Inspector?John Swan has been invited to provide an overview and answer questions about policing and any community safety matters in the?North Northumberland area.?
Minutes:
Inspector John Swan, and Sergeants Les Robson and Paul Sykes from the Neighbourhood Policing Teams were in attendance to provide an update on policing and community safety within the North Northumberland area. Information was noted as follows:-
Berwick
· 1314 incidents had been recorded within the Berwick area 852 of which were in relation to Berwick town centre and the night time economy with very low figures in the more rural areas. Figures had peaked in the summer season which was thought to be due to visitors to the caravan parks in the area. Violet crime and disorder had reduced compared to the previous year.
· Reports of antisocial behaviour (ASB) had increased in March due to the lifting of the lockdown. Youth and alcohol ASB had increased in the town centre due to youths congregating and Op Inhibit had been created in the area to work with police colleagues in Scotland to target the problem areas especially on a Friday and Saturday night, with ASB reducing during the summer because of the visible presence.
· With the full reopening of the night time economy within Berwick additional resources had been drafted in to assist with issues and working in partnership with other organisations there had been a significant improvement.
· Operation Beach Watch had been brought in over the summer months due to the increased number of visitors to the area to provide a visible presence in areas of high foot fall, which had been successful.
· Op Acorn was an engagement initiative which had also been introduced within the more rural areas.
· Berwick was a safe place to live with lower crime rates than other areas covered by Northumbria Police.
Alnwick
· 4651 incidents had been reported, 3208 within the Alnwick area and 1443 in the Rothbury area, with 708 in relation to public safety, 269 transport related, 220 crime related and 173 ASB.
· Crime levels were comparable with figures from 2019 with a slight increase in July/August which coincided with school holidays, with a spike in ASB incidents within Alnwick.
· ASB was dealt with by a multi-pronged approach working with Housing, Social Services and diverting youths into sporting groups, ring leaders were identified and parents visited, with some success. Good quality CCTV had been installed by the Town Council around the bus station. Incidents related to the night time economy were lower with the pub watch scheme being utilised.
· Work was undertaken with other forces in relation to rural crime during night time operations.
· Coastal engagement had been undertaken in partnership with other agencies as the number of visitors had increased in relation to wild camping, walking, litter, parking etc., which had been well received.
· areas and lots of work and regular contact was undertaken with other partners to ensure this was the case.
· Operation Hawkeye had also been introduced to tackle rural crime with an Inspector and 5 officers which provided an extra resource.
Amble
· 1476 incidents had been reported in the Amble area, which was low in comparison to other areas with the majority in relation to public safety and welfare. Crime incidents were 376 and ASB 356 and when compared to the previous 2 years, reported incidents were less. The majority of crimes were in the violence without injury (Common Assault) category, which included the fear of being assaulted without any assault actually taking place.
· Crime within Amble had reduced over the last 3 years due to the work that had been undertaken including to address ASB in the Church Street/Queen Street area specifically in relation to a bus stop.
· Public perception was that there was an issue with drugs and related violence but this was not supported by the crime figures, however due to these concerns Op Watchtower had been introduced with additional resources put into Amble with stop and searches undertaken and vehicles uplifted for various offences.
· There was an issue with increased canoeists, paddleboarders and drones at the restricted Coquet Island and work was being undertaken with the Wardens to see how the Neighbourhood Team could help.
· With the resurgence of the night time economy following the opening after lockdown and linked to the perceived drug problem increased walk throughs were being undertaken and working with licensing and pubwatch to address issues.
· The potential to bring to Amble the Communities Together Programme, which had been used in Blyth, was being explored which would work with households etc to build trust.
· A lot of work had been done in Amble and this would continue.
In response to questions from Councillors the following information was provided:-
· Figures were not available at the meeting on outcomes of reported incidents. Positive action was always taken if there was a police attendance and incidents were dealt with appropriately and proportionately. It was the CPS who decided if there would be any prosecution.
· All incidents reported either by dialling 999 or 101 went to the control room and would be given a grading through a threat harm and risk assessment. All crimes reported were investigated proportionately which meant that whilst in the past a police officer would have automatically attended a low level incident to gather information, crime details would now be taken by telephone, which was a better use of resources. Northumbria Police ( had been the last force to introduce this way of working. An officer would attend all incidents which were identified as needing an initial response through the threat harm and risk assessment, if an officer was not required then incidents would go to the telephone investigation unit for details to be taken. Once all the crime details had been received if there was an investigative opportunity then it would go to the Special Investigation Unit. All crimes were investigated and there would never be an occasion when the response would be “we’re too busy”, and the specific incident referred to by the Councillor would be discussed outside of the meeting. Before any crime was closed down it would be looked at to make sure there was no further action required.
· All forces have to adhere to Home Office guidelines, and as much as a member of the public would wish a charge to be brought, if an out of court disposal could be used due to the nature of the crime and previous good behaviour of the person involved, then that was what had to happen.
· Sufficient data was gathered when a crime was being reported to decide the appropriate response and if there were no investigative opportunities then a crime number would be provided at the outset.
· General parking enforcement was undertaken by NCC and NP dealt with offences such an obstruction which posed a danger to road users, however there was an element of greyness in respect of blocked access to driveways, and NP would generally try to resolve this by asking the person to move.
· Op Acorn had seen NP work closer with partners regarding additional visitor numbers and to provide additional car parking within the National Parks. Operation Acorn had improved the relationship between all partners and would continue.
· The use of CCTV and traffic patrol were being used to address vehicles being driven in an ASB manner and uplifting of vehicles undertaken for offences in the Berwick area. Issues should be reported to the relevant Neighbourhood Team by using the NP website so that problem areas could be targeted.
· There had not been an increase in reports of graffiti, however issues should be reported to the Neighbourhood Team. The issue of social media adding to public perception of crimes against the actual number of reports was highlighted.
· Community Speed Watch had ceased during the pandemic and NP were now looking at how they used volunteers and information would be provided once it was known.
· Visitor numbers had increased this summer to places such as Boulmer, Craster and Dunstanburgh however due to the work undertaken by Op Beach Watch, the work undertaken with partners and the engagement with members of the public there had been fewer issues with car parking than the previous year.
· Off road bikes were an ongoing issue in all areas and there was a force strategy in place. A lot of work was being undertaken in relation to this and more publicity should be provided by NP to let the public know what steps were being taken to address the problem.
· Town and Parish Councils should be aware of their relevant Neighbourhood teams and whilst officers did not attend every Parish Council meeting, officers were out on foot in communities gathering intelligence and allowing the targeting of specific areas of concerns. The Neighbourhood Teams did not work in silos and would be deployed in other areas when necessary to deal with specific issues. The possibility of NP liaison through the Council’s Town and Parish Liaison Working Group would be taken up by Councillor Hunter who was the Chair of the Working Group.
· No details had been passed to NP of extreme far right literature which had been posted through letterboxes in Amble. Details should be forwarded to Sergeant Robson so it could be investigated.
· In relation to the non-enforcement of 20mph limits, it was clarified that whilst no enforcement action would be taken NP, as part of speed watch, would speak to drivers who did not adhere to the 20 mph.
Inspector Swan reiterated that every person who contacted NP and said they were a victim of a crime would have a crime created and investigated proportionately, there were different ways of doing this depending on the information provided at the beginning. The Telephone Investigation Unit would contact the victim who would take details and if there were investigative opportunities i.e. lead, suspect etc. then it would be allocated to the appropriate unit for investigation. If an early assessment indicated that the crime should not be allocated then a crime number would be provided.
Inspector Swan, Sergeants Robson and Sykes were thanked for their attendance.
Councillor Hardy, Vice-Chair Planning took the Chair at this point.