Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety and the Head of Community Safety and Regulatory Services attended the meeting to present the Safer Rotherham Partnership Annual Report 2018/19. Superintendent Lynn Knox of South Yorkshire Police also attended the meeting.

The report was considered by the by the Board in its role as the Council’s Statutory Crime and Disorder Committee as defined by the Crime and Disorder (Overview and Scrutiny) Regulations 2009.

The report provided a review of the achievements of the partnership over the previous three years in line with the priorities set out in the Safer Rotherham Partnership Strategy. The Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety noted that the planned review of the priorities included in the strategy, scheduled to take place during 2020 had been delayed due the pandemic, but advised that the information contained in the report would be used to inform the development of a refreshed set of priorities for the Safer Rotherham Partnership during 2021/22.

In introducing the report, the Cabinet Member advised of some areas of particular note including:

·       Actions that had taken place in relation to dealing with and preventing both criminal and sexual child exploitation.

·       Activity in dealing with Domestic Abuse and supporting its victims.

·       The work of the Youth Offending Team, noting the excellent feedback that had been received from the recent external inspection of the service.

The Cabinet Member noted that the work of the Safer Rotherham Partnership continued to operate in a challenging environment due to the fragmented and short-term nature of the funding for many projects making planning service delivery difficult.

The Cabinet detailed key activities and achievements across the five key areas of activity for the Safer Rotherham Partnership that were:

·       Protecting Vulnerable Children

·       Protecting Vulnerable Adults

·       Building Confident and Cohesive Communities

·       Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences

·       Serious and Organised Crime

The full Safer Rotherham Partnership Report was attached as an appendix to the officer’s report.

Members noted with concern that only 20% of all reports of Hate Crime led to a successful resolution and asked for further information on what the outcomes were for of the other 80% of Hate Crimes that were reported. The Cabinet Member advised that all reported incidents would conclude with an outcome, but that unfortunately only some reached an outcome that was categorised as “positive”. The Cabinet Member did note however that due to the time that that some incidents took to investigate that there was often a significant time lag from an incident being reported to the investigation being concluded.  The Head of Community Safety and Regulatory Services noted that 20% of cases concluding in a positive outcome was the target level for performance in a very challenging area of criminal investigation. The Cabinet Member advised that there were many reasons why many Hate Crime incidents did not conclude in a positive outcome including lack of evidence and the difficulty of following up leads and identifying perpetrators.

Members noted that while there was some information contained in the report that compared current with past performance, the report contained large amounts of data and information that lacked context. Members noted that the lack of context and historical comparative data made analysis and comparisons regarding current performance difficult. Members also noted that it would be useful to be able to see performance data from other areas so as to be able to assess how performance in Rotherham compared to other comparable areas. The Cabinet Member advised that comparisons of performance with other areas were often difficult due to different methods of reporting and recording crime being used and noted as an example that the activities that were defined as “Anti-Social Behaviour” varied in different areas. 

Members noted the difficulty of assessing performance in Rotherham surrounding key areas of concern such as Domestic Abuse and Hate Crime due to the lack of comparative data on performance contained in the report and noted that information on performance in areas similar to Rotherham would enable a clearer analysis of the issues to be made. The Cabinet Member advised that this information was held and that comparisons were made, noting that performance in Rotherham surrounding the successful resolution of Hate Crime incidents was above the national average. The Cabinet Member noted her concerns on the low number of positive outcomes recorded for sexual offences and advised that this was key area for the Safer Rotherham Partnership to focus on and improve performance.

Members asked whether programmes carried out in schools that were aimed at preventing extremism were still taking place. The Head of Community Safety and Regulatory Services advised that work with schools aimed at preventing extremism were continuing and advised that the way in that programmes were delivered had adapted to the challenges surrounding the pandemic with an increased use of online resources and seminars.

The Cabinet Member noted the challenges of dealing with activity that encouraged extremist thoughts and behaviour, and advised that this was particularly concerning at a time when children and young people were spending more time online and potentially accessing harmful and misleading sources of information. The Cabinet Member advised that online radicalisation that led to individuals acting on their own was a growing problem nationally.

Members noted the challenges of reporting anti-social behaviour during the pandemic, as in normal times ward councillors would receive information on incidents from being out and about in their wards. Members agreed that that it was important that residents were made aware of the various methods by which they could report incidents of anti-social behaviour.

Members noted with concern the number of child sexual exploitation (CSE) cases that had been reported and asked about activity that was taking place to encourage people who had concerns about CSE taking place to report them. The Cabinet Member agreed the number of cases of CSE that had been reported was concerning but advised that it was positive that the incidents had been reported so that action could be taken. The Cabinet Member also noted her concern about the delays that the pandemic had created in processing CSE cases through the court system. The Head of Community Safety and Regulatory Services provided information on the activities that had been taking place to ensure that concerns regarding CSE were reported and investigated in a timely manner.

Members also asked for further information on the partnership’s approach to stalking by strangers. The Head of Community Safety and Regulatory Services provided information on the processes that had been set up to address the issue and confirmed that while the situation was closely monitored there had been no repeat incidents of stalking from strangers in Rotherham over the previous year.

Due to technical difficulties, Superintendent Lynn Knox of South Yorkshire Police had been unable to comment on the points raised in the meeting and it was advised by the Head of Community Safety and Regulatory Services that if required written comments would be circulated to members of the Board.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety and the Head of Community Safety and Regulatory Services for attending the meeting and answering members’ questions.

Resolved: -

1)    That the Safer Rotherham Partnership Annual Report be noted.

2)    That future reports to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board contain historical, as well as current data for all areas of performance monitored to enable members to clearly see changes and trends in performance.

3)    That historical data on key areas of activity be circulated to members of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to enable members to clearly see changes and trends in performance.

4)    That future reports to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board contain information on performance on key areas of performance in other local authority areas in order to enable members to assess how performance in Rotherham compares to performance in other local authority areas.

5)    That a meeting be arranged for the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to meet with the Chairs of the Select Commissions to review the report further in order to highlight any further areas of concern and to consider the role of scrutiny in addressing these issues.