Agenda item

This report is the bi-annual report for Safer York Partnership and covers the emerging priorities which will inform the production of a new strategy for the period 2023-2026. The report also discusses the community safety issues which have impacted on the work of the Community Safety Hub in the last six months and outlines the work that has been undertaken to tackle persistent antisocial behaviour in the city.

The Head of Community Safety presented the report on the Safer York Partnership which covered the emerging priorities, including City Centre Crime and Antisocial Behaviour (ASB), Counter Terrorism, Domestic Abuse, Serious/High Risk Antisocial Behaviour and Serious Organised Crime, that would inform the production of the new strategy for 2023-2026. She also discussed the community safety issues which have impacted on the work of the Community Safety Hub in the last six months and outlined the work that has been undertaken to tackle persistent antisocial behaviour in York. The Officer and the Superintendent for York and Selby were present to answer questions from Members.

Members discussed the report and raised some questions regarding City Centre Crime and ASB, and the Officer stated that ASB levels have been low but that it had been difficult to gather data on it due to the preventative efforts that were undertaken. She went on to say that the Council were in regular contact with Sergeants and PCs to understand any ASB issues and the Superintendent explained that the prevention of violence against women and girls continue to be a priority across the city.

Counter Terrorism efforts and issues, especially around the York Christmas Markets in 2022, were queried by the Committee. The Officer confirmed that the Markets were required to fill in an operational requirements form annually, which was a comprehensive risk assessment document, and venues had to attend training provided by York Council in conjunction with the North Yorkshire Police and the North East Counter Terrorism Police. She also stated that she would take the Members’ comments surrounding the exclusion of Blue Badge holders and the level of crowds to the Safety Advisory Group so it could be explored in future consultations.

The Committee then considered the Domestic Abuse priority and questioned some of the data within the report, including on the increased levels of abuse and the wards with the highest volume of reports, and the Officer stated that she would circulate these figures to the Committee. She also confirmed that a training programme on this priority would be available to professionals who were involved with the Domestic Abuse Board, including York Council staff.

The High Risk ASB priority was discussed by Members who brought up a number of topics and in response to questions, the Officer and the Superintendent noted the importance of multi-agency work for intelligence sharing and programmes to engage with young people. The Officer then explained how other agencies, including support services, were involved to tackle ASB. Members also enquired about the enforcement of buskers and the Officer stated that they were managed by Make it York who would be the first form of contact and it would then be escalated if necessary. The Officer also stated that she would present a report on the Peterborough programme and further detail on the multi-agency work in York for the Committee at a later date.

Members concluded by discussing the Community Safety Strategy and requested an opportunity for Members to comment on the new strategy, its priorities and any problems it may have.

Resolved:

     i.         That the information related to the delivery of the Community Safety Strategy be noted.

    ii.         That the Committee contributed their views in relation to the potential strategic priorities for the Community Safety Strategy 2023-2026.

  iii.        That the data surrounding the levels of domestic abuse be shared with the Committee.

  iv.        That a further report detailing the Peterborough programme and multi-agency work in York be presented at a future meeting.

Reason: to update Members on the performance of the Safer York Partnership and facilitate contribution to development of future strategy.