POLICY COMMISSION MEETING

Meeting	Policy Commission for Safer Communities
Ref	Saf.PC.14/7/05
Date	14 July 2005
Time	18.00hrs
Place	Committee Room 1, County Hall, Newport
Purpose of meeting	Formal public meeting
Attendance	Commission	Cllrs D Williams (Commissioner); D Tuson; S Scoccia; V Churchman; A Taylor; H Humby
	Cabinet	Cllr B Abraham
	Secretariat	Cllrs A Wells; D Pugh
	Officers	Mr A Shorkey; Ms A Davies; Ms A West; Mr R Owen; Ms S Lightfoot; Mr G Weech
	Stake holders	Sgt G Rudge, Hampshire Constabulary
	Apologies	It was noted that due to ill health Cllr D Knowles had resigned from this commission.
Agenda Items
1. Scoping Documents for the Commission’s initial enquiries	a. Decriminalising parking Saf1/05 – Cllr S Scoccia – PAPER A b. Community support officers Saf2/05 – Cllr H Humby – PAPER B c. Consumption of alcohol in public places Saf3/05 – Cllr V Churchman – PAPER C d. Corporate enforcement Saf4/05 – Cllr D Knowles – PAPER D e. Fire and Rescue options for change Saf5/05 – Cllr D Williams – PAPER E f. VFM exercise on the future of the crematorium Saf6/05 – Cllr A Taylor – PAPER F Outcomes: 1. The scoping documents were agreed 2. Recommendation: in view of work already carried out with respect to PAPER B the Pilot Accredited Community Warden Scheme proposal should be passed to Cabinet.
2. To hear evidence from a representative of the Isle of Wight Council’s Youth and Community Service in relation to the enquiry into the consumption of alcohol in public places (Saf3/05).	Evidence received a. There were six full-time Youth Centres; other areas were serviced by part-time and mobile units. b. The Youth Service had a regular presence in Ryde, Cowes and Newport at least one evening per week up to 10.30pm. c. Most incidents occurred in Ryde. d. Generally, groups could be made up of up to 20 youths. e. Ages ranged from 13 to 20 years. f. Young people gathered for social intercourse. g. Young people consumed alcohol according to trends. Mainly beer/lager or diluted spirits. h. Alcohol was obtained from parents/guardians, older siblings and some outlets. There was a need to break the cycle of supply from parent to child. i. Drinking amongst young people was at the highest level seen so far. j. Drink related problems with young people were at the lowest seen so far. k. There was a higher density of groups in particular areas due to groups being moved on. This could lead to increased incidence of violence created by condensing different groups of youths into a limited area. Most groups mixed without incident. However, certain groups caused problems for others and instigated fights. l. The problem was more acute in the summer. More young people were out due to the weather, lighter evenings and school holidays. Numbers were also increased by the presence of foreign students. m. Crime statistics for solved crimes since 1998 demonstrated a low level of incidents involving young people. n. Any problems were caused by a small minority.
3. To hear evidence from Sergeant Graeme Mudge, Licensing Sergeant, Hampshire Constabulary, in relation to the enquiry into the consumption of alcohol in public places (Saf3/05).	Evidence received a. To designate an area there would need to be sufficient proof of a problem. b. Young people may drink in a public place provided they did not cause a nuisance. c. Fixed penalty notices (FPN) that could be served on individuals were a relatively new addition to the police arsenal and were proving to be a successful alternative to arrest. Payment of FPNs was relatively high as it was not the same as conviction – there was no admission of guilt. d. FPNs prevented escalation of arrestable offences. e. Funds from FPNs go to the Treasury. f. Disorder relating to the consumption of alcohol in public places was a seasonal issue. g. A body of historical/sequential evidence was required rather than an isolated incident in order to proceed with a designation. h. Public consultation was also required to proceed with a designation. i. The Church Litten designation took 2 years. j. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Church Litten designation had been successful, although it was too early to tell without sufficient data. k. Cannot be sure at this stage whether the problems relating to Church Litten have been moved on to somewhere else. l. Designations give the police authority to deal with nuisance behaviour that they would otherwise be unable to deal with. m. Work needs to be done to streamline the designation process so that an order can be put in place with greater speed.
4. To consider the legal options available to tackle the consumption of alcohol in public places (Saf3/05) – PAPER G	Noted
Action required	· Publish enquiry scoping documents on the Overview and Scrutiny web pages · Draw up enquiry work programmes · Forward Pilot Accredited Community Support Officer Scheme proposal to Cabinet · Co-ordinate screening of ‘Dr Ug’s Experiment’		Overview and Scrutiny Team Andrew Shorkey / Lead Members Andrew Shorkey Andrew Shorkey / George Weech