FIRE AND PUBLIC
SAFETY SELECT COMMITTEE – 20 SEPTEMBER 2004
SUPPORTING CRIME
AND DISORDER REDUCTION THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENT SERVICES DIRECTORATE
REPORT OF THE
PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR FIRE, EMERGENCY PLANNING AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
At a previous meeting the Select Committee requested that the Strategic Director for Environment Services should consider how the services in the Environment Directorate could support the reduction of Crime and Disorder on the Island.
The report reviews the key issues and provides an overview of the actions which would make a difference on the ground and will be implemented where resources are available. Where additional resources are required these will be subject to the identification of funding during the next budget round.
ACTION REQUIRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE
1 To note the report and actions proposed to reduce crime and disorder.
2 To consider if there are any additional inter agency initiatives which would bring additional benefits within existing resources.
BACKGROUND
The range of
services provided by the Environment Directorate offers a number of
opportunities to positively support the reduction of incidents which currently
fuel the perception of crime and disorder, particularly in public places. These opportunities fall into two main
categories:-
·
Licensing and Enforcement
·
Streets Scene and Liveability
Licensing and Enforcement
With recent
changes in legislation, the Consumer Protection Service has opportunities to
establish standards and maintain an influence on our streets through licensing
and the identification of special areas.
In brief these are:-
The Licensing Act of 2003
transfers liquor licensing responsibilities from Magistrates Court to the
Council. These powers start to take
effect from February 2005. The current
justices licences will be replaced by two new licences, the premise licence and
the personal licence. Permitted hours
will be abolished and operators will choose their own opening and closing
times. Entertainment and other activities will be included in the premises
licence. The Council will be required
to adopt a licensing policy designed to promote four key objectives:
·
prevention of crime and
disorder
·
public safety
·
prevention of public
nuisance
·
protection of children from
harm
A draft licensing policy has been produced.
The Consumer Protection Service will also continue to
enforce existing legislation directed at preventing under age sales and
environmental nuisance. New legislation
has recently been proposed by government to cut environmental crime with
respect to fly tipping, graffiti and artificial light that is expected to
impact on our services.
Action
Over the next
year the following activities will be undertaken in consultation with the Crime
and Disorder Reduction Partnership.
·
The Consumer Protection
Service will support the Portfolio Holder for Fire and Public Safety Select
Committee in the preparation of a recommendation to Full Council to the effect
that a designation order be introduced in the Church Litten area of Newport
prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in public
·
The Consumer Protection
Service will consult with the partnership on the content of the draft Licensing
Policy
·
The Consumer Protection
Service will work with the partnership to provide evidence in appropriate cases
to secure anti social behaviour orders
Street Scene and Liveability
The environment
provided in public places greatly influences a local community’s
well-being. The design and maintenance
of what has been described as the ‘street scene’ has an important impact on
community confidence and the activities that take place within it. Regrettably, in the head-long rush to
provide high quality social care services, investment in public places has been
neglected across the country. The Urban
Task Group recognised this problem and through the Urban White Paper called for
an Urban Renaissance. This rightly
raised the need for a well-planned investment programme to improve the
‘liveability’ of our towns and cities.
Existing
investment in our street scene does not always maximise the potential of our
town and rural public places and the aim of this section of the report is to
give an overview of the practical issues which are relevant to the Island and
how they can help reduce crime and disorder.
These will be considered under the following three headings:-
·
Influencing Quality and Safety
·
Improving Inspection and Communication
·
Managing Repairs
Influencing Quality and Safety
Through the
Planning Service, the Council is able to ensure that developments by both the
public and private sector are designed with quality and safety in mind.
A protocol
exists between the Crime and Disorder section and the Planning Service in
relation to Development Control applications where the comments of the Crime
and Disorder section are invited on new applications and subsequently taken
into account when decisions are made.
Additionally, Supplementary Planning Guidance is being developed in conjunction
with the Crime and Disorder section to further enable the goal of ‘designing
out crime’, this guidance will be available towards the end of the year.
The quality of
public space can also be enhanced by introduction of public art as it helps to make
places special and lift spirits. This
can range in concept from formal statues to interactive features and bespoke
designs to enhance street furniture and spaces. Where the design and improvement of these involve younger people,
the longevity of the features is normally improved. The Council could enhance these opportunities by introducing a
‘Percentage for Art’ Policy in its own capital schemes and also through
Planning Policies during the development of the Local Development Framework.
The use of
public space regrettably varies throughout the day and night. At times our streets can become ghettos for
singular age groups and the regrettable misuse of alcohol and other drugs can
encourage the abuse of our towns and public places at night. To address these activities is costly and an
alternative strategy could involve opening up these places for a range of
events and activities which invite families across the generations to regain
whole community ownership. The private
sector could benefit from this change of profile and encourage the adoption of
business strategies which do not rely solely on heavy drinking to make
profits. The success of the recent
Music Festival shows how licensed premises can share in benefits of increased
turnover by the volume of people attracted to events.
Actions
·
Completion of Supplementary Planning
Guidance to improve the design of private and public buildings/spaces with
community safety in mind.
·
A further report be prepared to the
Executive to consider the development of a percentage for Art in the
development process.
·
A further report be prepared following
consultation with the Council’s Events Unit, Chamber of Commerce and the Crime
and Disorder Partnership about the potential for investment in infrastructure
to support the development of a programme of events in public places.
·
To consider the benefits of developing
partnership arrangements for investment in public places to include a review of
the opportunities provided by Business Improvement Districts.
Improving Inspection and
Communication
In the course
of its activities, the Council has a number of officers who specialise in
inspection duties to provide enforcement of regulations, the management of the
street and country scene and the assessment of necessary repairs. Currently, the visibility of these
inspectors in both our town and rural areas is fairly low key. Their specialist knowledge helps tackle
district problems. However, through
shared responsibilities, a wider appreciation of how we can tackle crime and
disorder through a joined-up approach would develop a more robust mechanism
from existing resources.
Currently, the
Directorate employs staff who inspect the highways, enforce regulations,
maintain roads, streets and car parks, parks, gardens and beaches, public
conveniences and dog wardens. With
improved training and communication mechanisms, these resources could be
refocused to help support the patterns of behaviour which affect the public’s
confidence in the street scene. The
availability of a visible presence, timely intervention and early action to
remove or change the ways things happen on the street and in our rural areas,
and could greatly help to mitigate the activities of crime and disorder.
The
introduction of clear reporting lines and statistical analysis would support
interventions by the police and officers from Consumer Protection who may need
to put further resources or local regulations in place to tackle hot spots of
misuse. The availability of this
information could also help colleagues in other service Directorates to adopt
strategies which would maximise the use of existing assets and activities to
encourage changes in the pattern of behaviour.
Actions
·
To review the range of existing resources
available for the inspection of environmental assets to develop a visible and
integrated inspection service.
·
To consider the development of the role
of officers in the integrated inspection service in consultation with the Crime
and Disorder Partnership.
·
To liaise with the police to develop an
appropriate programme of training for the integrated inspection team.
·
To ensure that as part of the inspection
service all incidents are reported and recorded by the police to support the
need for any legal intervention.
·
To consider the resources which may be
needed to develop a rapid response to incidents of vandalism.
Managing Repairs
Acts of
vandalism and misuse consistently cost the Council significant sums to
repair. Due to limited resources,
repairs are often unable to match original installations which has resulted in
a loss of some features and also reduction in the funding available to maintain
normal wear and tear. As a result, our
street scene in places have become decidedly tired and will need major capital
investments to bring it up to standard.
Fortunately in areas such as Ryde, funding through SRB has helped to
provide enhancements but unless we tackle the issue of regular maintenance with
sufficient resources, it is likely that these will be lost in the short period
of time.
Timely repairs
are very important. Acts of vandalism
and graffiti if not moved quickly can lead to further incidents. Consequently, urgent removal of items is
important and where it is possible to track down those who have carried out
these acts, it would be beneficial to involve them in reparations.
Graffiti in
Newport tunnel and pedestrian underpasses is an ongoing problem. A recent initiative was to paint a mural in
Newport Tunnel to cover the graffiti and reduce the likelihood of future
occurrences. In this instance, a
Council contractor applied the basecoat and a professional artist was
commissioned to paint the mural.
It is intended
to treat another underpass this financial year, and local schools will be
approached for design ideas, possibly in the form of a competition. The idea of involving children in the
painting of a mural was previously investigated, but due to insurance problems
was not proceeded with. This issue will
shortly be re-visited and advice will be sought from the IW Council Insurance
and Risk Section on how schoolchildren can be involved in what would be a very
worthwhile community project.
All building repairs including vandalism to Council
owned or leased premises are reported to Property Services and are dealt with
on a priority basis. Vandalism is one of the priority areas requiring a first
response being within 2 hours day or night. Vandalism to public conveniences is
either reported by the cleaning contractor or the Police directly to the
service which is will then actioned as necessary. During the night these are co-ordinated through procedures
agreed with Wightcare. Other buildings
rely on the Managers reporting to Property Services although schools do tend to
be reluctant to report vandalism as it does not help their image.
Action
·
To develop an overview of the cost of
vandalism etc and explore the potential of spend to save initiatives.
·
To explore the opportunities with the
Probation Service to establish a community service task group programme to work
alongside the Council’s contractors and allow offenders the opportunity to make
a positive contribution to the environment whilst also learning new skills.
·
To explore opportunities to develop a
“friends” programme to facilitate greater community involvement in public
places.
·
To explore opportunities for outreach
work in schools to involve children and schools in on site environmental
projects to take advantage of any available grants as well as develop a wider
appreciation of public spaces.
Contact Point: Derek Rowell, Strategic Director for
Environment Services
Tel
823146, e-mail: [email protected]
COUNCILLOR
DAVID KNOWLES
Portfolio
Holder for Fire, Emergency Planning and Consumer Protection