This is a complex issue and the Area Board wants to encourage a two-track approach, combining the maintenance of public order with compassionate and effective action to help those in our city who, for various reasons, are rough sleepers, street drinkers or genuinely homeless. The aim is to better understand what is happening and what we can do to help.
1. Introduction
2. Brief presentations on work underway, from Wiltshire Council, Salisbury City Council, the Police and Alabare
3. Round table discussion and feedback:
· What is the problem?
· What needs to be done to solve it, and by whom?
4. Next steps
Minutes:
The Chairman explained that the Area Board wished to explore this complex topic. The Board hoped to encourage a two-track approach, combining the maintenance of public order with compassionate and effective action to help those in our city who, for various reasons, were rough sleepers, street drinkers or genuinely homeless. The aim was to better understand what was happening and what we could do to help.
The Chairman introduced the four speakers who delivered presentations on the work currently underway.
Wiltshire Council – Cllr Chuck Berry, Cabinet Member for Economic Development & Housing
Cllr Berry outlined the county’s multi-agency strategy and approach. Noting that in 2016 there were 23 rough sleepers and in 2017 this figure had dropped to 17. Every 6-8 weeks a multi-agency meeting was held. Most of the rough sleepers were known by name.
Partnership working and signposting to Turning Point for additional support was in place, with drop in sessions available. The Assertiveness Outreach Officer had communicated with 73 people in the last year.
The Council was able to instigate the severe weather trigger to release emergency provisions and Housing support funding was also available.
A pilot scheme was run in March 2017 in Salisbury, based on model in Finland.
A spot count on rough sleepers would take place shortly. It was hoped that the numbers would be down on the last count.
There was also a £259k grant to fund work with people in drop-in centres, to help get them off the street.
There would be days of action around Salisbury, using the multi-agency approach. The key message was to not donate to individuals, but to help them in other, more long-term ways.
Salisbury City Council – Cllr Sven Hocking
History
The City Centre was a magnet with increasing antisocial behaviour issues created by certain groups of individuals. With rough sleepers, street drinkers and other vulnerable groups gathering on the Library Steps, at the Cheese Market, and on benches around the Square, drinking from sunrise to sunset.
Some of the issues around the city included open blatant drug dealing to school age children who gathered under Sainsburys car park with the rough sleepers, aggressive begging to business customers, and fighting and abusive behaviour in the Market square.
Out of those concerned, it appeared that there was only one genuine homeless person, the rest were street drinkers or vulnerable adults. It was important to make a distinction, as some people really did need help where as several others had quite consciously made a lifestyle choice.
SCC Action
A private security company who had a good collaborative history with SCC had been hired to monitor the activities of the homeless, beggars, street drinkers and those exhibiting antisocial behaviour (ASB). In the first week, they gathered information and during the second week took action.
Speaking to those people to advise them around ASB and street drinking, and to point them to partner agencies. In the worst cases, they may need to apprehend and call the police who had been very supportive.
The results of this approach had been that some of the people had been pushed further out of town or the group sizes had decreased, there had been less street drinking and less ASB. Those still around knew they would be challenged if they played up. Some people were availing themselves of the help available.
There had been a dramatic drop in incidences of ASB recorded each day, from 90 to around 5.
The problem could not be solved at a City Council Leve. The root causes need to be tackled, this fell to partner agencies.
Expectations
We know most of those concerned, now we need to work together to formulate a plan. To look at what was being done and what needed to be changed and done differently than what we are doing now.
Police – Inspector Pete Sparrow
The police strategy and approach in Salisbury was to work with partner organisations to tackle this problem. Turning Point had done some great work.
There were Class A drug issues which overlapped with the drinking issues. Recently, during 2 days of action the police arrested 20 people, 16 of whom were still working with Turning Point to address their issues.
The CCTV issues needed to be resolved. Working with the SCC Street Stewards, to look at how we can give them extra powers to help with enforcement where necessary.
There were offences under the Vagrancy Act of 1824 that dealt with begging in a public place or lodging outdoors. However, although these offences remained on the statute book, they were archaic and generally seen as ineffective. They were written in a very different time to now and the purpose behind their creation was very different. It was too easy to suggest that the Police should just arrest people but that would not identify or address any causation factor. For this reason, the use of these powers was not encouraged, unless extreme circumstances exist, and a more multi-agency approach to tackle the source of the problem was favoured.
Community Policing Teams had been encouraged to use a range of tools to try and encourage changes in behaviour over time. These included, Dispersal Orders, Community Protection Warnings and Community Protection Notices (CPN) alongside referrals to the ASBRAC (Anti-Social Behaviour Risk Assessment Conference) where a panel of relevant partner agencies consider the behaviour and set a plan for the individual to address their issues with appropriate support, whilst escalating as appropriate through the ASB Warning letter to an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC).
Partnership work was essential. The powers available to the Police were only effective if used alongside the intervention of agencies appropriate to help the circumstances as reported.
Substance Misuse
Over the past few month, work had been underway to try to address some of our serious substance addiction and supply issues. 25 suspects remain either remanded in custody or on court bail and are due to be sentenced for various supply offences at Salisbury Crown Court on the 1st December. All persons were visited by a Turning Point Outreach Worker whilst in Custody and following this operation they had received 20 new referrals; 16 of whom were still engaged.
Since then we have seen an ongoing series of arrests as new dealers try to muscle their way back into exploit the vulnerable addicts in our city. Our partnership working helps identify quickly these new activities and take action to try and shut them down, resulting in several arrests. A quick scan of arrest records for Salisbury suggest we have arrested 16 further offenders for various Class A drug offenders during September and October, with persons from London, Andover, Ringwood and Salisbury identified. One address used twice for supply of drugs offences in Harnham will be subject to an application for a Closure Order.
Missing Persons
The above drug operation and discussion around Rough Sleeping has focused our attention on issues of Vulnerability. Some of our most vulnerable people take the action of disappearing and were reported as missing people. Such reports take considerable time and resources as we try to managed the risks associated with them. To put some idea of scale of this, Salisbury has manged the investigation and safe return of 57 missing people during the two month period of September and October.
Alabaré – Nicky Vigor
Alabaré was one of the main charities working with homeless people and rough sleepers and the associated issues in the city. The charity could provide supported housing for 38 homeless residents, all referred by Wiltshire Council, if they were homeless, had a support need and were local to Wiltshire.
Alabaré is working in partnership with other agencies, to provide a package of support for the residents. In addition, we have a day centre, on Monday Wednesday and Friday each week open from 11.00 – 3.00pm. This service can meet people’s immediate needs, hot meals, showers, toiletries, towels, IT suite, telephone, a store for important items, and some belongings, a holdall. Small clothing store. Some people want help immediately, whilst with others it may take longer to build trust and to work with them. We have no statutory funding at all, we rely on donations and volunteers.
There was also a room where up to 7 people could be put up overnight, whilst referrals were being made to housing providers, or during weather warnings.
The centre was also a Big Issue vendor.
Chair to sum up
The presentations from our speakers have highlighted areas of work, but there were also others doing really good work.
Those present were then invited to take part in a round table exercise to think about the problem in Salisbury and come up with ideas to help solve some of the issues surrounding it.
The tables then fed back some of their ideas, these included:
· Problem - Conflict caused by misrepresentation, as not all street people were homeless. More trained support workers. Salisbury no longer had a custody suite and need more facilities to be 24/7 and wrap around service.
· Problem - People did not want to be helped. Need to give them hope.
· Mental health issues. Over egging problem. Public perception of not liking the behaviour or language. ASB issue. Would it encourage young people to behave in a similar way? Need to build more single accommodation.
· This was an issue that will always be with us, it would never go away completely. Need to be more accepting. The referral process was too tight. More places where people can go for help and support. Less tight regulations.
· Moving people did not solve the problem. Need more promotion of positive stories in how we have helped rough sleepers.
· For the individuals that need help, and crisis care, the finite length of time the help is available for was a problem. Need an assertive person to meet with these individuals, and guide towards help. Support needs to be for a longer period.
· Enforcement was not the answer. Information on whether or not the rooms were full was not collected. Need more information from those who had become homeless, more data more evidence.
· The people who have problems then cause problems to the general public. These are people too. Need to clarity the difference between homeless, and people with drug or drink issues. Need to get individuals to engage with those who can help, and to establish what the individual need is for each person.
Next steps – The Board will publish and consider the feedback from this session and work with partners to find a way forward.