Minutes:
Chief Inspector Amanda Thomas gave an overview of her role and responsibilities in Monmouthshire and Newport, explaining that she works closely with the Community Safety Partnershipand that she oversees the neighbourhood teams, the problem-solving hubs, the rural crime team, and the hate crime portfolio. She also mentioned some of the current issues and initiatives related to crime and anti-social behaviour, such as knife crime, school liaison officers, and funding from the government and explained that she is committed to problem solving and working with partners and communities to make Monmouthshire a safe county.
Questions from Members:
· Members asked what the main priorities of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) were in Monmouthshire. Amanda explained that the CSP has four thematic areas that it focuses on: serious organised crime, violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, crime and antisocial behaviour, and exploitation. It also works on aligning its work with the regional boards and structures, such as the Gwent Public Services Board and the Serious Violence Duty.
· The Committee asked how the CSP works with schools and young people to prevent and tackle violence and antisocial behaviour. The Committee was advised that the CSP works with schools and young people through various initiatives, such as the Headley Back programme, which is a mini police scheme that aims to educate and engage primary school children on community safety issues. The CSP also supports the Youth Offending Service and the Arts programme, which provide intervention and prevention work with young people who are at risk of offending or have offended. The CSP also works with the schools liaison officers, who provide support and guidance to schools on crime prevention, safeguarding, and restorative justice.
· The Chair asked how the CSP deals with hate crime and diversity issues in Monmouthshire. Amanda advised that the CSP has a hate crime portfolio, which is led by her as Chief Inspector. The CSP works with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, which engages with various community groups, such as LGBT youth groups, mosque leaders, Asian women's groups, refugee and asylum seekers groups, to raise awareness and encourage reporting of hate crime and hate incidents.
·
The Chair asked how the
Police specifically deal with hate crime and
what their relationship is with
the schools. Amanda explained that hate crime is recorded and
reported according to the College of Policing guidance and the
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team engages with vulnerable and
minoritised groups to encourage reporting and build trust
and confidence. Schools liaison
officer funding was ended by the Welsh Government and there is a
need to find alternative ways to work with schools and educate
young people.
· A member asked how the police are engaging with the community councils and the wider community. Amanda explained that the police are trying to attend the community council meetings and local events when possible, and to communicate through email, Facebook, and the Gwent Police website. They are also looking to reintroduce community engagement around a place to get a local understanding of the community safety issues.
· Another Member asked what the police are doing to address the rural crime and the unauthorised heavy goods vehicles in some areas. Amanda explained that the police have a rural crime team that patrols the rural areas and deals with issues such as plant machinery theft, poaching, and off-road bikes. They also work with the traffic department to deal with the unauthorised heavy goods vehicles, and they encourage the residents to report any incidents through 101, Crime Stoppers, or online.
· Members questioned what are the police doing to address the serious violence and the knife crime in the county? Amanda explained that the police are working with the partners to implement the Gwent Serious Violence Duty Strategy, which was scrutinised in this meeting and that there are four priorities: better use of data, addressing the risk factors, joining the dots, and adopting place-based approaches. They also have a proactive neighbourhood enforcement team that can help with covert operations and foot patrols in the hotspot areas. They also have an operational plan for knife crime in Newport, which they plan to bring to Monmouthshire as well.
· TheCommittee highlighted the lack of police presence being a talking point in rural areas, Raglan residents not having seen a police patrol for a very long time. They asked whether there are any plans to increase police visibility even if only on a weekly to monthly basis, possibly coinciding with a Community Coffee morning on Tuesday for example which would reassure residents and enable the officers to get feedback about community issues.Action: Amanda agreed to discuss this with her team.
· Members asked whether technology can help with community policing.Andy Mason (Monmouthshire CSP) explained that there is a limited number of mobile CCTV units that can be deployed to hotspots, but they are not as effective as monitored town centre cameras and they require a privacy impact assessment and a clear purpose. There is a Gwent Police website where people can report incidents online and a Facebook DM option as well. Amanda Advised that there is a Crime Stoppers service called Fearless that is designed for youngsters and uses social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat to get information and intelligence.
· Members questioned how we can improve community confidence and engagement. Amanda replied that people are encouraged to report incidents through 101, 999, Crime Stoppers, or the local ward officer or CSO. Amanda advised that the Police have been granted £1m to deal with anti-social behaviour, which should enable more on foot patrols. Andy advised that if there is concern about anti-social behaviour at a location, it should be reported so thatinvestigations can be made as to whether crime is being reported, whether there is supporting data and then a decision would be made as to whether a camera would be the best solution.
· A member queried the neighbourhood watch scheme. Amanda advised that they had a Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator who was funded by the Safer Streets Project, but the funding was withdrawn. She said that they are trying to enhance the Neighbourhood Watch Schemes and other watch schemes, such as Canal Watch, Allotment Watch, and Farm Watch, with the resources they have. She explained that Neighbourhood Watch Schemes are vital for providing information and intelligence to the police. She also said that they are planning to bring back the posters that display the names and faces of the ward officers and the community support officers, and that they will make them available on the Gwent Police website and on Twitter. She said that people can contact their local ward officer or community support officer by email if they have any issues or concerns.
· Members asked whether mental health services are working effectively with the Police. The Committee heard that it can be difficult working across partnerships and as such, Members agreed to include Mental Health Services as a topic into their forward work programme. Action: Scrutiny Team.
· Members commented that they were aware that the Schools Liaison Programme is due to end in July and schools are telling them it will be a great loss, asking how the Police plan to plug the gap this will create. Members feel it is important to strengthen joint working between the Police and schools,?to prevent a lot of the issues occurring, not just safeguarding.?Amanda explained that they are reviewing gap in provision at moment, and that a report is currently being prepared, but that they are analysing the incidences of crime in all schools and putting a triage in place for the schools that need it and that whilst the support won’t be as focussed as it is now without the funding, they aim to put a programme in place across Gwent, recognising how important the work was.
· A member asked for a brief update on the outcome of the Peel Report. Amanda advised that significant improvements have been made in the processes and training of the staff in response to the report, and that the force achieved a good standard of evidence and risk assessment in most cases. As a result, the cause for concern was removed by the HMIC FRS.
· An update was asked on Operation Harley. Amanda explained that Operation Harley is the force's response to deal with antisocial behaviour vehicles, such as off-road bikes, electric scooters, and unauthorised heavy goods vehicles and that it involved deploying officers and community safety wardens to patrol hotspot areas, seize vehicles, and issue fines or warnings. She advised that it involves multi-agency cooperation and that in Monmouthshire, Operation Harley has been used a couple of times, but no seizures have been reported. However, if there are any issues with these types of vehicles in the future, the operation will be deployed accordingly.
Chair’s Summary:
The Chair thanked Amanda for her significant input in both topics under scrutiny and said the Committee felt reassured with the comprehensive answers that had been provided.