Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 July 2022.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 25 July 2022 were approved.

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

A personal interest in respect of Councillor Posnett was noted as being on record for any matters which related to Leicestershire County Council.

To consider the attached Forward Plan and identify any relevant items for inclusion in the Scrutiny Work Programme, or to request further information.

The Chairman introduced the Cabinet Forward Plan and invited Members for comments.

Members are to review and comment upon the attached Scrutiny Work Programme 2022/23.

The Chairman introduced the Scrutiny Work Programme 2022/23 and invited Members to comment upon the document.

The Scrutiny Committee will discuss the following as part of the Crime and Disorder agenda item:

• Local policing - crime trends and risks
• An update on the Safer Melton Partnership
• Rural Policing
• An update on CCTV
• Anti-social behaviour management in housing services
• An update on Domestic Abuse

As part of the item there will also be a question and answer session.

Through a presentation, the Director for Housing and Communities (Deputy Chief Executive) introduced the Crime and Disorder item and provided a summary of what to expect during the presentation.

Inspector Lindsey Madeley-Harland, Leicestershire Police’s Neighbourhood Police Commander for Melton and Rutland provided Members with an overview of crime in the area. Members were informed that the current priorities for the Police in the area are: stopping County lines, tackling anti-social behaviour, preventing rural crime and road safety.

Inspector Madeley-Harland stated that officers had to be provided to East Leicester due to the recent disturbances and that this had affected coverage in the area, however policing levels in the area had since been restored to usual levels.

The Committee were informed that in terms of Community Safety, the police would not have been able to achieve the results they have without the partnership in place.

In addressing the crimes statistics, Inspector Madeley-Harland informed Members that the figures are lowest within the police area. In the 7-month period from February 2022 there have 2262 crimes reported, in the same 7 months the previous year there were 1908 crimes reported and in 2020 there were 1746 crimes reported. Inspector Madeley-Harland explained that crime is up due to changes in the way crime is reported.

It was explained that in the last 28 days, in Melton the following crimes had been reported: 6 burglary others compared to an average of 8; 10 residential burglaries which is average; 1 robbery; 3 thefts from person compared to an average of 2 and 9 thefts of motor vehicles compared to an average of 8. The satisfaction rate of the police in the area for September is 81.4%.

Members were then updated on a range of projects that the Council are working on including: partnership working; engagement with communities; the AMY project; Fairmead Football League; CCTV; Domestic Abuse and Anti-social Behaviour Management within the Housing Service.

At the start of the debate a comment was made that the majority of the discussion was focussed on the town of Melton Mowbray and that it is important not to forget that half of the Borough’s population lives in the villages when considering Crime and Disorder. Officers and Inspector Madeley-Harland assured the Committee of the work being done across the whole Borough including in rural areas.

Following this, a concern was raised that the lack of youth services within the villages has led to an increase in petty vandalism. In response, it was explained that one of the priorities is rural crime and that every effort is made to engage with the local community when addressing issues. Officers referred to proactive engagement with Parish Councils, to which a Member suggested that Ward Councillors should also be involved in those discussions. The Director for Housing and Communities then committed to feeding back to colleagues to ensure that Ward Members are briefed on the updates that are provided to Parish Councils.

A Member questioned whether there had been an increase in shoplifting, however  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

To consider any other items that the Chair considers urgent.

There was no urgent business.