Agenda item
Anti Social Behaviour
The Committee will receive a presentation on this topic at the meeting.
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation from Susmita Sen, Chief Executive of Tower Hamlets Homes and Nick Spenceley, Head of Environmental Services Tower Hamlets Homes on their work to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour within their housing estate.
Key points from the presentation:
- The ASB Team falls within the environmental services division which is managed by Nick Spenceley. Caretakers are often the first point of contact for ASB reporting.
- THH has secured additional resources for policing.
- The newly formed ASB team work staggered hours for a greater presence.
- Early successes have meant an increase in legal casework, therefore additional caseworkers are due to be appointed.
- So far there have been 75 arrests, 600 incidents logged and 385 stop and searches.
- The additional police presence has been funded by MOPAC on a match funded basis, THH have employed 14 police officers for the price of 7.
- Use of closure orders have enabled police officers to make arrests and insist offenders leave premises.
- It was noted as significant that THH have seen successes as early as 5 months into the strategy.
Questions from Members:
- Why is there such a high prevalence of ASB in this borough compared to the rest of London? Officers provided the following reasons;
- the 101 non-emergency service captures all elements of crime reporting adding to the statistic,
- that it was not fully understood why Tower Hamlets was a soft target for ASB but there was consensus at the strategic level that research should be conducted on this topic.
- What is your approach to cross county drug dealing?
- What happens when the money runs out?
- What are you measuring success on?
- Are you doing prevention work?
- What happened to the aim of sharing best practice with other resident providers?
Response from officers:
- Officers explained that their work on ASB was the starting point of a three year strategy. They prioritised social housing because crime was prevalent on estates. The first five months of the strategy had seen positive results. After three years, work would begin on a new strategy in consultation with the Mayor, Police and residents. Officers could not predict the level of resource that would be required in the future but they were hopeful that current intervention work would significantly reduce levels of ASB in the long term.
- A key indicator for success would be when residents start to report they feel safer. Officers agreed that metrics on the effectiveness of crime intervention measures should be introduced as a next step.
· The Committee noted that the THH funded officers would pursue perpetrators if they had moved to another estate even if this was not a THH estate.
- There is a space for engagement with other providers. Nick Spenceley attends an ASB sub-group for registered social landlords that shares best practice. The next meeting will look at a consistency in police intervention.
- Councillor John Pierce updated the Committee on the Neighbourhood Management Pilot. He said that the Pilot Manager had started in the role and their immediate priorities would include setting up a ward governance structure and engagement with residents.
- Councillor Sirajul Islam, Cabinet Member for Housing, commented:
o Approximately £2 million had been spent on tackling ASB across the borough and this was the first investment made to tackle ASB in the last five years.
o The Streets of Growth charity has supported the Council in engaging the 18-25 age groups on ASB issues. It was recognised that ASB is often displaced from one estate to the next and he said he hoped the Council would explore the reasons behind this in the next municipal year.
· Sandra Fawcett stated the Tower Hamlets Housing Forum and ASB Sub Group provide a useful avenue for joint working and sharing of best practice. Across housing providers ASB was a key priority and they would continue working together.
· It was suggested given the concerns amongst local people about ASB that the next Committee look at work taking places across the borough by the Council and RSLs to address ASB.
RESOLVED
To note the presentation.
Supporting documents: