Agenda item

The Committee received a presentation from Inspector Gemma Taylor in respect of the priorities and challenges in respect of Policing within the borough.

The Specialist Neighbourhood Team worked alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Team and was focussed on long term problem solving and community impact. A recent restructure of the team meant that one sergeant now line-managed the Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and Neighbourhood Support Officers (NSOs) in a specified geographical area and was responsible for specific thematical priorities. As a result of the restructure, PCSOs and NSOs were now aligned to the same shift pattern which enabled better opportunities to work together with partners to problem solve and show presence in their communities.

Under this structure, Sargeants held a People, Groups and Places meeting every three weeks with their teams. This was where emerging trends and ongoing problem solving topics were discussed. Data was used from various sources and was used to define priorities and to evaluate threat, harm and risk. Each team gave input from this meeting into a briefing document, which was then shared with the Neighbourhood Policing Team so that they were aware of developing areas of work when responding to incidents. Furthermore, regular force and divisional level briefings meant officers and staff received an overview of the current trends in relation to crime in Surrey Heath. Current priorities included areas of burglary, violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour, anti-social driving/use of motor vehicles and local feuds.

The Joint Neighbourhood Survey for the 21/22 year showed that 84.4% of respondents had confidence in their neighbourhood force, and 61.5% were in agreement that the police were dealing with the crime and ASB issues that mattered in the area. Whereas 40.8% agreed that the neighbourhood police were seen in the places and times when needed. In order to increase the confidence in this latter area further, the Neighbourhood Team had changed their communications in order to post their foot patrols in order to boost confidence.

It was highlighted that compared with the same 1 year period, one year ago, there had been the following changes in total crimes:

·         A rise of non-domestic abuse violence by 146 which could be attributed partially by the end to mandated social distancing.

·         Increased thefts of a motor vehicle by 21%.

·         A 21% drop in residential burglaries, which was the biggest reduction in the Western Division.

·         A 1.7% reduction of domestic abuse without injury including a 42% increase in solved cases.

The 21% increase in car thefts could be largely attributed to keyless car thefts and 62 offences had taken place in Surrey between 1 January 2022 and 20 May 2022, including 12 offences in Surrey Heath. Incidences were incredibly hard to predict due to a lack of patterns in respect of time or location. Easily implemented preventative matters to defer keyless car thefts included deactivation of keyless entry systems, use of steering locks and use of faraday bags.

In addition, joint agency and cross border meetings were now being undertaken to solve the continued problem of anti-social car meets along the A331 at Watchmoor Business Park. So far a dispersal order had been put in place to cover the business park and 80 community protection warnings had been issued following the first weekend of implementation. Longer-term an application had been submitted to trial noise cameras along the A331 and funding had been secured for further Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.

Following, the recent murder of a local individual, it was noted that plans were already being put in place regarding prevention work by Youth Engagement Officers and Anti-Social behaviour specialists. This included contextualisation meetings with Surrey County Council to better understand how groups of young people interacted across force boundaries. The knife amnesty program was also extended for the foreseeable future.

Arising from Members’ questions and comments the following points were noted:

·         Whilst the Rural Crime Portfolio may naturally fit better with the Six Villages responsibility, there were other considerations which needed to be considered during the creation of the organisational structure of the neighbourhood team such as team dynamics.

·         There had been an ongoing issue with various crimes and Anti-Social behaviour which took place at Southcote Park in Parkside Ward. Whilst, it hadn’t been a focus of the Specialist Neighbourhood Team, this would be reviewed following the meeting. There had already been discussions between partners in respect of initiatives to deter crime taking place such as better street lighting.

·         In addition to the Victims of Crime Survey, The Joint Neighbourhood Survey provided quarterly results around public confidence, local problematic issues, crime prevention and contacting the police. Further information on how the survey was conducted would be circulated to the Committee after the meeting.

·         Whilst video doorbell footage was a useful tool to residents’ groups and neighbourhood watches, in order to maintain a data-led approach to policing, residents needed to report any instances of crime or suspicious behaviour to the police.

·         The Safer Neighbourhood team benefitted from a strong relationship with the Military of Defence (MoD) in respect of Barossa Common. It was felt by Members that a similar beneficial relationship in respect of MoD owned land in Deepcut could be replicated to tackle ASB issues such as the lighting of fires.

·         A column for the Borough Commander in Heathscene could be considered for future issues.

·         There had been consideration of free provision of faraday bags by Surrey Police in order to reduce keyless car thefts. However, it was noted that most Mercedes Benz and BMW owners would be able to afford to purchase such a bag, and the challenge instead laid with highlighting the risk to residents.

·         If information sharing protocols allowed, there was a potential opportunity for Surrey Police to correspond better with Surrey County Councillors in order to facilitate better highway safety.

Members thanked Inspector Taylor for her informative report and time answering questions. The Committee agreed that it would like to see the Borough Commander present again to the Committee again in approximately 6 months’ time.