Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence from the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cottle-Hunkin and Hawkins,  Independent Members Louis Bach and Kenton Baker and the Head of Legal & Governance (Monitoring Officer).

RESOLVED: That in accordance with Procedure Rule A4.3 of the Torridge District Council Constitution, the meeting was declared inquorate and all business was adjourned. Members in attendance remained to receive an update from Superintendent Davies.

Confirmation of the Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 01 September 2021.

The meeting was not quorate, so the minutes for the meeting held on Wednesday 01 September 2021 will be reviewed at the next meeting of the External Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

15 minute period for public contributions

There was no public participation.

The meeting was not quorate so the action plan will be reviewed at the next meeting of the External Overview & Scrutiny Committee. 

Members with interests should refer to the agenda item and describe the nature of their interest when the item is considered.

Members were reminded that declarations of interest should be made as and when the specific agenda item to which they related was under discussion.

There were no Part II items.

There were no urgent items.

To receive a presentation from Superintendent Toby Davies, Devon & Cornwall Police.

Superintendent Toby Davies gave Members an update on the North Devon and Torridge Community Safety Partnership over the last year.  Unlike Cornwall, which was a Unitary Council, Devon had both district and county level local government administrations.  The Community Safety Partnership was a district level partnership as well as a County level safety partnership.  This could prove challenging when bringing together different organisations. 

Over the last year the partnership had focussed on the following priorities:

·         Protecting the vulnerable

·         Sexual violence and domestic abuse

·         Substance misuse

·         Emerging threats

Superintendent Davies explained to members that the approach of the partnership had always been preventative, high intensity, and trauma informed.  The partnership was unique in that it had very rural areas, urban and coastal, so it was important that focus must not just be given to the urban areas. 

There was still a prevalence of organised crime groups in the area with County lines and drug activities still a big area of concern, but it was explained this would be a common theme for most authorities nationally as well.  Bitesize training has provided front line workers with knowledge to spot signs of illicit behaviour, and this had resulted in an increase in intelligence from the community.

Another priority area that was concentrated on was sexual violence and domestic abuse.  It was stated that this was the most likely way a female could come to harm, usually within the home or from someone known to them.  Superintendent Davies highlighted the work of the sub-group dedicated to victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

It was explained that road safety was of considerable importance, especially in light of the loss of three lives within the space of eight days in the Torridge area recently.  It was stated that the cause of most of the road traffic accidents over the year could be attributed to locals in the area.  Superintendent Davies highlighted the road safety initiative Operation Snap, whereby members of the public could upload their dash-cam footage to the police via their website - this has proven to be very successful.  It was confirmed there would be two speed detection officers in vans dedicated to the area and mostly located on the link road.  The Community Speed Watch initiative was highlighted and it was explained how this helped the police in local and rural areas.  If communities were experiencing speeding issues advice and help could be given to set up a local Speed Watch group. 

The final area that had a big impact on town centres was Anti-Social Behaviour. Superintendent Davies highlighted the Home Office had launched ‘Street Safe’ which allowed the public to anonymously log areas of concerns over personal safety in the town.  It was explained how Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) was a big area of concern for everyone and wasn’t just for the partnership to resolve. The ASB steering group was highlighted – their role was to identify and target individuals,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100.

The meeting was not quorate so the forward plan will be reviewed at the next meeting of the External Overview & Scrutiny Committee.