Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R S Walkden and P Walker.

It was noted that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, Councillor D G Beaney had been appointed as substitute member for Councillor R S Walkden.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

Please note that in accordance with the agreed Protocol for Public Speaking at Overview and Scrutiny, the right to speak does not apply to any of the agenda items.

The Democratic and Corporate Services Manager advised that no members of the public had registered to speak on items on the agenda to which the public speaking protocol applied.

To receive a crime and disorder update.

The Head of Transformation introduced the Crime and Disorder Update.

Also present were:

·         Inspector Paul Barrell (Kent Police)

·         Inspector Leigh Woolnough (Kent Police)

·         Community Services Manager

·         Principal Community Development Officer

·         Community Safety, CCTV and Emergency Planning Team Leader

·         Councillor O C de R Richardson, Portfolio Holder for Community and Corporate Property

The presentation covered the following points:

An update on the Neighbourhood Policing (NHP) Review

Members were informed that Kent Police had a forecast budget deficit of £16-20 million in 2023/24. However, the proposed changes to NHP would maintain or enhance the service to the public and in particular the service provided to victims and witnesses. The required savings would therefore not compromise the overarching principles behind NHP.

The new model for the Dover CSU would see an increase in the number of constables from 8 to 18 with a reduction in PCSO’s from 9 to 6, resulting in an overall increase in Dover CSU numbers from 20 to 27. There would also be centrally controlled but locally based assets such as the rural policing taskforce and licensing and ASB officers.

Every ward would also have a named contact officer assigned and there would be quarterly meetings with councillors and other elected representatives.

Recorded crime in the Dover District

There had been work undertaken to map where the areas of greatest harm were in the Dover District and the three with the highest levels of harm were Town and Castle Ward (22%), St Radigunds Ward (13%) and Buckland Ward (8%).

In terms of solved crime, this was 10.7% for the Dover District. This compared to 7.8% nationally and 10.2% countywide. Only Folkestone and Hythe had a better rate in East Kent.

My Community Voice

In terms of community engagement, Kent Police would provide a monthly newsletter and ward updates via ‘My Community Voice’. Members were urged to sign up to this at www.mycommunityvoicekent.co.uk and asked to encourage constituents to also do so.

CCTV

Members were advised that CCTV data had been involved in capturing 3114 incidents across the district from 111 cameras. The top five incident types were as followed:

·         Nuisance Youths (305)

·         Disturbance (245)

·         Alcohol Related Disorder (245)

·         Shoplifting (175)

·         Assault (172)

Community Safety

Members were advised that the Community Safety Team had developed a newsletter that provided an update on the work of the team.

Beehive Project – The Council had worked with the Dover Outreach Centre and the Vineyard Church to set up a Safe space for those who may be deemed as vulnerable in the Community. The Safe space would be operated by volunteers who had received training to support vulnerable people seeking support services.

Community Development Projects

Aspire Project – this project aimed to tackle rising unemployment and obesity holistically through gardening and eating well. The project had 94 active participants in East Kent.

Roots to Work – this project would co-ordinate and implement the set-up of a mobile hub to help the over 50 year olds looking to get back into employment utilising the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.