Minutes:
The Director of Safety gave a presentation, focusing on anti-social behaviour, and highlighted the following:
· The Council worked in partnership with the police and a range of different services, including the voluntary sector.
· The breakdown of the Police Antisocial Behaviour Monitoring showed there was a trend in reduction.
· The main hotspots for antisocial behaviour were the town centre, Broad Green, Selhurst and New Addington; particularly the Field Way area.
· There were a large range of potential remedies that could be used.
· For minor crimes prevention remedies would be used initially before formal enforcement action.
· There were monthly Joint Action Groups (JAG) meetings, which were attended by various different groups, to discuss long standing issues and appropriate prevention.
· Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) was a flexible tool used and was intended to ensure that people could use and enjoy public spaces, safe from anti-social behaviour.
· The Town Centre PSPO was implemented in December 2017 and had ten recorded pour aways, 40 recorded dispersals and one prosecution.
· New Addington, Thornton Heath and South Norwood were drinking ban zones and if there was sufficient evidence a PSPO could be implemented.
The Director of Safety gave a presentation, focusing on environmental crime and fly-tipping, and highlighted the following:
· Since the Don't Mess with Croydon campaign was launched there had been a 20% reduction of fly tipping.
· There were hotspots within the borough for fly-tipping.
· Over 80% of fly tips were cleared within 48 hours.
· Approximately 1000 fixed penalty notices were issued per year for fly-tipping and littering.
· There had been 200 successful prosecutions for environmental offences.
· Approximately 400 Community Protection Notice (CPN) warning letters had been issued and 52 actual CPNs.
· 35 vehicles involved in waste and fly tipping offences had been confiscated since the legislation was passed in 2015. Croydon Council was now a national leader for confiscating vehicles and often provided briefings and advice at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and for numerous other councils across London and England.
· The time bandit waste targeted high street businesses and had been rolled out in 25 areas across the borough. It restricted when rubbish could be put out on the street and checked that trade waste agreements were in place.
· Street Champions were local people who worked alongside Croydon Council and its partners to encourage residents and businesses to recycle more, manage their waste responsibly and reduce instances of environmental crime.
· There were 345 Street Champions and had over 191 clean up events.
In response to queries from the Board the Director of Safety noted that the council could not choose the level of fine when someone was being prosecuted and this was the decision of the court. It was added that there was a wide range of fines for fly tipping from £100 - £1000.
In response to queries from the Board the Director of Safety explained that the youth offending services, voluntary sectors, probation officers, the police and social services oversaw the gang matrix, a list of suspected gang members. This was used as a risk based approach to determine tensions in areas and potential gang risk. It was added that individuals who were at high risk would have an injunction to restrict the individual. This could be a curfew, limiting their contact with individuals or going to certain areas within the borough. There were also positive requirements to an injunction; for example, having a mentor and attending meetings regarding substance misuse.
The Director of Safety clarified to the Board that tradesmen must have a waste carries licence and have to pay for rubbish to be disposed of. He explained that there was a current issue with people illegally operating as professional waste disposal companies, for cash in hand, and fly-tipping the waste.
It was explained to the Board that from April 2018 the council was offering two bulky waste items and one whitegoods item to be collected for free each year. It was expected that this would relieve the fly-tipping situation within the Borough and the council would use a variety of ways to promote the service, not just through social media.
In response to queries raised by the Board it was explained that there wasn’t a high rate of prostitution levels in Croydon; however, when concerns were raised the council worked closely with the police to ensure the right approach was taken.