Agenda item

To provide a joint presentation with Lincolnshire Police to the Committee.

A joint presentation was provided to the Committee by the Acting Director of Housing, Assistant Director, Operations and Public Protection and Inspector Mark Hillson from Lincolnshire Police. The presentation outlined the following points and figures in relation to the crime and disorder partnership response:

·       Partnership working journey

·       Key Officers involved

·       Overview of Tools and Powers that the partnership use

·       Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014

·       The ASB Case Review/Community Trigger

·       Partnership Working in Practice (ECINS)

·       Neighbourhoods and CCTV Headlines

·       Housing headlines

·       Police framework – partnership plan

·       Policy headlines (Grantham and Stamford – All crimes from April 2020-February 2023)

·       Policy headlines (Grantham and Stamford – Burglary Residential from April 2020-February 2023)

·       Policy headlines (Grantham and Stamford – Vehicle Offences from April 2020-February 2023)

·       Policy headlines (Grantham and Stamford – Anti Social Behaviour from April 2020-February 2023)

One Member raised problems with dog walkers leaving dog fouling and how this could be reported.

Dog fouling could be reported online through the Council’s website, by contacting customer services. The Council’s usual response would be Officers patrolling the area, signage being erected where needed and Officers would engage with dog walkers and ensure they have the appropriate bag to pick up dog fouling.

Calls to Lincolnshire Police were handled at the headquarters in Lincoln.

The Inspector from Lincolnshire Police clarified that calls were ranked due to their urgency and risk assessed. Local trends and information assist the Police in identifying the appropriate next steps.

It was queried as to whether the Police within the area had more reactive attendance or proactive attendance.

The Inspector of Lincolnshire Police noted that his department were proactive due to the increase of staff. During the Covid lockdown, crime figures increased because Police were more proactive as demand changed as few people were out of their homes. 

The Chairman informed the Committee that a virtual meeting had been held between Lincolnshire Police and Parish Councils.

It was confirmed that a quick questionnaire was provided to every Parish within South Kesteven that are delivered prior to the quarterly priority-setting meetings taking place with the Police. This allowed every Parish Council to feedback their concerns and is discussed at the priority-setting meetings.

One Member noted that the sexual offences and rape cases equated to nearly 2 offences every week in 2022. It was queried as to whether the offences were domestic abuse or in public spaces.

The Inspector of Lincolnshire Police confirmed that 90-95% of the recorded rape offences were in a domestic environment and included incidents which had been historically recorded.

The proactive suggestion was raised on the possibility of communication taking place with Parish and Ward Councillor’s to put out an information campaign to provide knowledge to residents on the partnership working.

A query was raised on whether the Council had any powers on Council tenants that had committed an offence in the property and whether it may result in eviction.

The Acting Director of Housing confirmed that tenancy agreements enabled the Council to challenge behaviors from receiving information from other channels, such as the Police and Neighborhoods team which allowed Policing and ASB powers alongside the tenancy enforcement powers.

An introductory tenancy was given to residents who had not rented a Council property before, meaning the ability to evict the individual within the first year through behavior or rent arrears was simpler. A secure tenancy required a longer process and was more difficult to evict a tenant or an individual visiting the tenant purely based upon behavior.

ACTION: For Parish Councils and District Councillors to engage more proactively with Lincolnshire Police

One Member noted that there had been 539 cases of criminal damage. It was queried as to whether figures included multiple reports of the same offence.

It was confirmed that it was not 1 person committing 539 offences of criminal damage. Proactive measures and links to offences would be identified to establish whether the same individual was reoffending.

One Member invited the Inspector of Lincolnshire Police to attend a Stamford Town Council meeting in order to decrease the level of Anti-Social Behavior in Stamford.

It was queried as to whether shoplifting crime was seasonal and whether the current economic climate increased the rate of shoplifting crime.

The figures for shoplifting crime meant that the percentage figures showed that there had been an increase of 40 offences, which equated to less than 1 shoplifting offence across the three market towns and beyond.

The Chairman thanked the Inspector of Lincolnshire Police for the presentation and for the keeping the district as safe as possible.

It was clarified that the Council’s CCTV had a strong link with the Police. The Council’s CCTV control room was due to move to the Grantham police station imminently, which would further improve relationships and reduce travelling time.