Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meetings held on 26 July 2023 for confirmation and signature.

AGREED that the minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2023 be approved as a correct record.

AGREED That Councillor Norma Stephenson OBE be appointed at Chair.

AGREED That Superintendent John Whitmore be appointed at Vice Chair.

The Partnership received a presentation outlining:

The aims and objective of Operation Bonfire 2023

·                     Education and awareness

·                     Community Engagement

·                     Enforcement

·                     Response

·                     Monitoring and reporting

Understanding community motives and our actions

·                     The communities motives

·                     Our intentions

·                     Two elements to our approach:

·                     Educational

·                     Operational

·                     How are hotspot locations identified

·                     Assessing the Operation and effectiveness for next year

·                     Policy Position

Key issues highlighted and discussed:

•              A list of hot spot areas was being finalised and would be circulated

•              Success measures for the Operation included achieving a reduction in hot spot areas and minimising combustibles and bonfires

•              A community event for next year was being investigated to provide a diversionary activity

•              Details of the Action Day would be circulated when finalised

•              Communications focused on Bonfire Night and not Mischief Night to avoid raising the profile of this

•              Jon Carling undertook to provide details of Youth United Stockton (YUS) as they had Borough wide coverage

Partners were encouraged to keep feeding in any intelligence to [email protected].

AGREED that the presentation be noted and a further update provided in November.

The Partnership received an update on the operation of the Public Space Protection Order which had been introduced in April 2023 and focusing on areas within Stockton and Norton. As at 10 September 2023, the following warnings/ notices had been issued:

•              Tier 1 PSPO instruction – Individuals breaching PSPO for first time - 129 (74 of which issued in April and May, 55 issued since end of May)

•              Tier 2 PSPO warning – Individuals breaching PSPO for second time (within 28 days from Tier 1) - 44

•              Tier 3 PSPO Fixed Penalty Notice – Individuals breaching PSPO for third time (within 28 days from Tier 2) - 17 (15 issued before end of June, 2 since)

•              Alcohol confiscations – seized or destroyed at the scene of incident - 28

The Partnership acknowledged the positive impact of the PSPO. Key issues discussed included:

•              Some displacement had been experienced from the fountains area to the bottom of Silver Street and Parish Gardens; the local community/ Church helped to flag up issues being experienced in this area

•              Positive feedback had been received from market traders

•              Officers continued to patrol in Norton Village although there were very few cases where legislative powers had been exercised

•              Use of the legislation was discretionary and Enforcement Officers often signposted individuals to other support available; a formal referral process was something that could be explored in the future

AGREED the update be noted.

Members considered a report providing an overview on recorded crime, anti-social behaviour incidents and domestic abuse in Stockton on Tees for the 12-month period between July 2022 and August 2023.

Key issues highlighted and discussed included:

•              There was an overall reduction in total crime in Stockton on Tees

•              Recognising the younger workforce, younger officers were being teamed with more experienced officers. Work was focusing on improving investigation and response

•              A Week of Action was planned in October providing crime prevention visits and advice to tackle Shop Theft

•              Further analysis was needed to understand burglary statistics due to changing definitions – Operation Elder was still running

•              Operation Deterrence continued to provide a focus on violent crime hotspots

•              Action to break the drug supply continued - six houses supplying drugs had been targeted in last two months

•              Members commented that they would expect an increase in acquisitive crime due to cost of living pressures and questioned where there was an element of under–reporting. This would be a message for the Week of Action. It was also noted that police divert shoplifters to other agencies. Jon Carling undertook to provide details of VCS organisation who could provide support

•              Thirteen Group were keen to work with the police to tackle bike hotspots and had access to funding to support this.

AGREED that the report be noted and actioned as appropriate.

Domestic Homicide Review (DHR)

The Chair of the SSP had taken a decision to commence a DHR following a suicide earlier in the year with Domestic Abuse as a potential contributory factor. A conference has been held in August attended by key stakeholders and NEPO had been instructed to commence a tendering process to appoint an Independent Chair. Once appointed, the Independent Chair would be in touch with every member of the Partnership and the review would be completed within 6 months.

It was noted that where there was a suicide with Domestic Abuse known, there should be a DHR. In addition, the Suicide Prevention Co-ordinator should inform Public Health in cases where Domestic Abuse was present. Mandy Mackinnon undertook to contact the Suicide Prevention Co-ordinator to ensure that notifications were being received.

AGREED that the update be noted and actioned as appropriate.

Problem Solving Masterclass

In response to a recognised need, a well-respected and experienced trainer had been identified to provide a training day for partnership members around problem solving. It was proposed to use a scheduled meeting of the Partnership to deliver the training which would cost in the region of £1000.

AGREED that the training proposal be supported.

Bid to Safer Streets 5

Stockton on Tees Borough Council and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner had submitted a bid to the Home Office for Safer Streets 5 funding. The bid was seeking to secure a range of crime prevention measures and also support engagement work with women and girls. For this round, match funding could include officer time. The outcome was expected in September and a Working Group would be established if funding was secured to deliver the actions.

AGREED that the update be noted.

Members were presented with a restricted report that provided an overview on crime comparisons against other similar CSPs utilising iQuanta.

This report was a restricted document due to the statistical information only made available as an intelligence tool for partnerships until released by the Home Office.

AGREED that the report be noted.