Issue - meetings

Under Section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 and The Crime and Disorder (Overview and Scrutiny) Regulations 2009, annual scrutiny is required of decisions made and actions taken by responsible authorities in connection with the discharge of crime and disorder functions. The SRP annual report 2022-23 is presented to assist with this requirement.

The Chair introduced the report and outlined that under Section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 and the Crime and Disorder Overview and Scrutiny Regulations 2009, annual scrutiny was required of the decisions made and the actions taken by responsible authorities in connection with the discharge of crime and disorder functions. The Safer Rotherham Partnership annual report was presented to assist with this statutory requirement, and this function was undertaken by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board.

The apologies of Chief Superintendent Laura Koscikiewicz and Superintendent Andy Wright were noted for this meeting.

The Chair invited the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Community Safety and Finance in his capacity as Chair of the Safer Rotherham Partnership to introduce the report. The annual report provided an overview of progress against each of the SRP priorities for 2022/23, detailing emerging challenges, performance data and case studies. It provided an overview of how the SRP worked with partners and sought to maximise available funding to meet objectives. The overarching priorities referred to in the annual report were agreed by the board on 7 April 2022, covering a three-year period. These were: protecting vulnerable children; protecting vulnerable adults; safer stronger community; and protecting people from violence and organised crime. It was noted that performance against these priorities were monitored by the SRP board on a quarterly basis. It was noted that the partnership was about to start the process of reviewing its priorities to ensure any emerging trends are captured. A fundamental review of priorities would take place every 3 to 4 years and this was scheduled for 2025.

The Assistant Director for Community Safety and Streetscene provided further detail of the work undertaken and partnership arrangements in place to meet its objectives. It was outlined that there was a focus on raising awareness and gathering intelligence to protect vulnerable children and adults. It was noted that there had been improvements in the number of intelligence reports that had been submitted. This was thought to have been as a result of a concerted effort given to training and awareness raising and streamlining processes to ensure that it is as easy as possible for partners and stakeholders to do so.

Examples were given of the partnerships work to address criminal exploitation and awareness raising with licensed premises and hotel staff. Details were also provided of mental health support embedded within neighbourhood policing teams to identify those with additional vulnerabilities. It was noted that substance misuse remained a challenge in the borough and the partnership had secured the co-location of probation and drug and alcohol specialist workers. In respect of modern slavery, the recent scrutiny review undertaken by this committee was referenced and there would be a focus on implementing the recommendations arising from its work.

Tackling antisocial behaviour remained a priority for the partnership. It was noted that whilst statistics pointed to a reduction in incidents of anti-social behaviour, there was a need to address negative perception of anti-social behaviour and its impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53