Agenda item

The Head of Community Safety and Health Services submitted a report to inform the Committee of the scope and progress on the review of Community Safety and also to invite the Committee to consider and comment on the early findings of the Task and Finish Group.

Members were advised that all of the projects funded via grants received this funding from the Community Safety Partnership.  The recommendations were designed to be passed onto the Partnership in terms of how the reduced funding was spent across the District.

Members were referred to page 60 of the report now submitted for a suggested order that could be applied to any reductions in funding.  The Head of Community Safety and Health Services referred to the importance of diversionary activities and taxi marshals in preventing problems before they arose.

Councillor N Symonds commented that it was a lack of diversionary activities that had led to cars being overturned and disturbances around Halloween in Bishop’s Stortford.  The Head of Community Safety and Health Services highlighted the importance of match funding in maintaining the activities covered by Community Safety initiatives.  He stated that Officers would welcome suggestions for alternative funding options.

Members were advised that the cost of a PCSO was £126,000 and the cost to East Herts Council was £45,000.  Members were reminded of the fragility of this arrangement in that if one organisation in the Community Safety Partnership withdrew funding then a PCSO could be lost if the remaining organisations were unable to increase their funding offer.

The Committee was advised that grant funding was diminishing so partnership funded activities were under threat.  Members were advised that a recruitment drive for Special Constables (who had the full powers of Police Officers but worked on a voluntary basis and were unpaid) might go some way to mitigate any reduction in PCSOs.

The Head of Community Safety and Health Services stated that the Life Project was difficult to maintain even with the support of funding from the Community Safety Partnership.  Members were referred again to page 60 of the report now submitted for a suggested order of items Members could consider when making recommendations to the Community Safety Partnership.

In reference to CCTV Members were advised that, whilst there had been no firm considerations, the task and finish group asked scrutiny to support the principle of equity and parity in respect of CCTV funding/charging across the District introduced over a 2 to 3 year period.  Councillor Symonds agreed that there should be equity and parity in CCTV provision for East Herts.

Councillor C Woodward commented that PCSOs had proved to be invaluable in intelligence gathering and working with young people.  Councillor Woodward stressed that Special Constables could not been viewed as a replacement for PCSOs as they were not available at times during the day.

Councillor D Andrews commented that Special Constables should not be seen as a replacement for PCSOs as they only worked about 4 hours in a given week, although they did have the full powers of the regular police force.  Councillor Andrews referred to the exclusively positive feedback he had received in relation to the activities of PCSOs in his ward.

The Committee received the report.

RESOLVED – that (A) the work undertaken and planned in respect of Community Safety be noted;

(B)   the early findings of the Community Safety Task and Finish Group be noted;

(C)   that the Executive be advised that any reduction in funding should be recommended to the Community Safety Partnership on the basis of the order of items detailed on page 60 of the report now submitted; and

(D)   the Executive be advised that the Community Scrutiny Committee was of the view that the principle of equity and parity in respect of CCTV funding/charging across the District should be applied and reached in a 2 to 3 year stepped process.