Agenda and minutes

Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires a record be kept of the Members present and that this record form part of the minutes of the meeting. Members who cannot attend a meeting should tender apologies to the Town Clerk.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor R Berry (substituted by Councillor C Palmer) and Councillor F Kharawala (substituted by Councillor S Hemmings) and Councillor J Silverstone.

(i)         Under the Localism Act 2011 (sections 26-37 and Schedule 4) and in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, Members are required to declare any interests which are not currently entered in the Member’s Register of Interests or if he/she has not notified the Monitoring Officer of it.

(ii)        Should any Member have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in an item on the agenda, the Member may not participate in consideration of that item unless a Dispensation has first been requested (in writing) and granted by the Council (see Dispensation Procedure).

Members were asked to declare any interests, including the nature of those interests, which they had in any of the items under consideration at this meeting. 

Councillor Dodwell declared an interest as a member of the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel.

To receive questions and statements from members of the public in respect of any item of business included in the agenda, as provided for in Standing Order No.s 3(f) and 3(g).

There were no questions from the public.

To receive and approve as a correct record the minutes of the Community Safety Sub-Committee meeting held on 15 July 2019 (attached).

The Sub-Committee received the draft minutes of the Community Safety Sub-Committee meeting held on 15 July 2019.

Minute reference 08/CS (CCTV & Re-Deployable Cameras): the Sub-Committee was informed that a CCTV report was not available due to a fault with equipment and that a new location had now been identified for a control room, with further details to be provided at a future meeting.

Minute reference 10/CS (Community Emergency Plan): a question was asked regarding what progress had been made with this plan.  The Sub-Committee was informed that a Working Party reviewed the draft plan and it was anticipated that this would come back to the Sub-Committee in January 2020, before being presented to Policy and Finance and Council.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Community Safety Sub-Committee meeting held on 15 July 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed accordingly.

(a)  By invitation, Charlotte Gurney of Central Bedfordshire Council and Paul Latimer of the Leighton-Linslade Homeless service will attend the meeting to provide information regarding services and pathways available to those in need.

(b)  To consider ways in which the Town Council might support this work

The Sub-Committee received an update from Charlotte Gurney of Central Bedfordshire Council and Paul Latimer and Rosie George of the Leighton-Linslade Homeless Service regarding services and pathways available to those in need in Leighton-Linslade.  The services provided included the Night Shelter at the Black Horse, a food bank, drop-in sessions and access to a doctor from a local surgery. 

A short video was shown where a guest at the Black Horse gave his views on the work carried out and how it had enabled him to turn his life around and begin to look to a positive future. 

It was recognised that there was great concern about rough sleeping and that many residents wanted to be able to help. It was felt that the most important factor was to raise awareness of all the support and services which were already available to help rough sleepers and to perhaps encourage residents to give their support to those services. The needs of those in this situation were often complex and related to many other factors including addiction or relationship breakdown. The pathways in place aimed to help individuals address these issues and empower them to move forward with their lives in a positive manner.

Charlotte Gurney from Central Bedfordshire Council also spoke to reaffirm that the stigma surrounding rough sleepers needed to be addressed and that a key message to the public was to let them know that many services were in place to provide help and support.  A range of communications would be developed to help spread these messages across the community. The Sub Committee was advised of the Street Link service whereby the public could report concerns about rough sleepers, all of which would then be followed by the relevant authority.  

A meeting would be taking place on 22 October to discuss what strategies could be used to share information and inform the public of services available and how these could be accessed.

Thanks were given to all those involved with the Black Horse for all their hard work for the Leighton-Linslade Homeless Service.  

RESOLVED to note the information.

(a)  To receive an update report from Bedfordshire Police inn respect of Operation Dodford, crime and antisocial behaviour (to follow).

(b)  To receive and consider a report regarding use of Operation Dodford underspend for a community based initiative (attached).

(a)   The Sub-Committee had received a written report regarding crime and antisocial behaviour in advance of the meeting and a verbal summary was given by Sgt L Mitchell of Bedfordshire Police regarding activity undertaken in respect of Operation Dodford and incidents of note for July, August and September 2019.  It was noted that the rise in street robberies, especially with young people and bicycles, had now stabilised after extra patrols in the parks and a significant arrest made, giving a downturn in these crimes. Dedicated patrols would be available for Halloween and Firework night to combat anti-social behaviour.

A question was raised as to whether Stop and Search powers were used and if knife crime was a problem in the town.  It was confirmed Stop and Search powers were used in the appropriate cases and that although knife crime was reviewed at force level, any problems occurring locally would be addressed.

The Sub-Committee thanked PS Liam Mitchell for providing an update and for the continuing hard work in the town.

(b)      The Sub-Committee received and considered a report in respect of the use of Operation Dodford underspend for the purpose of providing a community-based initiative to help address the fear of crime.  Whilst further discussions needed to take place to determine if this would be an appropriate scheme locally, the Sub-Committee expressed support for the principle and agreed that further scoping work should take place.

RESOLVED -

(i)           to support the principle of using Operation Dodford underspend to provide a community-based initiative to help combat the fear of crime within the Parish.

(ii)          that further scoping work be carried out into the merits or otherwise of Street Wise project, that would be subject to future approval.

To receive the CCTV monitoring reports from Central Bedfordshire Council for July – September 2019 (to follow).

No CCTV report was available for the summer months, due to a malfunction of equipment at the Control centre. This had now been resolved so it was anticipated that the usual monthly reports would be available at the next meeting.

(a)  To receive a verbal update in respect of the ‘Watch’ schemes within the Parish.

(b)  To consider purchasing Speed Watch signs for the ten main entry roads to the parish at a cost of £549.60 plus VAT (includes installation).

Street Watch

The Sub-Committee was informed that the next Street Watch meeting would be held on the 4 November 2019.  Earpieces were now available for use by the volunteers. 

Speed Watch

Speed Watch happened once a month but more volunteers were needed. A call for volunteers was scheduled to be included in the next edition of the About Town community newsletter produced by the Council.

Shop Watch

The shops were now beginning to put up Shop Watch signs similar to the Pub Watch scheme, whereby people could be banned for persistent repeat offences.

RESOLVED to purchase of Speed Watch signs for the ten main entry roads to the parish at a cost of £549.60 plus VAT (includes installation).

RESOLVED to note the information.

The Sub-Committee may consider it appropriate to consider the following resolution should they consider that any discussion would be prejudicial to the public interests: that, under the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, the public be excluded on the grounds of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted which involves the likely disclosure of exempt information. The public and press to withdraw from the meeting during consideration of detailed discussion regarding:  Operational Policing (if applicable)

RESOLVED that, under the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, the public be excluded on the grounds of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted which involves the likely disclosure of exempt information.  The public and press to withdraw from the meeting during consideration of detailed discussion regarding: Operational Policing.

The Sub-Committee was informed that a team of 10 officers and one Sergeant worked out of Leighton Buzzard Hub, of which one was a new PC replacing a Police Community Support Officer.  They all worked out of the hub at the fire station and a question was raised regarding whether a front office would be a positive addition to the service.  Sergeant Mitchell confirmed that members of the public could come to the hub but that most of the time, the community policing team was out on the streets. This was possible as officers could now work from their car or any public area to complete their paperwork and by doing this, it also provided a visible police presence to members of the public. It was agreed that publicity around what was available at the hub was needed, as not all residents were aware of its existence.