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Anti-Social Behaviour Update: Progress, Issues & Outcomes (February 2019)

Meeting: 05/02/2019 - Policy, Finance & Development Committee (Item 61)

61 Anti-Social Behaviour Update: Progress, Issues & Outcomes (February 2019) pdf icon PDF 84 KB

Joint report of the Anti-Social Behaviour Officer and Community Safety & Youth Officer

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received the report as set out on pages 48-54 of the agenda, which asked it to note the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) related work undertaken by the Council since the adoption of its new ASB Policy in 2018.

 

The Committee welcomed the increased reporting of ASB in the Borough, although some Members expressed concern that the problem remains under-reported due to fear of reprisals. It was acknowledged that the number of reports was likely to have risen in part due to the Council’s decision to employ a dedicated ASB Officer, which was seen as a positive in terms of producing a clearer idea of the extent and types of ASB occurring.

 

Whilst the Council’s capacity to respond to complaints had been increased through employing a dedicated ASB Officer, Members asked what was being done to proactively enforce against ASB and what preventative measures were being pursued to stop it occurring in the first place. The Head of Law & Governance confirmed that the Council continues to work closely with partner authorities such as the Police on enforcement activity, as was demonstrated with the successful obtaining of a Closure Order for a property in Oadby. In addition, the Council is looking to organise cross-departmental enforcement activity through targeted deployment of Officers in Planning and Licensing to deal with a range of issues.

 

In light of a continued abuse of parking regulations outside a tanning salon in Wigston Town Centre, a Member of the Committee asked whether parking violations could be dealt with under ASB powers. The Head of Law & Governance confirmed that this type of issue was best dealt with through a civil penalty issued by the Police, as ASB powers were primarily designed for more serious offences which carried a far more punitive fine, therefore an ASB sanction could be considered disproportionate to the offence being committed in this instance. The ASB Officer undertook to liaise with the owner of the premises to see whether informal advice might be sufficient to resolve the problem.

 

A Member of the Committee noted that the authority had recently issued a Community Protection Notice (CPN), following an identified breach of the Council’s newly adopted Drone and Model Aircraft Policy in one of the Borough’s parks. It was requested that a press release should be made in respect of the CPN issued, to reinforce awareness of the new Policy and demonstrate that breaches would be dealt with swiftly through the use of available powers.

 

With regard to the Council being successfully granted a Closure Order in January 2019, the Head of Law and Governance informed the Committee that the Council’s ASB Officer, Thomas Maccabe, along with Faruk Bhayat from the Council’s Housing team, had each received a Commendation from the Inspector at Wigston Police Station, recognising their significant contributions to securing a successful outcome.

 

It was moved by the Chair, seconded by G A Boulter and

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT:

 

The contents of the report and appendices be noted.