Agenda item

At the invitation of the Committee, Mr David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) gave a short presentation and introductory responses to the key issues of concern to Members.  He stated that one of the main roles of the PCC, was to work with other partners for mutual benefit.  At the moment the PCC was working to arrange 20 ‘District days’ per annum as an opportunity to share and discuss concerns with local partners.

In terms of responses to the questions posed, he stated that in his view, the key principles underpinning the Policing Plan for Hertfordshire was working with partner organisations on the need to prevent crime and in resolving crimes.  He referred Members to the document “Everyone’s Business” and urged them to read the crime plan.

In relation to the issue of limited funding, the PCC explained that he had a number of initiatives to roll out from the Community Fund.  He stated that the first £160,000 of bids had been agreed.  By way of example, Mr Lloyd referred to the use of an old library bus which would be refurbished and used for youth related work, another initiative related to the vulnerable and giving them help with their front gardens to reduce the likelihood of them being targetted.

On the issue of reducing/ keeping crime low in East Herts and investment in new technology he hoped that keeping “feet on the street” and targeting the young who get drunk and making sure that they are properly supported would go some way to helping reduce crime.  He acknowledged the important role of volunteers in the process.  Mr Lloyd stated that from an investment viewpoint in tackling crime, there was a need to work with health partnersparticularly in the field of drug and alcohol strategies and addressing housing issues.  He added that he had set up a quarterly Community Safety Board and was in the process of co-coordinating with various stakeholders.  Mr Lloyd stressed the role of partnership working which he considered to be “core” business.

In response to questions about PCSOs, Mr Lloyd acknowledged that they had been a great success.  He referred to their role in relation to the Waltham Cross riots which had been prevented largely as a result of their community “grass roots” knowledge and intelligence gathering, adding “that sort of intelligence is how we stop crime from happening”.  Mr Lloyd explained that there was less and less funding available.  He did not have an operating role and could not say how areas should be policed as this was a matter for the Police Chief Superintendent.

Mr Lloyd provided an update on crime in East Hertfordshire.  The only statistics which had increased related to burglary as a result of a “one-man crime wave”.  He stated that the particular individual was now behind bars. 

Mr Lloyd reinforced the need to recruit more “Specials”.

The Chaiman then invited questions from Members but reminded them to focus on the PCC’s areas of responsibilities and to avoid questions which were operational in nature and any specific crime related cases.

In response to a query from Councillor R Beeching regarding speed limits of 20mph and how effective they were, Mr Lloyd stated that this was not an issue within his purview but felt that localism should prevail.  He expressed concerns regarding the ability to enforce a 20mph limit and that it could be right in some particular areas and specific times, e.g. where there were schools, adding that it was not a panacea for addressing underlying bad driving.

Councillor C Woodward stated that the ‘safer schools’ initiative had worked well in Bishop’s Stortford.  He encouraged further use of PCSOs and queried whether it was possible to get match funding for them.  The PCC referred to the “Buy One Get One Free” (BOGOF) initiative in terms of PCSOs and 50% Home Office funding which had now ended.  He referred to the costs of a trainee PCSO compared to a police trainee.

In response to a query from Councillor R Beeching concerning crime rates in East Herts (acknowledged as low) and the fear of crime which was considered to be high by residents and whether there was a Police strategy to tackle this, Mr Lloyd explained that the District’s close proximity to London and the news generated from the metropolis did much to fuel the fear of crime.  He felt that it was important to get the right communication strategies developed to tackle the fear of crime and referred to the very low risk of getting burgled in this area.  He was confident that crime rate figures were robust and reflected accurate levels of the more serious crime in the area.  He acknowledged that there was likely to be under-reporting of some crimes such as ‘race hate’ but this was a national issue.  He stated he did want to ensure reporting of domestic violence was as robust and complete as possible.

Councillor M Wood raised the issue of an increase in cyclists using the pavements and the absence of bells and asked if something could be done.  Mr Lloyd said that he would take up the matter adding that the problem was not confined to East Herts.

The Head of Community Safety and Health Services thanked Mr Lloyd for attending. He stated that East Herts would welcome resources particularly in relation to PCSOs.

The Chairman on behalf of Members thanked Mr Lloyd acknowledging that partnership working was the way forward and extended an invitation for a return visit.

After Mr Lloyd had left the meeting, Members continued to express their concerns about PCSOs and asked the Executive Members present to keep this issue high on the agenda for further debate.  Officers were asked to write to the Chief Constable and ask him to provide the Council with an update of his plan for the short and medium term for the deployment of neighbourhood teams in East Herts and to ask the Chief Constable to provide his definition of what now constituted a ‘neighbourhood’ in terms of policing.

RESOLVED – that (A) the presentation be received;

(B)   the Executive Member for Community Safety and Environment ask the Executive to keep the issue of PCSOs high on the agenda for further debate; and 

(C)   Officers be requested to ask the Chief Constable, Andy Bliss if he is able to provide the Council with:

(i)        an update of his plan for the short and medium term for the deployment of neighbourhood teams and PCSOs in East Herts; and

(ii)       the constabulary’s definition of what constitutes a “neighbourhood”.