Agenda item

Considered - A report of the Head of Community Safety and CCTV updating on local Prevent arrangements with the Community Safety Partnership Chair (NYP Assistant Chief Constable Fiona Wyllie) in attendance.

Odette Robson, Head of Community Safety and CCTV introduced the report and drew members’ attention to the updates on priorities detailed in paragraph 1.3 of the report.

Councillor Andrew Williams drew attention to the Hate Crime statistics shown at paragraph 6.2 of the report and expressed concern at the increase in incidents across all of the Hate Crime categories. In particular he drew attention to the growing problem of hate crime perpetuated online via social media and queried the potential to use AI technology to identify incidents and perpetrators.  He requested a more detailed update on what the Community Safety Partnership and North Yorkshire Police were doing to tackle hate crime for the Committee’s next meeting in December 2025.

It was confirmed that the increase in hate crime incidents was in line with the national picture and that the increase in North Yorkshire was likely due in part to a rise in confidence in reporting.  It was confirmed that the Community Safety Hubs received daily updates on Hate Crime incidents, the number of associated arrests and ongoing investigations.

Assistant Chief Constable Fiona Wyllie noted the concerns around online hate crime and confirmed that whilst this was currently a capacity issue for the Police, they hoped to address it through the use of improved technology in the future.

Other Members expressed frustration at the lack of data on other types of crime not detailed in the report such as burglaries, street crime, shop lifting etc.

In response Odette Robson drew attention to the four key strategic priorities for the Community Safety Partnership detailed in section 2 of the report, which included tackling Hate Crime and the operational delivery of the Police’s statutory duties via the Community Safety Hubs (CSH).  She went on to reassure members that the types of crime they had identified as missing from the report fell specifically within the remit of the Hubs. She acknowledged that whilst some of the Hubs were more progressed with their engagement strategies than others, all were now providing updates directly to the Council’s Area Constituency Committees, which included detailed data on all crime, ASB, community tensions etc.

Attention was also drawn to:

·          Weekly Intelligence meetings held to consider updates on a full range of crime data;

·          North Yorkshire Police’s (NYP) website where area specific police officer contact information could be found;

·          NYP’s regular Parish Council newsletter;

·          The multi-agency problem solving meetings (MAPS) hosted by the Hubs;

·          The decrease in weapon possession by young people;

·          A Retail Crime Conference held in the county earlier this year;

·          A previous Inconsiderate Parking Initiative run in Scarborough – it was noted that inappropriate parking outside schools was a Council matter, whereas obstruction of the highway was a police matter;

·          A recent successful project run in Eastfield (Scarborough) aimed at preventing/reducing ASB committed by young people;

·          Operation Night Safe in Selby (a strategic operation with local interventions) – Members welcomed its continuation.

Members discussed issues around repeat/persistent offenders, and officers highlighted the ongoing work around prevention plans and the work of the Neighbourhood Policing Teams, and the Home Office funding for Hotspot Patrols and the resulting reduction in ASB.

Members agreed they would like a further detailed update for their next meeting in December 2025, with a focus on:

·          Hate Crime – to include an overview of the number of arrests leading to conviction

·          The work of the Community Safety Hubs – to include statistics on other crime categories, ASB burglaries, retail crime etc, and an update on mitigation activity and outcomes.

Resolved – That

i.       The report be noted.

ii.      A further report be provided at the December 2025 meeting, as detailed above.