence – linked to drugs, Christmas period crack down on drink driving and drug driving, bank account fraud which was becoming more challenging with the elderly and vulnerable being targeted and those perpetrating the fraud becoming more convincing and “sexting” which was becoming more prevalent due to the wide use of mobile phones by children, the police were not there to criminalise children but children needed to be better educated in this respect it was a big safeguarding issue.

-       Rural crime:

Hare coursing in SKDC had seen a marked decrease together with Lincolnshire as a whole, police undertook targeted days of action and as rural crime was a priority of the Chief Constable funding of new equipment had been procured to give front line policing better tools to carry out their work and this included 4 x 4 vehicle, quad bike and drones which were equipped with thermal imaging.  Liaison with the courts and the Crown Prosecution Service, CPS in regard to rural crime and how the impact on local communities could not be under estimated.

-       Anti-Social Behaviour:

When ASB first came into being there was no computerised system. Since then new systems had been designed and a procurement process was underway to upgrade the current system.   ASB was on the increase both locally and nationally and partnership working to tackle the problems was key.

Further discussion followed on priorities which included Mini Police aimed at 9 – 10 year olds, drug enforcement and targeting known offenders.  Also discussed were the challenges faced by the police including terrorism, extremism, child exploitation, cybercrime and modern day slavery.  Historical sexual offences and changes to mental health legislation also presented challenges which increased demand when funding for the service was under pressure.

The Chairman thanked Inspector Outen for an interesting and informative presentation and he wished his thanks to be passed on to colleagues in the force for the work that was undertaken.

Members then raised the following issues to which Inspector Outen responded.

-       OIder people being targeted by salesmen and how this could be dealt with

-       Shared resources (local stations had a local response) specialist response teams included firearms, dogs and traffic – resilience was needed in specialist areas – officers were highly trained

-       Changes to custody suites, location of Magistrates Court, privation of back office and the Police Crime Commissioners role

-       Response when ringing 101 – liaison with land owners and game keepers by Rural Community Beat Manager

-       What happens to dogs in connection with hare coursing  

-       Working with National Farmers Union

-       Designated Public Places Order and Public Space Protection Orders – PCSO’s still can take alcohol off owners if causing nuisance

-       Closure of Grantham A & E overnight – Police have own provision of medical services – urgent cases taken to the most appropriate place mostly Newark or Lincoln – mental health cases are taken to Boston or Lincoln.

-       Use of bodycams decreases assault on officers wearing is mandatory, use of Tasers as opposed to batons has also reduced assaults on officers.

Once again the Chairman thanked Inspector Outen for attending the meeting and asked if the slides could be circulated to Members of the Committee to which Inspector Outen agreed.  The Chairman asked if an update could be given to the Committee in six months.  Inspector Outen stated that he would pass this on to his successor as he would not be in post in Grantham.