The Committee received a presentation that covered the following:

                             I.        Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG);

                            II.        Hate Crime;

                           III.        Rapid Response Team;

                          IV.        Prevent & Community Safety Partnership;

                           V.        Enforcement;

                          VI.        Crime Prevention;

                        VII.        Anti-Social Behaviour;

                       VIII.        Drugs & Alcohol – Criminal Justice;

                          IX.        Licensing Policy & Strategy;

                           X.        Trading Standards; and

                          XI.        Community Cohesion.

The questions and comments from Members on the presentation may be summarised as follows:

The Committee:

• Indicated their concerns that vulnerable young people are being exploited in order to facilitate the running of street level drug dealing within the Borough. In response it was noted that work is being undertaken with Hackney and Newham to address this issue;
• Noted that the primary purpose of stop and a search power is to enable officers to allay or confirm suspicions about individuals. However, it needs to be used in a respectful way;
• Noted that there is a North East London Domestic Abuse Forum that aims to bring together representatives from the many local agencies who work with those affected by domestic violence and abuse in North East London. The Forum shares good practice, increases awareness of domestic violence and identifies any gaps in services;
• Noted that with the use by the Police of body cameras together with other ways to gather evidence the Partnership can pursue prosecutions in Domestic Violence (DV) cases without reliance on any witnesses;
• Noted that LBTH had commissioned an independent DV investigator;
• Noted that work is being undertaken on a strategic action plan to address gang and knife crime (e.g. weapons sweeps and the education of young people about crime);
• Noted Deputy Mayor for London now has a Knife Crime Working Group and that as part of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy there is a bid for the funding on work for young people and violence;
• Noted that with regard to the Council funded police officers a targeted operational model has been developed;
• Noted that the Police and Health Services are working together in the Accident and Emergency Trauma Units regarding young people and crime;
• Noted the concerns within the Borough regarding the effectiveness of the 101 number and need to improve the increased reporting of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB);
• Commented that it would wish to know how reporting of ASB this being developed and managed within Tower Hamlets;
• Noted that whilst calls to 999 will take priority over those to 101 in terms of back office support there is a recruitment campaign and work is being done to develop reporting on line and through social media;
• Noted if any Safer Neighbourhood Team has not contacted the local Ward Councillors then the Borough Commander needs to be advised;
• Noted that OWL (Online Watch Link) is used by the Metropolitan Police Service and Tower Hamlets in partnership with local Neighbourhood Watch coordinators to communicate with residents and businesses across the Boroughs. OWL is an advanced solution for police & communities to grow and manage Neighbourhood Watch, School Watch, Business Watch and dozens of other schemes. OWL provides watch members with the latest messages and local crime alerts sent by email, telephone, SMS or fax;
• Noted that from January 2017 to September 2017, residents had been invited to attend a community safety ward walkabout and roadshow in their local area, targeting ASB/crime hotspot areas in each ward. Residents were able to raise their concerns directly with the Police, Council and Community Safety Partners, and also discuss possible actions to reduce these issues. The walkabouts had been led by the local Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) and the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Asma Begum. The Police Borough Commander and/or Chief Inspector of Neighbourhoods had also invited Ward Councillors, Ward Panel Members, Housing Providers, Youth Workers, Drug Outreach Workers, Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers (THEOs) and the Rapid Response Team Workers;
• Noted that Cabinet Member for Community Safety was looking into a hot line for reporting of ASB and the Borough Command are working on developing and maintaining dedicated ward officers;
• Noted that eventually there will be 25 dedicated officers in the Borough in addition to the 14 officers dedicated to Tower Hamlets Homes estates;
• Noted that addressing ASB is challenging and needs to be tackled through a partnership approach in terms of resources deployed by the statutory agencies and that people can feel confident in report incidents;
• Noted that on Halloween and Fire Works Night the numbers of ASB calls had gone down;
• Noted as part of the late night levy there was a business consultation and work on helping people exiting lives as sex workers and those who comment violence against women;
• Noted that the Borough Command is working in local schools and the  Youth Independent Advisory Group to develop a positive dialogue;
• Noted that there had been much work on counter terrorism across the partnership to take preventative measures;
• Noted that the partnership had developed a knife crime action plan as part of a focused piece of work so as to build a strategy;
• Commented that there was a need to actively involve the voice of the victims of crimes and they should be valued and respected.  In response it was noted that the development of the action plan involved a wide number of groups but need to do more focused around families especially with regard to the victim’s voice.

In conclusion, the Chair Moved and it was RESOLVED that the Committee:

1. Welcomed the presentation; and
2. Placed on record its congratulation to Sue Williams the Police Borough Commander had received a Queens Policing Medal for hostage negations.