1.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

2.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2.      

2.1     The Council is under a statutory requirement (Crime and Disorder Act 1998) to produce and adopt a Community Safety Plan in conjunction with its local Community Safety Partnership (CSP). Under the Crime and Disorder Regulations 2007, local authorities and borough CSPs in England and Wales are required to:

·         Produce an annual strategic assessment

·         Produce a three-year rolling partnership plan setting out partnership priorities, with actions to deliver these priorities

·         Have a dialogue with communities to both inform these processes and explain the outcomes

2.2     The data gathered from the annual Community Safety Assessment will assist in developing the priority areas for the Community Safety Plan (CS Plan) to focus on. This draws on recorded crime data. However, the data extracted from this source does not provide the sole intelligence for the CS Plan. In addition, this can be supplemented by relevant national data, the Police Crime & Commissioner’s findings, data held by health organisations and information arising from public engagement.

2.3      The process of putting the refreshed Community Safety Plan in place includes

·         Assessment of the national and local context including relevant national priorities and data and the strategic priorities adopted by the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner

·         Review of the results from the previous plan

·         Analysis of data including reported crime held by Kent Police and data relating to anti-social behaviour held by the council, data held by health organisations including that relating to violence and mis use of drugs

·         Analysis of qualitative information obtained via surveys for example by the Police and Crime Commissioner

·         Engagement with councillors to better understand concerns expressed by the public

·         Engagement with the public – to better understand concerns and obtain feedback on proposed priorities and actions

·         Engagement with partners

2.4     Set out in the table below is the proposed timetable to enable adoption of the refreshed Community Safety Plan by Council by April 2022:

2.5     The CHE Committee also has the role of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Community Safety and in undertaking this role it can assist in:

•    Improving what the partnership does by focusing on the outcomes and outputs of partnership activity.

•    Improving how the partnership operates by reviewing its membership, strategies, objectives and service delivery.

•    Reviewing performance management arrangements to ensure that they are robust and effective, e.g. in measuring and monitoring performance at a district level.

•    Reviewing policy development to ensure that the partnership remains focused on those areas of greatest local concern.

2.6     There is no statutory requirement to consult with the public and therefore no prescription as to how a consultation should be undertaken, although good practice documents exist including one produced by the Local Government Association. It is recommended that public consultation is undertaken because it is important that public perception concerning community safety issues and concerns is taken into consideration in identifying priorities for the plan and that this information is up to date.    

2.7     As part of having oversight of the development of the CS Plan, the CHE Committee is asked to provide a member perspective on engagement with the wider public and stakeholders in developing the draft new CS Plan. Members could take the view that debate within CHE Committee in relation to this report could suffice. Alternatively, a date could be set aside to enable broader engagement with all elected members through a briefing workshop that could focus on developing the key issues for the public survey.

2.8     It is proposed to carry out a 6-week public consultation period to better understand the public perception of crime and disorder within the Maidstone Borough area. The last time a specific community safety consultation was undertaken was the Community Safety Survey 2016, which was linked to the CCTV Review at the time and focused on feelings of safety in Town Centre and participants’ local area.

2.9     The timetable set out in Paragraph 2.4 is indicative at this stage, as the development of the CS Plan is dependent on when the data that forms the Community Safety Assessment is released. This data set is formed of police data together with information collated by the Kent Community Safety Partnership. The development of the local CS Plan must also have regard to the Kent Police & Crime Commissioner’s own Strategic Plan, as future grant funding from the PCC’s office is reliant on there being a synergy between the local CSP’s and PCC’s priorities.    

3.        AVAILABLE OPTIONS

3.1     The Committee is asked to adopt the outline timetable set out in Paragraph 2.3 and endorse a Member Briefing in early September 2021 to scope the public engagement to be undertaken during a 6-week period commencing in September 2021.

3.2     The Committee could decide not to engage with the public in the development of the new CS Plan but this is not recommended, as members have previously indicated a desire to do so and public consultation will provide an important element in the formulation of the new CS Plan.

3.3     The Committee could choose to do nothing but this is not recommended, as the Council is under a statutory duty to provide an up to date Community Safety Plan.

4.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1     The option set out in Paragraph 3.1 is preferred, as this will enable the Council to develop a robust CS Plan and for the Council to fulfil its statutory duties in relation to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

5.       RISK

5.1    The recommendation if adopted will reduce the risk of the Council not being compliant with its statutory duties and will assist in reducing crime and disorder within the Borough.

6.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

Local Government Association Councillor Guidance

https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/community-safety-1e2.pdf