Agenda item

(Chief Superintendent Jon McAdams left the meeting at this stage.)

(Councillor Strengiel left the meeting before the start of this item, he requested to be notified by the Democratic Services Officer on any updates given that were not detailed within the officer’s report, which she agreed to send on.)

Simon Colburn, Assistant Director, Health and Environmental Services:

a)    presented an overview of the current level of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) across the city, to highlight the current and arising issues and to appraise the Committee of the work and projects that were being undertaken across the city to reduce and address ASB

b)    reported that the Public Protection and Anti-Social Behaviour (PPASB) Team dealt with a wide variety of complaints including ASB, noise, environmental and animal issues, and received in excess of 2,500 requests for service each year across the city

c)    explained that the Lincoln Intervention Team was launched in October 2018 and currently had funding until December 2021

d)    advised that the team which included an ASB Outreach Officer, Mental Health Nurse Outreach Officer, Addaction Outreach Officer, and a Team Coordinator was working to reduce on-street Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) by holistically working with individuals to deal with the root cause of their behaviour

e)    referred to Appendix A (detailed under Section B of the report) which outlined a number of tools of power it was possible for the team to utilise where appropriate, and proportionate to resolve complaints; both teams worked hard to resolve issues informally and use a range of techniques and subtle enforcement to resolve issues early, however, in some cases enforcement action was required

f)     referred also to Appendices B and C (detailed under Section B of the report) which gave relevant data on the actions of the Lincoln Intervention Team in 2020 and 2021

g)    highlighted that both teams also worked with partners such as Lincolnshire Police to address public safety concerns and where applicable to ensure residents could live free from ASB and crime

h)    advised that a police officer was permanently in residence at City Hall to support the teams

i)     reported on the impacts of the Covid 19 Pandemic on both teams which had meant home working for the PPASB Team and reduced visits to keep the team and the public safe; for the Intervention Team this meant delivery of their outreach service under very challenging circumstances, the nature of their support provided had been different with issues experienced in the city also having changed

j)     advised that from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 the PPASB Team received 2518 requests for assistance across all of their services including ASB, noise nuisance, animal related concerns, environmental issues such as fly tipping and pests

k)    reported that although the service had seen an overall reduction of 9% cases compared to 2019/20, reports of ASB and noise nuisance had increased significantly as detailed within tables 1 and 2 at paragraph 4.3 of her report

l)     gave further detail within the report covering the following main areas:

·         Enforcement Actions

·         Intervention Team- Performance Measures

·         Covid 19 Pandemic and PPASB

·         Lincoln Intervention Team

·         City Centre Specific Issues

·         City Centre Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) Renewal February 2021

·         Multi-Storey Car Pars PSPO

·         City Centre Recovery

·         City Centre and Multi-Storey Car Park Tasking Meetings

·         Partnership Working

·         Forward Look

m)  invited members’ comments and questions.

Question: Where was the revenue apportioned from Fixed Penalty Tickets issued?

Response: Most of the income could be used to fund the relevant service area, dependent upon legislation.

Comment: The Council’s creative approach to the problems of ASB was a much-improved way of working. There was no ‘one fix’ to the issue. The team were doing an excellent job.

Response: The Council also encouraged training and development for lifetime skills etc to help vulnerable clients, to discourage begging and use of drugs and to engage with people in an innovative approach.

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted.