Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Victoria Oldham was acting as a substitute for Councillor Paul Haslam. Apologies were received from Councillor Michael Harrison and Councillor Stuart Martin, MBE.

(5.32 pm)

Members to advise of any declarations of interest.

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

 (5.33 pm)

Of the meetings of 6 February 2023 and 30 January 2023.

The Minutes of the meetings of the Commission held on 30 January 2022 and 6 February 2022 were approved as a correct record.

(Seven Members voted for the motion and there was two abstentions)

(5.33 pm)

To determine whether to exclude the press and public during the consideration of any exempt items.

There was no exempt information.

 (5.34 pm)

To consider any questions under Standing Order 27.

It was noted that two Members of the public had contacted the Commission prior to the meeting. The contacts related to information in the reports considered at Minutes 93/22 and 94/22. They could not be addressed as public questions under Standing Order 27 and it had been agreed to provide responses outside of the meeting and circulate details to Commission Members.

(5.36 pm)

North Yorkshire Police to submit a written report. Superintendent Teresa Lam and Chief Inspector Rich Ogden to be in attendance.

The Chair welcomed Chief Inspector (CI) Rich Ogden and Superintendent (SI) Theresa Lam from North Yorkshire Police (NYP) to the meeting. SI Lam introduced CI Ogden who had taken responsibility for the Harrogate and Craven areas of County Command since September 2022. CI Ogden had 23 years experience working for NYP, some of this had been based in York and working in the criminal justice environment. It was noted that NYP had attended Overview and Scrutiny Commission meetings twice a year, in addition the Chief Constable was invited on an annual basis and she had attended recently, in January 2023.

NYP had provided an update report and CI Ogden highlighted the following areas within the report:

·                     Investment and refurbishment of Ripon Police and Fire station and confirmation about use of Ripon Town Hall as a site for the neighbourhood policing team in Ripon City Centre

·                     Thefts from unattended motor vehicles had been a focus and an arrest had been made

·                     Protect your home scheme had provided funding for homes in rural locations

·                     Knife amnesty bin launch, to date around 98 knives had been deposited, most were just kitchen knives and the bin provided a safe place for people to deposit these

·                     Results of the Operation Attention (drink and drug driving campaign) that ran in December 2022:

o        121 total arrests was considered good but disappointing

o        the area with the most arrests was Harrogate

o        a lot of proactive work takes place in Harrogate

o        people were encouraged to report concerns to police year-round

CI Ogden was grateful that Harrogate Borough Council’s (HBC) Mayor and Deputy had attended a recent pass out parade for volunteer police cadets aged 13-17 years, in Harrogate. These cadets would support community teams.

The Chair referred to an incident in the Claro Road area of Harrogate that happened on 19 February. A 17 year old was seriously injured in the incident and later died in hospital. CI Ogden confirmed that a 16 year old had been charged and the enquiry was being treated as a murder investigation. Members and Officers present at the meeting considered the murder tragic and sent heartfelt condolences to all those connected. The Chair referred to reports that a knife had been used and asked whether there was a broader problem in Harrogate with knife crime. It was noted that the incident was part of a live investigation. CI Ogden explained that this was an isolated incident, which took place in private premises not on the street and North Yorkshire continued to be a very safe place to live. NYP continually liaised with other force areas, including London to understand trends concerning knife crime and to engage with any learning, especially about homicides. In response to a comment from Councillor Sue Lumby that using the umbrella term “knife crime” when discussing incidents diminished the severity of the crime, it was confirmed that the recent incident was a murder investigation and would be referred to as such.

CI Ogden referred to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities and the Community Safety and CCTV Manager to submit a written report. The Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities to be in attendance.

The Chair welcomed the Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities and the Community Safety and CCTV Manager to the meeting. The Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities introduced the report and highlighted the importance of the Community Safety Hub (CHS), in particular the relationship with the police, safeguarding young people, vulnerable people and violence against women and girls. The information about work undertaken within the report showed the continued value of the CSH and was a testament to the work and commitment of the Community Safety and CCTV Manager and her team.

The staffing arrangements for the CCTV office were considered. It was noted that cameras ran 24/7 and whilst there were some challenges around staffing, any periods of time when cameras were unmonitored was kept to minimum. It was noted that some but not all of the cameras were able to track people or incidents as they happened and that proactive surveillance was a priority. The team did work closely with the police and NYP could access and use footage as evidence. The Community Safety and CCTV Manager explained that, there had been cuts to funding for CCTV. In relation to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) there were currently council-run CCTV centres in Harrogate and Scarborough. LGR presented additional opportunities for the service. Current work included defining opportunities in order to provide the best surveillance, that was proportionate to the needs of communities and ensuring the service was sustainable. There was a capital programme to upgrade to digital cameras. It was noted that it was national good practice to store recorded images for 31 days and not to retain for any longer than necessary. This also encouraged people, including the police to be proactive with any requests for recordings.

Councillor Robert Windass explained that Boroughbridge was not included in Harrogate Borough Council’s (HBC) CCTV network. The town council had installed their own system and provided recordings to the police at no cost. It was confirmed that HBC levied a charge to access recordings and there were a variety of different fees and charges across North Yorkshire. The Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities confirmed that levying fees was essential to maintain the valuable service.

Members referenced paragraph 3.7 report and requested any update about future reporting routes. It was noted that there were statutory responsibilities for local authorities in terms of crime and disorder matters and accountability. It was likely that NYC’s corporate and partnership Overview and Scrutiny Committee would discharge this function. Community safety managers were keen to continue to report on local issues and this could be through Area Constituency Committees. There was a view that it would be beneficial to make reporting consistent across committees and community safety partnerships.

It was confirmed that the Home Office review of community safety had been delayed. The service had met with Home Office representatives but it was still not clear what the review would include but it could be looking at legislation including the Crime and Disorder  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.

To consider current Forward Plan items.

There were no updates relating to upcoming Key Decisions. Information about Key Decisions, including report authors, was available on the Harrogate Borough Council website.

(7.20 pm)

The Scrutiny Officer to submit a written report.

The Chair introduced the draft Annual Report which was a record of work undertaken in the 2022/23 year, noting that the report had been prepared early due to Local Government Reorganisation. The report had been drafted on behalf of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and was before them to make any amendments and agree it was a correct record. The Chair explained that the report would be available in the future via an archived version of the Harrogate Borough Council website. Members could contact the Scrutiny Officer outside of the meeting with any comments or factual amendments to the report.

RESOLVED (UNANIMOUSLY):

That    (1) the report be amended to reflect updates

(2) the report was a correct record of work undertaken by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission in 2021/22.

(7.20 pm – 7.21 pm)

The Scrutiny Officer to submit a written report.

The Chair confirmed that the meeting scheduled for 27 March 2023 would be cancelled due to lack of business and because of its proximity to 1 April 2023, the date of the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council.

Commission Members were grateful for the dedicated support of the Scrutiny, Governance and Risk Manager who had supported  Scrutiny at Harrogate Borough Council for over twenty years and the Scrutiny Officer who had provided support to the Commission for the last four years.

The Chair thanked the Members present at the meeting and all Members for their valuable input and commitment to undertaking the scrutiny function on behalf of the Council.

Commission Members thanked the Chair, Councillor Chris Aldred for his dedication to chairing the meetings and for the work he put in outside of the meeting.

(7.21 pm – 7.24 pm)