To provide a summary of the activity of the Crime and Disorder Review Group during 2010 and to set out the considered findings and recommendations from the Group.

(Councillor R H Smith declared an interest)

The Committee received a summary report of the activity of the Safer Herefordshire Review Group during 2010 which set out the considered findings and recommendations from the Group.

The Partnership Manager outlined the key findings from the work of the Review Group.  These had been based on national indicators within the Corporate Plan that were linked to the Local Area Agreement priorities.  The chosen indicators were NI21 (Dealing with local concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime issues by the local council and police), NI30 (To reduce the re-offending rate of prolific and other priority offenders), NI39 (To reduce alcohol-harm related hospital admission rates) and NI40 (To increase the numbers of people in effective drug treatment). 

She reported that the Review Group felt that co-ordination of the activity which surrounded alcohol harm reduction would become the key to its success.  The suggestion that funding streams and all alcohol commissioning should be centralised, with the commissioning of services by the Alcohol Harm Reduction Group directed through the Joint Commissioning Group, had been supported. 

The Partnership Manager went on to say that whilst considering NI40, it had been revealed that in-patient detox and rehabilitation programmes were not as effective as other treatment regimes.  Whilst the drug and alcohol treatment services dealt with the physical aspects of addiction, a more effective approach would be a holistic, wrap around model, which would also address the underlying causes of addiction.  It had been suggested that Registered Social Landlords should be encouraged to set some housing stock aside for users, as part of the wrap around agenda.

The Vice Chairman reported that scrutiny of the Safer Herefordshire Partnership had been a useful undertaking.  Whilst road safety was one of the partnership priorities, the Group had decided not to consider NI 147 (to reduce the number of people killed or injured in road traffic accidents), as there were a number of groups that were already working in this area.  He believed that whilst the Group had made as much progress as was possible in scrutinising Safer Herefordshire, and that it would be appropriate for the work to be continued within the new Council, after the elections in May 2011.

In the ensuing discussion, the following points were made:

·          A Member stated that the SHIFT Care Farm programme would receive joint funding from West Mercia Police Authority and the West Mercia Probation Trust.

·          A Member raised concerns regarding policing levels in Hereford after 10pm.  The Vice Chairman said that whilst the Review Group had been looking at strategic issues, it had been advised not to become involved in operational matters.  Concerns germane to operational matters should be raised through the Partnership at the monthly MATAC (Multi-agency Tasking and Co-ordination) meeting. A Member added that he had attended a MATAC meeting, and found it to be well organised, with a wide reaching attendance from the agencies involved.  It had dealt with broad strategic matters as well as individual cases.

·          A Member expressed concerns that the South Wye area of Hereford, which consisted of over twenty two thousand people, was policed only by one constable and two Community Support Officers.  This had resulted in a great deal of frustration for the residents in the local area.

RESOLVED:

That

a)            the report be noted; and;

b)           it be recommended that the arrangements in place for conducting scrutiny of the Community Safety Partnership should be continued when the Council determined its new structure following the elections in May 2011