Council and democracy

The Chair welcomed DCI Jasmine Frost, Essex Police and Councillor Gledhill, Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Anti-Social Behaviour to the committee.

Michelle Cunningham, Thurrock Community Safety Partnership Manager, presented the report that addressed the issues of gang related violence in Thurrock.

Michelle Cunningham thanked the Chair for allowing the report to be deferred from the last meeting this had enabled Officers time to report on the injunction that had been put in place and the actions which had taken place following that. It was noted that there was a huge shift in the change of the dynamics of gangs now operating in Thurrock. Michelle Cunningham stated that the purpose of bringing the report was to assure Members that through partnerships the monitoring and recording of gangs had recognised the changes and that a strong partnership response was in place to address this issue. The funding received from the Council had allowed for a lot of the operations to be put in place. Michelle Cunningham stated that since the report had been written the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner had received confirmation that Essex had been successful in their bid for early intervention funding to which Thurrock would be part of and have access to that to be able to put in place the early intervention programmes which would include schools.

DCI Jasmine Frost stated there were currently 9 injunctions in place, which were for 5 adults and 4 young people. A further 13 community protection warnings and 2 community protection notices had been issued with 2 further gang applications which are currently at the application stage. In the operations undertaken with the injunctions there had been 5 arrests in relation to breaches, breaches such as wearing hooded tops or being associated with someone who they should not be associating with. This should assure Members that Essex Police are actively policing every breach that gang members had been involved with. Following these breaches there had been appearances at the county court and 2 people subject to a youth supervision order which are managed by the youth offending team. A custody sentence had also been given which had been suspended for 2 years. In relation to the additional funding received an additional 180 hours of foot patrols had taken place in Grays over the October and November period with more patrols planned over the next few months. DCI Jasmine Frost stated that the public feedback received had been overwhelmingly positive in relation to the town centre and how residents now felt safer going into the town centre. That the C17 gang had been displaced from Grays and that drug dealing had not been as visible as it had been before. The future plans would include the high-viz patrols and the other 2 gang injunctions being applied for those individuals who were heavily linked to anti-social behaviour currently in South Ockendon. That 7 members of the C17 gang were currently under investigation for possession with the intent to supply and weapon offences and expect that all those would result in charges from CPS once investigations are completed. That in the summer there had been 2 individuals who had been arrested following the recovery of shot guns, ammunition and drugs to which 1 of the individuals received 7 years in prison and the other received 3 years.

Jason Read from the Youth Offending Team stated that apart from managing a number of young people, who have potential gang affiliations or who were at risk from gangs within the youth offending service, who had been subject to court orders, the team also offered support to the 4 children who had been made subject to the gang injunction with this support being named on that injunction. It had transpired that 2 of those young persons had breached the gang injunction, been sent to court and been subject to civil supervision orders which are now a legal duty that they must see the youth offending team. One of the young persons had not been engaging and he and his family would be visited this week to make contact and to encourage some engagement so that some of the issues can be addressed.

Councillor Abbas thanked Officers for the positive report and questioned whether the comparison of outcomes of 2017 to 2018 was due to less police presence. DCI Jasmine Frost clarified the figures in the report for 2017 were for a whole year and that 2018 was the figure for 6 months only. Michelle Cunningham stated that by the end of 2018 the figures would be superseded by the 2017 figures and would be like for like.

Councillor Abbas had concerns that the activities appeared to be spreading to Purfleet areas and questioned what action would be undertaken to prevent any such activities. DCI Jasmine Frost stated that Essex Police would be undertaking any investigation work but was confident that those involved in the anti-social behaviour were not the same people that were involved in the criminality around burglaries and theft offences with the crimes unlikely to be linked. That fortnightly tasking was used to look at all the crime types and the anti-social behaviour and on a 2 weekly cycle resources would be directed for that next period and this was how policing was undertaken through the year. Michelle Cunningham stated that an increase in anti-social behaviour had been picked up earlier in the year on the Garrison Estate, there had been a huge amount of work had gone into that area where target hardening and CCTV had been and would continue to be used to identify individuals. That the Housing Team had carried out a lot of work with extra police patrols being undertaken. That there was currently a list of young people who had been identified and been referred to Children’s Social Services. Michelle Cunningham stated that the issues were known and were being addressed.

Councillor Worrall stated that the focus tonight had been on young people being part of gangs who moved from London and that Members should also be aware that not all gang members are young people. That gang relation activities are being carried out on Thurrock’s housing estates, in Thurrock Council homes, those people were setting examples in young persons who were probably the young people being picked up by the youth offending service and questioned what was being done to keep on top of these activities and to break the trend. Jason Read stated it was important to stick to the Home Office definition of what a gang was and how they operated. Jason Read stated he had worked in Thurrock for nearly 20 years and could relate to Councillor Worrall’s comment and agreed that some of the adults that would have been supervised about 15 years ago and would not put those people under the same umbrella as gangs.

Councillor Gledhill stated that for clarity the agenda outlined the Home Office definition of a gang and the report had been focused on what the agenda stated.

Michelle Cunningham stated that Jason Read chaired the Operational Gang Group for the past 3 years that meet monthly to discuss. That last year there had been 60 individuals who had gone through that group and that the demographics of that group were continually monitored, dominantly ages of 17 and 18 with the eldest being 37. If those individuals were affiliated with the gangs they would continue to be monitored.

Councillor Worrall asked what work was being undertaken with London Borough Councils and questioned at what time are gang members known for being in Thurrock where they have been involved in other gang related activities outside the borough. Jason Read stated that historically the situation had been known and the possible risks involved. Gang members were often not known about until they had offended. In the past a member had written to every London Borough to raise concerns about transfer of offenders and moving some difficult and challenging families into the borough without making the Council aware, only one response had been received back from one of those London boroughs. It was also stated that this affected not just Thurrock but a number of local authorities around the M25 with accommodation being cheaper in Thurrock compared to other areas.

Michelle Cunningham stated the development of the violence and vulnerability framework had been undertaken with the Police Fire and Crime Commissioners Office and as part of the funding a coordinator and a coordinator hub across Essex will pick up issues such as transferring of offenders into the borough as Thurrock would not have to tackle this issue on its own. DCI Jasmine Frost stated that from a police prospective this was a challenge as offenders would go missing in the evening when information required about them could not be obtained.

Councillor Gledhill stated he had attended a meeting with Essex Leaders today alongside the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner where this issue had arose and had become a regular item on the agenda. As a collective all members of the group will write one letter which would represent one voice from across Essex to the Mayor of London, all the London Authorities, Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government with the pressure being kept on for a response. The letter would state that every time an individual, either homeless or troubled families, had been moved into another area that London Borough when makes contact states that they are no longer their responsibility. That the process had got to stop as this had huge safeguarding issues not just with gangs but with vulnerable people and with the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner identifying that this had created some huge problems in Essex. That also the British Transport Police would be aware of some of these individuals with a good coordinated approach with all the relevant Police Forces.

The Chair stated that she felt comfortable that the Council were on top of the good work being undertaken. The Chair questioned whether there would be sufficient funding for all secondary school students to be able to undertake this work and this should not have to wait until students reach Years 10 and 11. This training was vital to ensure young people were given the opportunity to be able to recognise the signs of being tempted into gangs and signs of being part of a gang. DCI Jasmine Frost stated to ensure early intervention students should receive this training before they reach secondary school. That in Essex a presentation had been presented to all head teachers and senior leadership teams around county lines and gangs. DCI Jasmine Frost will shortly be undertaking work with school nurses about sharing information and suggested that several schools work as clusters to ensure that Police work can be undertaken to support staff and to get the intelligence into the system so that the appropriate referrals can be made. DCI Jasmine Frost agreed that there was a lot more that needed to be done.

Councillor Gledhill stated the violence and vulnerability framework was now available for the Council to work from and the training had been presented to 1100 pupils in Year 10 but it was Year 6 and up and down the school years that should be targeted. This will be a multi-agency approach as it could not fall just to the local authority or the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner paying for it; it needed to be built as one whole piece of work not just in Thurrock so that people are missed when they move. A paper will be presented on Funding to Cabinet going forward into next year but stated that Cabinet and the Administration were geared up to put money where it was needed to help prevent anti-social behaviour and gang violence and how to prevent people getting into that life style which would also include getting the voluntary sector involved.

Michelle Cunningham stated working with crucial crew and the road safety team they had delivered training to 1100 Year 6 pupils, provided  by Youth Offending for 3 days and 2 days by the Police covering gangs and the consequences of gang crime. That the Walk on Line Roadshow that the LSCB would present, with contribution from the community safety partnership, will be held in March 2019 and would be aimed at Years 5 and 6. The remit this time would be broader to include gangs, grooming and prevent, with conversations will be held shortly.

The Youth at Risk project addressed those children that are not at present in schools and is looking to include pupils that are home schooled. That Active Citizens programme had 2 officers in Thurrock who had presented in schools to Years 4 and 6 and this will continue to be offered. Unfortunately the appetite for schools to engage was low and the need to address how these training sessions can be better badged and encourage more engagement. A community programme pilot was due to finish on Friday which was being run in the Harris Academy by the Chafford Hundred Church. That the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner would be evaluating some of the mentioned programmes as there was no national evaluation on what works and what did not work.

Councillor Gledhill stated that a large demographic missed was those residents that did not understand what county lines were or understood the name of something and what they do. These residents could be educated and become the eyes and ears of the community and the Police.

Michelle Cunningham stated another risk of the community were the vulnerable people where the crime stoppers campaign had been very targeted and work had been undertaken with Lifestyle Solutions and Sheltered Housing.

RESOLVED

That the Cleaner Greener and Safer Overview and Scrutiny Committee requested that:

(a)        Noted the continually changing landscape and challenge in Thurrock and partnership working to combat an increase in violent crime.

(b)       Noted the approach and resources identified to implement the action plan.

(c)        Encouraged reporting by communities through the “Report It” campaign.

At 7.40pm Michelle Cunningham, DCI Jasmine Frost, Councillor Gledhill, Jason Read, Fiona Kell and Joanne Davis left the committee room.