Making Communities Safer - South Tyneside’s Community Safety Partnership Plan 2021-24

We are pleased to present Making Communities Safer, South Tyneside’s Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Plan 2021-2024.

Our plan explains our priorities for next three years, and the work that will be undertaken to address them, as well reviewing last year’s achievements.

At the time of writing this plan the Community Safety landscape has changed somewhat – caused by the worldwide pandemic around the Covid-19 virus. The data within the assessment, which has informed this plan, acknowledges the significant and ongoing impact Covid-19 will have on the exacerbation of health inequalities, crime and our communities more broadly.

The pandemic has however brought to the fore the need for a strong, safe and resilient community spirit and highlights the importance of protecting vulnerable groups and individuals from harm. We would like to acknowledge all the hard work and efforts of partner agencies and Council services who contribute significantly to keeping South Tyneside safe and we look forward to replicating further successes throughout 2021-2024.

Our priorities are based on the evidence provided by our partner agencies and, just as importantly, what our residents have told us.

Over the pandemic period the partnership has come together to overcome the challenges faced globally to deliver a pandemic response to the communities and businesses of South Tyneside. As a partnership we will continue to support the recovery of the Borough so that South Tyneside continues to be a very safe place to live, work and visit.

It is our aim to ensure that, through partnership working, we continue to tackle the issues identified by our partner agencies and the local community.

We aim to build on our previous Community Safety Partnership Plan successes which delivered positive outcomes such as:

• 97% of residents feeling safe or fairly safe living in their neighbourhood.
• A 20% reduction in crime reported to Northumbria Police
• A 45% reduction in youth related anti-social behaviour reported to Northumbria Police

We pledge to take appropriate and proportionate action in our partnership response to those crimes which have the highest impact on our residents.

As part of that approach, we will:

• Utilise our resources effectively;
• Make full use of the tools and powers at our disposal;
• Seek to take innovative approaches to challenging issues;
• Provide support to, and encourage the empowerment of, our residents;

We want you, as a resident of South Tyneside, to know that we are doing everything we can to maintain low levels of crime and ensure that you continue to feel safe living in the Borough.

South Tyneside will be a place where people feel safe because crime and anti-social behaviour is the exception rather than the rule.

It will also be a place where everyone can feel involved and included in a way that suits them, where people understand and respect each other, and communities are actively engaged in decisions that may affect them.

We will also work to reach out directly to even more residents and businesses to understand and respond to the issues that are most important to them. Our priorities focus on commitments that we will deliver on and are focused on delivering for people right across the Borough.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 requires every local authority area to form a Community Safety Partnership (CSP) in which agencies work together to protect their local communities from crime and to help people feel safer.

Our partnership, ‘Safer South Tyneside’, comprises of representatives from the following agencies:

• South Tyneside Council
• Northumbria Police
• Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Service
• South Tyneside Homes
• National Probation Service (Northumbria)
• South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group
• South Tyneside Foundation Trust
• Northumbria Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner
• South Tyneside College

There is also a reciprocal duty for CSPs and the local Police & Crime Commissioner to have due regard for each other’s priorities. The PCC has an annually refreshed Police and Crime Plan which reflects the wider priorities across the whole Northumbria area. Developed following extensive consultation with residents, Elected Members, statutory partners and CSP Board members, the Northumbria Police and Crime Plan 2021-2025 sets out 6 priorities around 3 key themes – fighting crime, preventing crime and improving lives. An online copy of the full Northumbria Police and Crime Plan is available by following https://www.northumbria-pcc.gov.uk/police-crime-plan/

To ensure we are aware of the risks relating to Counter Terrorism, and in compliance with the statutory requirements set out under sections 36 – 41 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, South Tyneside Community Safety Partnership Board has oversight and governance responsibilities in relation to the delivery of the Prevent Duty and wider CONTEST agenda. South Tyneside Council have a multi-agency Channel panel in place for the area and has regard to the Channel duty guidance 2020.

In addition, South Tyneside’s Safeguarding Children and Adults Partnership and South Tyneside Channel panel chair are co-opted members of the Partnership.

This Community Safety Partnership Plan 2021-2024 links and complements the following strategies and plans:

• South Tyneside Partnership
• Health and Wellbeing Strategy
• Northumbria Police and Crime Plan 2021-25
• South Tyneside Safeguarding Children and Adults Partnership
• Youth Justice Plan
• Domestic Abuse Partnership Board Strategy
• HM Government Prevent/CONTEST Strategy
• Northumbria Local Criminal Justice Board Business Plan
• Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy

South Tyneside Community Safety Partnership will embrace diversity to create an inclusive culture where everyone is valued.

As strategic partners in South Tyneside we understand the diversity and differences found within our vibrant Borough. We recognise that as a partnership we have a key role in terms of enhancing and promoting diversity, equality and inclusion in ensuring South Tyneside remains an inclusive place to live, work and visit.

Through closer working arrangements, improved community engagement and effective use of current, relevant information, we will strive to identify and safeguard those most at risk of harm and understand and eliminate any disparity in the joint services we deliver. This shared knowledge will assist in providing equal opportunities for everyone and service delivery that meets the needs of our communities.

We engage with our communities in a range of ways. South Tyneside Councillors play a vital role in that process, in their role as ‘Community Leaders’ and provide an invaluable link to the communities they represent.

The five geographical Community Area Forums, at which CSP agencies are represented, also provide an opportunity to ensure that community concerns are considered and that the work of the CSP is communicated to residents.

While this Plan is ultimately owned by the CSP Board, it is the Board and its constituent groups, that ensure that they are delivered, as well as responding to any emerging trends or changes in crime and disorder patterns.

The Community Safety Partnership Board provides the strategic direction of the plan and its delivery, the Safer Neighbourhood Team tactical coordination and oversees the delivery of whole Borough or larger neighbourhood solutions. The Safer Neighbourhood Team will also monitor progress against this plan and the identified priorities.

The fortnightly CSP Tasking Group seeks to deliver operational targeted multiagency solutions and local delivery of the CSP priorities.

Integrated Offender Management (IOM) was introduced in 2009 to bring cross-agency, partnership responses to crime and reoffending threats faced by local communities. The aim was for the most prolific and problematic nominals to be prioritised and jointly managed by Police and Probation involving partner agencies.

In the Northumbria area, IOM is an Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) priority with the clear aim to better align with local Community Safety Partnerships. IOM national guidance aims for greater consistency achieving national priorities by tailoring approaches at a local level to address and manage risk and crime-related needs for desistance by those committing neighbourhood crime to make communities safer.

A new Local Domestic Abuse Partnership Board is responsible for supporting South Tyneside to fulfil the duties outlined in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The Board will work together to understand needs of the local area and neighbouring authorities, ensure the voice of the victim and children are central to the overall strategy, commissioning services and making decisions on behalf of the whole system and improving outcomes.

The CSP reports to the Cleaner Greener Communities Board which, in turn, is held to account by the South Tyneside Partnership.

The South Tyneside Partnership has a South Tyneside Vision, which sets out its long-term ambitions for the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of South Tyneside.

Within that are ten strategic outcomes that the Partnership wants to achieve:

The CSP’s Plan plays a key role in achieving the outcome of less crime and safer communities, but also cuts across most other outcomes such as better housing and neighbourhoods, and a clean and green environment.

The Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordinating and Call-in Committee provides scrutiny and challenge in relation to the work of the partnership on an annual basis.

Reducing Crime

• Strengthened our local Neighbourhood Crime and ASB Tasking and Co-ordination through fortnightly multi-agency Operational Tasking meetings and monthly Safer Neighbourhood Team Tactical meetings.
• We have worked alongside the new Violence Reduction Unit for Northumbria to support several interventions to reduce violence.
• Funding secured from Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Violence Reduction Unit to establish new co-located ASB/substance misuse link worker post within tenancy enforcement to improve the management of highly complex individuals.
• County Lines drama production developed by South Tyneside Safeguarding Children and Adults Partnership and seen by 545 professionals and 578 young people.
• Child Exploitation and vulnerability training delivered to 697 people from across the local business community.
• Lighter and Darker Nights youth ASB and crime diversion activity successfully delivered.
• Office of Security and Counter Terrorism Channel Duty assurance process successfully undertaken. New South Tyneside Channel panel established and 14 targeted Prevent and Counter Terrorism training sessions delivered virtually in 2020 to over 300 professionals.
• We now have 19 ‘No Cold-Calling’ Zones in South Tyneside covering 1538 homes.
• Call blockers are now used with great effect for those residents consistently targeted by telephone scammers.

Addressing domestic abuse and sexual violence

• Successfully secured national and local funding to increase provisions and support the domestic abuse agenda, including Operation Encompass Next Steps, Drive Programme, Child to parent violence support, Complex Needs Housing provision and Parental conflict training and interventions.
• Establish new South Tyneside Strategic Domestic Abuse Board and development of a new in-house Domestic Abuse Service to provide much needed support to those experiencing domestic abuse.
• Support International Women Day and White Ribbons Events to raise awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Putting Victims First

• Noise Nuisance mobile phone app. introduced to support more enforcement action and improve the everyday lives of residents.
• Continued to address vehicle related crime and disorder through targeted disruption activity such as Operation Benelli and Operation Headlight and preventative work undertaken with Northumbria Police and PCC to raise awareness and improve partnership responses to motorbike nuisance.
• South Tyneside Hate Crime Champions Network established, and a programme of activities undertaken during Hate Crime Awareness Week to raise awareness and challenge hate crime.
• South Tyneside Council WhoRya Mate Crime project receives national acclaim and achieves APSE Award finalist status.
• Youth Services secure £300k Home Office funding to sustain Thurston Family Project, this innovative project combines resilience training and outdoor education engaging referred families in order to reduce ASB.

Dealing with Anti-Social Behaviour

• Continued to make best use of ASB tools and powers, such as Public Space Protection Orders, Community Protection Warnings and Notices, and Community Trigger requests to help enforce prevent and deter ASB from taking place in South Tyneside.
• 10 CCTV cameras deployed to address ASB, fly-tipping and motorbike nuisance.
• 989 ASB cases opened in 2020, with 347 warning letters issued, 40 Community Protection Warnings progressed, and 9 Possession Orders secured.
• In the last year formal enforcement action has been taken on 36 occasions for environmental crime, including dog fouling and fly tipping.
• In 2020-21 4 vehicles were seized and destroyed having been used in the commission of fly tipping offences and of 50 abandoned vehicles were removed from the streets of South Tyneside.

The Strategic Assessment analysed the levels and patterns of crime and disorder in the Borough, including any changes in those levels and patterns since the previous assessment and consideration of why those changes may have occurred. It also considered those matters which the community considered to be a priority.

Crime

6,515 crimes were recorded in South Tyneside between April to September 2020, which is a reduction of 20% on the same period the previous year. Force wide saw a reduction of 13% in crime.

Crime Key Factors

The Borough saw an increase in offences relating to violence against the person (with injury) and sexual offences, whilst theft and handling crimes and burglary reduced in the same period.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Anti-social behaviour over the three years 2017/18 to 2019/20 experienced surges in reports in the spring and summer, declining with the return of schools in September. A further peak is usually experienced as the darker nights arrive in October along with Halloween and Bonfire Night.

Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse incidents reported to Northumbria Police have increased in South Tyneside over the last three and a half years, with a 1.8% increase in reported incidents in the first half of 2020/21 when compared to the same period in 2019/20. South Tyneside has also seen an increase in repeat victims of domestic abuse during this period.

Hate Crime

Between April 2020 and March 2021 there were 287 hate crimes recorded by Northumbria Police across South Tyneside. While this number remains comparatively lower than neighbouring authorities, the figures provided continue to show annual rises within some protected characteristics. Race, homophobic and faith continue to be the most reported categories of hate locally.

Public Perception

South Tyneside residents who responded to a survey gathering opinions of local residents in relation to public opinions of the Police and the Council advised that their main priorities for policing and anti-social behaviour were people using or dealing drugs, the use of mini-motors, scramblers and off-road motorbikes and young people being rowdy or a nuisance, particularly where alcohol is concerned.

Social Care

In Children’s Social Care whilst the number of children subject to a Child Protection Plan and the number of children in care has been fairly stable the number of children with a missing episode has significantly increased over the last few years, although this is largely due to a change in recording in practices of the police In Adults Social Care there is a significant increase in adults of all ages living with the negative impact of long-term alcohol misuse and younger adults living complex lives. Loneliness is recognised as one of the largest health concerns we face, increasing risk of death by 26% (Holt-Lunstad, 2015) and affecting adults and families of all ages. Issues of self-neglect and hoarding are being increasingly recognised and identified. These are all complex and multi-faceted issues.

Environmental Health

In the first half of 2020/21 the Environmental Health Service has seen a significant increase of incidents reported to them in contrast to the decline experienced in 2019/20, with noise and fly-tipping being the most prevalent complaints.

Health and Wellbeing

The Public Health Outcomes framework indicates that there are problems in South Tyneside. There are high numbers of admissions to hospital for alcohol related conditions for children and adults, and admissions to hospital as a result of violent crime (including sexual violence).

Prevent

Prevent referrals in the Borough decreased in 2020/21 from 20 down to 16, with the majority continuing to relate to online right-wing extremism and terrorism involving young males.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue

Data from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service shows reports of secondary fires have increased, representing 82% of incidents reported.

Tenancy Enforcement

South Tyneside Homes have experienced an increase in the number of cases opened and a rise in noise complaints.

Youth Offending

The number of offences and individual offenders have decreased in 2020/21 following a downward trend over recent years. A picture similar to crime numbers in the Borough.

The CSP has prepared its annual Strategic Assessment to guide the process of determining its priorities for 2021-2024.

Having considered the findings of the Strategic Assessment, the priorities identified by the Community Safety Partnership for 2021-2024 are:

Reducing Crime

• Support dedicated cyber fraud campaigns, including the use of cyber volunteers and intelligence sharing across organisations.
• Use a public health approach to reducing violence.
• Develop further the “Blue Light project” to target and deal with the highest crime causing persons.
• Respond to the Police Serious and Organised Crime Local profile.
• Develop a Cross Partnership Domestic Abuse Strategic Partnership Board.
• Deliver a wider range of intelligence development enforcement work in relation to doorstep crime, scams and illegal money lending.

Addressing Domestic and Sexual Abuse

• Revise the Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment.
• Produce a Domestic Abuse Strategy and commissioning intentions document.
• Support the Police and Crime Commissioner strategy of developing Domestic Abuse Workplace Champions.
• Develop educational campaigns around healthy relationships, supporting the introduction of Statutory Relationship and Sex education in schools.
• Support the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.
• Develop a Cross Partnership Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Working Group.
• Promote White Ribbons Day.
• Support South Tyneside Youth Parliament to raise awareness of domestic abuse in school settings.
• Raise awareness of and promote reporting mechanisms in relation to elder abuse.

Putting Victims First

• Increase the provision of family support within areas of most need.
• Increased support for youth services.
• Ensure that all victims get the right support to help them to overcome their experience.
• Embed the Anti-social behaviour victim’s volunteer network within the Antisocial behaviour unit, to offer continued support to victims.
• Actively participate in the National Trading Standards Scams Hub Project.
• Ensure the voice of the victim and children are central to any decisions and service improvement or co design.

Dealing with Anti-social Behaviour

• Review the Councils Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.
• Reduce harm on the road and promote safer driving through educational campaigns.
• Encourage residents to report off-road motorbike nuisance and work with partners to tackle the issue.
• Work with others to try and rebuild substance misuse rehabilitation treatment programmes lost to austerity.
• Improve service delivery for noise nuisance complaints to the Council and South Tyneside Homes.
• Identify additional actions to address the increase in Anti-social behaviour around Halloween and Bonfire night.
• Commit to undertake a deep dive into under 18 alcohol admissions to understand trends, develop an improved pathway between hospital and local specialist support services.
• Review preventative drug and alcohol and education programmes for young people and their parents/carers.

Delivering Community Confidence

• Ensure young people are aware of the dangers and risks involved in criminal gangs.
• Continue to support those experiencing mental health issues and promote mental health awareness.
• Develop a Strategic Communications Plan with other agencies – Police, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service to promote key messages.
• Widen the delivery of Prevent training to other agencies and commissioned services to counter the activities of extremist groups and individuals.
• Support young people who are expressing extreme, racist ideas and who are vulnerable to radicalisation.
• Review the Councils Community Safety provision.
• Review of the Councils Enforcement Policies.
• Support people to connect with, and develop, their community resources to improve wellbeing.

Whilst our priorities provide a focus for the work of the CSP there is a wide range of other issues that we have an active interest and involvement in, such as Child Sexual Exploitation, Modern Day Slavery, and the Prevent agenda.

Reducing Crime (Inc. Reducing Re-offending)

• Total Crime will have reduced over the previous year. Published figures will show that we remain below the average of crimes within our statistical neighbours.
• We will see a reduction in first time entrants into the Criminal Justice System.
• Serious Organised Crime will be reduced.

Addressing Domestic and Sexual Abuse

• Children and adults who have experienced or are at risk of Domestic or Sexual Abuse will be identified, supported and safeguarded at the earliest opportunity.
• Children and adults will be more likely to recognise domestic abuse in their own relationships and be aware of what support is available.
• The local community will be more aware of the exploitation of children and adults and know what support is available and where to report incidents or concerns.
• Teaching establishments will be able to recognise, and support people involved in Domestic Abuse.

Putting Victims First

• Victims of crime and anti-social behaviour will receive appropriate support to help them recover and reduce the risk of re-victimisation.
• We will continue to demonstrate high satisfaction levels from victims of antisocial behaviour who have been supported by the Anti-social Behaviour Unit.

Dealing with Anti-social Behaviour

• Reports of anti-social behaviour to the police will continue to reduce.
• There will be a reduction in cases opened by the Anti-social Behaviour Unit.

Delivering Community Confidence

• Residents will continue to feel safe in the Borough.
• There will be a reduction in anti-social behaviour.
• More residents will be satisfied with how the Local Authority and the Police deal with complaints of Anti-social Behaviour.
• The Community will have more confidence to report incidents to the Police and the Council.
• Embed the Business and Community Support Officers within the Borough's Covid-19 recovery planning.
• Initiatives and campaigns delivered to raise awareness of and reduce impact of loneliness and social isolation.