Issue - meetings

The attached report provides the yearly Strategic Assessment (SA), which is an analytical document where specific recommendations are made to ensure the priorities highlighted in the Community Safety Strategy are to be reached or amended where necessary in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the borough.

The Executive Mayor, in Cabinet, is recommended to:

Support the findings and recommendations in the SA, and the agreement of a revised partnership plan by the Safer Croydon Partnership which will implement the nine recommendations in the SA.

Cabinet considered a report, which provided the yearly Strategic Assessment (SA), which was an analytical document where specific recommendations were made to ensure the priorities highlighted in the Community Safety Strategy were to be reached or amended where necessary in reducing crime and antisocial behaviour (ASB) in the Borough.

It was reported that, using the definition provided by the College of Policing, the SA was an analytical product which gave an overview of the current and long-term crime and ASB issues affecting or likely to affect the Borough and should be used to draw inferences and to make recommendations for prevention, intelligence, enforcement and reassurance priorities, and the future Community Safety Strategy.

The product was a statutory obligation of the Community Safety Partnership under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and the document covered the last five financial years (2017/18 to 2021/22) with a specific focus on the last financial year (2021//22).

The Cabinet Member for Community Safety expanded on the issue of violent crime, which Croydon was a victim of and added that, by Feb 2023, there would be a refresh of the Community Safety Strategy and that the Safer Croydon Partnership would be the Executive body.

The Strategic Assessment had identified the following nine recommendations:

(i)           To write a problem profile on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in the borough which will feed into the VAWG strategy. This is not only to cover both domestic and non-domestic violence and sexual offences but other specific offences which have seen notable increases including stalking, threats to kill and malicious communications.

(ii)          To evaluate and target “high volume high harm” micro-areas of violence using Risk Terrain Modelling so appropriate short, medium and long-term interventions can be implemented.

(iii)         To investigate further into the rise in victims travelling from outside of the borough and to work with the relevant authorities in those areas to protect potential victims who are travelling from there.

(iv)         To explore and utilise the “2 x 2” model to prioritise appropriate interventions for individuals involved in violence.

(v)          To further explore the concept of “victim-offenders” so that intensive long-term provision can be provided to significantly reduce all crime in the borough, not just violence.

(vi)      To further utilise alcohol and substance misuse service provision.

(vii)       To have a greater focus on public transport in the borough, especially around bus stops which have been identified as a high-risk factor for violence.

(viii)      To further investigate cruelty and neglect of children, which has seen a small but significant increase in the borough.

(ix)         With the increase in knife crime being specifically driven by knife-enabled robbery, this is to be a priority for the next 12 months.

Accordingly, the Executive Mayor, in Cabinet RESOLVED to support the findings and recommendations in the Strategic Assessment, and the agreement of a revised partnership plan by the Safer Croydon Partnership, which would implement the nine recommendations in the Strategic Assessment, as detailed above.