Agenda item

To receive a verbal report on this issue.

Kurt James introduced the report and summarised it for everyone.

Neighbourhood Manager (Police) Report for Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Partnership

June 2016

Graffiti

Operation Block continues to run under the leadership of PC Stuart King.  His most recent prosecution success was at the start of the month where Jack Keeling was sentenced to sixteen months custodial for his prolific “SESK” tag. The Judge commented that it has to act as a deterrent to others and acknowledged the effect it has on communities.

Prostitution

The work of Operation Boss which patrols sex work hot spots to identify kerb crawlers and engage with the women is led by PC Tina Newman.  There have been some slight changes in the patterns of working adopted by the women, some opting for daylight hours in the mornings, which we are addressing.  The police are working with other agencies to refresh the local multi-agency protocol for on-street prostitution.  One of the key parts of this is the support given to women when they leave prison so that the ‘cycle’ is broken with effective intervention.  We still need reports from the community about loitering in the streets or any anti-social behaviour.

Noise Nuisance – Ramadan

This year we have again dedicated patrols during Ramadan, to offer reassurance to the community and to deal with any complaints or other problems.  So far we have received some parking complaints but few in relation to noise.

Licensed Premises

We are aware of the ongoing problems associated with The Jolly Roger in Easton and have various measures we are exploring.  We would like to hear from anyone in the community who lives near to the pub willing to report anti-social behaviour, noise or other ways the pub affects their day to day lives. 

At the time of writing, the police are in court to obtain a closure order for Shady Grove in St Paul’s.  If successful this will allow closure of the premise for three months and the option to increase this to six.  Breaches of this can result in imprisonment.

Days of Action  - Enforcement, Engagement and Reassurance

Operation Blueline is still running, which contains the enforcement arm of our work to tackle drugs in East Bristol.  In many cases we are identifying vulnerable people who are victims of ‘cuckooing’ or young persons who may be subject to sexual exploitation.  During the last day of action on 13^th June, six people were arrested for significant drugs offences within three hours of the operation beginning.  The format for the days now is that they are where possible followed up by reassurance patrols that day and the day after.

PC Darren Weston from the Easton Neighbourhood Team is running regular drug user engagement days which aim to find drug users and offer them a direct route into services by teaming up with drugs workers from our custody drugs engagement teams.

Drug Dealing

Our current priority areas for tackling drug dealing and associated anti-social behaviour are, amongst others, The Bear Pit, Brook Road, Badminton Road, Gaunts Ham Park, and Kingsmarsh House.  There are another three locations in Barton Hill however at this stage in the operation they cannot be shared with the group. 

Street Drinking

The current focus is The Bear Pit where we have seen a rise in incidents and crime reports over May.  Some of this can be explained by the improvement in the weather.  The level of anti-social behaviour reported this May is the same as last May however, crime reports have risen.  Extra patrols have been dedicated again to The Bear Pit and individuals are being prosecuted and offered interventions.

Burglary

Easton and Redfield have seen a rise in Burglary of currently 52% compared to 2015.  Some of this can be accounted for in some recent series of offences, for which suspects have been arrested.

Redcliffe has seen an increase of 78% and Barton Hill around 66%.  Some of this can be attributed to a series of crimes and linked suspects but further work is ongoing on this. The Dings and St Philips Marsh have remained static.

St Paul’s has experienced a decrease of 4.5% and Montpelier & St Werburgh’s has remained static.

The above is rolling twelve month data until May 2016.

Kurt James was asked to obtain numbers for the burglaries.

It was also noted that there is no Police presence in St Werburghs.

Agreed – that the report be noted.