Agenda item

To receive a verbal update from Ian Saunders, Assistant Chief Constable, on the Wiltshire Community Safety Partnership.

The Board received a presentation from Ian Saunders, Assistant Chief Constable, on the Wiltshire Community Safety Partnership.

The CSP included five responsible authorities:

·       Police

·       Local Authority

·       Fire and Rescue Service

·       Health partners (Integrated Care Board)

·       Probation Services

The CSP has statutory responsibility to review or scrutinise decisions made, or other action taken, in connection with the discharge of crime and disorder functions and to make reports or recommendations to the local authority or its executive with respect to the discharge of those functions.

The CSP gave updates on each of its “headlines”:

Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board

•       The prevalence of DA in Wiltshire remains high, with increasing demand on services.

•       The Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board has embedded a Line-of-Sight approach to monitor how well the system was functioning, improve scrutiny and oversight of response, as a partnership, to DA. the Board worked to hold Wiltshire Police as the lead agency to account to ensure that the backlog was cleared

Exploitation

•       Wiltshire and Swindon are part of a National Referral Mechanism pilot scheme regarding devolved decision-making. Since this local panel has been in place, there has been a 50% increase in referrals to the NRM relating to children (16 in 2022-23 and 24 in 2023-24)

•       The system response to Adult Exploitation response requires improvement. Currently, work is happening regarding increasing awareness of Adult Exploitation, amongst the workforce and the community, and also mapping what support services there are for adults who are victims of exploitation.

•       The Strategic Group are working on the development of an All-Age Exploitation Strategy and delivery plan.

Safer Communities

•       Working hard on the development of a partnership dashboard to direct the work of the group, in an evidence-based way.

•       A small Working Group has been formed, led by the OPCC, to develop an ASB strategy for Wiltshire

CSP Transformation

New guidance from the Home Office was described as follows:

1. Create a power for PCCs to make recommendations on the activity of CSPs to support the delivery of the objectives set out in the Police and Crime Plan.
2. Create a duty on CSPs to take those recommendations into account. A CSP will not be mandated to implement the recommendations but should demonstrate consideration.
3. Create a requirement for CSPs to include in their Strategic Assessments how it has had due regard to the police and crime objectives set out in the Police and Crime Plan.
4. Create a requirement for the CSP to send a copy of its Strategic Assessment to the PCC or equivalent.
5. Create a requirement for the CSP to publish the executive summary of their strategic assessment.
6. Clarify how PCCs can best fulfil their duty to have regard to the priorities of the responsible authorities making up the CSPs in the police force area.

The CSP’s proposed strategic objectives were listed including where different areas of crime would sit within them.

• Protect Vulnerable People
  • Domestic Abuse
  • Exploitation

• Reduce Harm
  • Substance Use
  • Serious Violence Duty
  • Serious and Organised Crime

• Create Safer Communities
  • Anti-Social Behaviour
  • Acquisitive Crime
  • Business Crime
  • Rural Crime
  • VAWG 
  • Road Safety

It was also raised that a new CSP Analyst role had been created by the OPCC to lead the Strategic Assessment and developments going forward. This role had gone out for advertisement.

The Board thanked Ian for the presentation and welcomed progress demonstrated by the Community Safety Partnership.

The Board commented that wider and more significant visibility of Community Safety was important.  The Board were pleased with the focus on engagement and working with other partners.

It was clarified that at least one public meeting of the CSP must be held and dates would be provided. Cllr Dominic Muns was said to have been appointed to attend meetings.

It was clarified that knife crime sits within “Safer Communities”.

The following recommendations were noted:

i)               To note the update