Agenda and minutes

The Partnerships Manager invited nominations for the position of Chairman of the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.

Councillor Linda Oliver nominated Rick Hylton as Chairman of the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.  This nomination was seconded by Councillor John Reynolds and, there being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED    that Rick Hylton be elected Chairman of the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership for the year to October 2011.

Rick Hylton took the Chair and thanked Board members for their continued support.

Rick Hylton nominated Darcy Weaver as Vice-Chairman of the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.  This nomination was seconded by Councillor Ray Manning and, there being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED    that Darcy Weaver be appointed Vice-Chairman of the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership for the year to October 2011.

Those present introduced themselves for the benefit of new attendees.

Philip Aldis, Paul Howes, Tom Jefford, Chief Inspector Dave Sargent, Helen Turner and Hannah Waghorn have sent apologies for absence. 

Philip Aldis, Paul Howes, Tom Jefford, Pat Mungroo, Chief Inspector Dave Sargent, Helen Turner and Hannah Waghorn sent their apologies for absence. 

County Councillor David Jenkins declared a personal interest as his son is a police officer. 

The Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership accepted the minutes of the meeting held on 26 July 2010 as a correct record. 

Minute 50 (Minutes of previous meeting)

With reference to Minute 44 (Road Safety Partnership) of the meeting held on 26 April 2010, the Chairman welcomed Phil Rennie to the meeting.  Mr Rennie confirmed that, for the time being, he would attend future meetings on behalf of the Road Safety Partnership.

Minute 54 (Review of Safer and Stronger Communities Fund)

The Chairman reported Helen Turner’s confirmation that the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership could convert the remaining capital into revenue funding.

Minute 56 (Scrutiny and Overview Committee meeting)

This item would be referred to later on during the meeting, but Councillor Ray Manning conveyed the Scrutiny and Overview Committee’s appreciation of the Chairman’s attendance at, and contribution to, the meeting on 2 September 2010.

Those present considered the South Cambridgeshire Community Safety Partnership (Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership) Strategic Assessment 2010.  The headline findings were that

·                Crime had decreased in South Cambridgeshire by 15.9% in the last year.

·                Most types of crime had seen a decrease in quantity

·                There was a rising concern around rural crime in the district

They took part in an exercise the purpose of which was to categorise a number of specific comments received from the public during the consultation stage, which had now concluded.  The outcome revealed some interesting differences between the priorities identified by the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership on the one hand, and public perception and the “fears” expressed by South Cambridgeshire families on the other.  Even within defined areas such as Anti-Social Behaviour, an analysis of public comments received highlighted differences between a professional understanding of the term ‘Anti-Social Behaviour’ and the public perception.  The public’s fear of burglary seemed to be lower than the actual incidence of the crime might otherwise have created.   

The ensuing discussion focussed on, among other things:

·                Burglary (including from farms)

·                Affordability

·                Places

·                Process

·               Priorities

The Chairman acknowledged the significance of the Strategic Assessment and highlighted the need to balance the demands of the various emerging priorities. 

Councillor Linda Oliver said that those present and partner organisations should constantly remind themselves about circumstances as perceived by the general public, and continue to tackle those areas of most concern, such as theft from farms, domestic violence and anti-social behaviour.   Councillor David Jenkins stressed the importance of recognising public perception, and Inspector Chris Savage observed that one of the issues perceived by residents as a major concern, though not hitherto considered a priority by the CDRP, was that of road safety. 

With specific reference to rural crime, Councillor John Reynolds suggested that the authorities should concentrate on prevention rather than detection, instilling confidence within local communities by identifying known troublemakers.  Inspector Savage described rural crime as representing a huge challenge for Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

The Chairman suggested to those present that the 2010-11 priorities for the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership should be as follows:

·                Farm crime

·                Repeat victims of Anti-Social Behaviour

·                Burglary

·                Road Safety

Councillor Oliver asked whether domestic violence should not also be a priority given that current economic pressures could have a negative impact on family life.  The Chairman acknowledged the validity of the point, but said that a better solution would be to concentrate on developing a countywide approach to domestic violence.  On a similar basis, Councillor Oliver suggested that farm security issues might be tackled more effectively were the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership to work collaboratively with Community Safety Partnerships in neighbouring counties.

Mike Soper would present the Strategic Assessment to a countywide Community Safety Partnership meeting.

The South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership considered Quarterly updates from Task Group Leaders and agreed that

·                the Scoring process used to apply for funding from the SSCF Board does not take into account the merits of each application.

·                Cambridgeshire County Council,should be lobbied for support and funding for domestic abuse projects

·                CDRPs / Community Safety Partnerships support the Making Cambridgeshire Count and Safer/Stronger agenda

The Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership received a report about progress with 2010-11 funding as at the end of the second Quarter.

The Partnership Support Officer reported that Cambridgeshire Constabulary had now agreed to contribute £4,500.00 to the pooled fund.

The South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership received a report setting out the advantages and disadvantages of closer working with the Cambridge Community Safety Partnership.

Councillor Ray Manning highlighted paragraph 7 of the report but said that, at the moment, he had certain reservations about closer working because of uncertainties with funding.

The issue of closer working with Cambridge Community Safety Partnership was deferred.

The Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership received a report about the recommendations made at the South Cambridgeshire District Council Scrutiny and Overview Committee meeting on Thursday 2 September 2010.

Phil Rennie presented a report on Road Safety issues in South Cambridgeshire. 

The Road Safety Partnership had identified the following as priorities:

·                Speeding

·                Drink driving

·                Migrant drivers

·                Young drivers

Those present discussed the merits or otherwise of average speed cameras.

Mike Soper cautioned against confusing “clusters” with “randomness”.

Those present noted a forthcoming consultation on the Sustainable Communities Strategy to be conducted by the Local Strategic Partnership. The chairman asked partners to use this item in the future to share information on actions being taken by individual organisations to respond to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review in order that a full appreciation of the impact could be ascertained.

Councillor Linda Oliver asked that Members received formal electronic invitations in future.

·                Tuesday 1 February 2011

·                Tuesday 26 April 2011

·                Tuesday 26 July 2011

·                Tuesday 25 October 2011

Each meeting will start at 10.00am in the Swansley Room, South Cambs Hall, Cambourne Business Park, Cambourne, Cambridge, CB23 6EA.

Those present noted that 2010-11 meetings had been scheduled as follows:

·           Tuesday 1 February 2011

·           Tuesday 26 April 2011

·           Tuesday 26 July 2011

·           Tuesday 1 November 2011 (not as previewed on the agenda)

Each meeting would start at 10.00am in the Swansley Room, South Cambs Hall, Cambourne Business Park, Cambourne, Cambridge, CB23 6EA.

Councillor Linda Oliver asked that dates of meetings for 2010-11 be checked so as to avoid clashes with Cambridgeshire County Full Council meetings.