Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed members and guests to the meeting which was sitting as the Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Committee.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2016 were received.

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

No declarations of interest were received.

Francesca Bell, Acting Team Leader PPASB

a.    presented the overall performance of the Public Protection and Anti-Social Behaviour service over the last 18 months

b.    advised that the service had been in high demand and customer satisfaction had remained good especially when considering the enforcement nature of the services

c.    referred to paragraph 3 of the report and gave an overview of the core services which provided both proactive and reactive actions designed to protect individuals, the community and the amenity of the city

d.    presented statistics from the last 12 months covering the following areas:

                                          i.    Anti-Social Behaviour

                                        ii.    Noise

                                       iii.    Animals

                                       iv.    Pests/Condition of Gardens

                                        v.    Fly Tipping

                                       vi.    Licensing consultations

                                      vii.    Littering Fixed Penalty Notices

e.    gave an overview of the following projects that had been implemented over the last 12 months

                      i.        Implementation of the Noise Policy

                    ii.        Implementation of the Animal Policy

                   iii.        Permanent Position of Littering Enforcement Officer Approved

                   iv.        PSPO

                    v.        Student Intake

f.     advised that the PPASB team had continued to work closely with the Police, Housing, P3 and the University to tackle issues of anti-social behaviour across the City

g.    advised that over the next 12 months the team were likely to see overall demand remain stable in the line with previous years and predicted that the team may need to focus on the following issues:

·         Fly tipping was a significant problem in some areas of the City

·         Hate crime and modern day slavery may increase due to public and professional awareness of the subject increasing

·         ASB reports may increase or shift focus onto city centre issues such as begging, rough sleeping, and drug/alcohol consumption.

Francesca Bell concluded her report by asking members of the committee for their comments and questions.

Question: Expressed concern over the increase in the use of intoxicating substances in the City and asked how other Councils had dealt with the issue.

Francesca Bell responded: It was a complex issue that was not unique to Lincoln. A balanced approach between enforcement and support was needed to tackle the issues. The Council was working on a project with P3 which aimed to tackle entrenched rough sleepers across Lincolnshire.

Question: Retailers had reported to Lincoln BIG the issues on the high street, they paid large business rates and needed to see an increase in Police presence.

Chief Superintendent Mark Housley responded: The individuals causing issues on the high street had a number of complex issues that needed to be addressed. Enforcement was not the answer, the cause of the problem needed to be treated not just the symptoms. A multi-agency group including representatives from Housing, mental health and the 3^rd sector needed to work together to understand the issues and tackle them holistically. The Police and Crime Commissioner had called a multi-agency meeting to tackle the issue and this would take place next week. There would also be a nominated Neighbourhood Police Officer to work in the City Centre.

Question: When would the Neighbourhood Police Officer start?  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Richard Baxter, Lincoln Business Improvement Group gave a brief verbal overview of the issues affecting retailers in the city and asked for any questions or comments from the committee.

Question: Was there any news on the vacant BHS building?

Response: Planning permission had been submitted to change the premises from one shop to two.

Question: Have you got a strategy for when retailers move out of a premises?

Response: Lincoln was fortunate that there was not many empty shops on the High Street. There was an issue of high rent costs for retailers and all of the High Street retailers takings were down compared to previous years due to the move to online shopping. There was also an issue regarding the business rates for the retailers in the Sincil Street area, it was felt that 15% discount was not enough.

Comment: The opening of the new transport hub would be positive for retailers.

Response: The 1000 space car park would be open in time for Christmas, the rest had been delayed until January 2018.

Comment: Some shops had an issue with their own security system which needed to be addressed.

Response: Businesses would be able to link in to the new CCTV system which would improve their security.

You are asked to resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items because it is likely that if members of the press or public were present, there would be disclosure to them of 'exempt information'

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) of business because it was likely that if members of the public were present there would be a disclosure to them of ‘exempt information’ as defined by Section 100I and Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Overview by T/Chief Superintendent Mark Housley

Chief Superintendent Mark Housley presented the Police Performance Overview for Lincoln which covered the period up to March 2017.  Members of the committee noted the contents of the report.