Agenda item

The Committee considered the Fair and Safe Communities Annual Report 2016/17 which was presented to Committee by Councillor Cefin Campbell, Chair of the Fair and Safe Communities Group.  The report provided Members with the progress made by the Fair and Safe Communities group and its predecessor, the Community Safety Partnership, in tackling crime and disorder in 2016/17.  The report also reviewed progress made against the Integrated Community Strategy.

The Committee was informed that the Group took pride in creating strong links with partners and working collaboratively in making communities safe places to live.

The Committee noted that the report included contributions from two of the group’s ‘Responsible Authorities’ as statutory partners, the Fire and Rescue Service and Probation organisations.  Furthermore, Governance arrangements for the Fair and Safe Communities group have been embedded within the Public Service Board Structure.

The Chair of the Fair and Safe Communities Group informed the Committee that the rise in crime levels could be attributed to the recent improvements in Police reporting processes.  It was emphasised to the Committee that the Dyfed Powys Police force area remained one of the safest places to live with the lowest number of crime levels in England and Wales.

The following issues were discussed during consideration of the report:

In response to a query the Community Safety Manager stated that currently third sector were not represented on the Fair and Safe Communities Group, however, the group maintains strong links with third sector providers such as Age Concern Cymru and Women’s Aid who are represented on a number of groups the Fair and Safe Communities group lead on.  In light of this, Members raised concern that third sector organisations should be included on the group.  The Chair of the Fair and Safe Communities Group agreed and would discuss this matter further with the Community Safety Manager.

A query was raised in relation the rise in the number of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) thefts.  The Chair of the Fair and Safe Communities Group stated that the rise could be attributed to the recent developments that have been made in the way Police record crimes.  It had been recognised there had been a spate in ATV thefts recently and the Chair of the Fair and Safe Communities Group stated that some research would be undertaken and information would be forwarded onto Members.

In response to a comment raised regarding the need for PACT (Police and Communities Together) meetings to work more collaboratively, the Chair of the Fair and Safe Communities Group stated that a review of the Public Service Board (PSB) structure was due to be carried out in early 2018 which would be an opportunity for PSB’s to consider PACT meetings in order to provide communities with a stronger voice.

With reference to page 13 of the report, a comment was raised regarding the 29 fixed penalty tickets issued since the introduction of the PSPO’s for dog fouling, it was felt that considering this matter was a significant problem in communities the number of fixed penalties issued seemed surprisingly low. The Head of Waste and Environmental Services stated that detecting dog fouling crime was quite difficult to detect and resource intensive due to the level of proof required. On the issue of allowing the Police service via its PCSOs to issue fines for dog fouling, The Head of Waste and Environmental Services said that the Environmental Enforcement Manager was currently looking into this possibility and had been working closely with the Police in order to reduce the problem.  Due to this matter being resource intensive, Members were encouraged to report any dog fouling incidences that they witness with relevant information such as location, dates, times etc.

In addition to a further query, the Head of Waste and Environmental Services recognised that whilst other Local Authorities may carry out DNA testing in order to catch persistent offenders, the environment team had carried out some research into possibility of adopting this method.  It was found that the difficulty with this approach was that because dog owners do not have to register their dogs, those irresponsible dog owners that fail to clean up after their dogs would be unlikely to register their ownership details and DNA testing as a basis of proof would become ineffective. In addition, the Head of Housing and Public Protection informed the Committee that Local Authorities were approaching the Welsh Government as they currently do not have the power to introduce mandatory dog registration schemes.

It was emphasised that the problem of dog fouling remained a significant issue within the communities of Carmarthenshire and that it was important to ensure that work was being done to reduce the ongoing problem.

In pursuit to improve the ongoing dog fouling problem, it was suggested that it may be beneficial to carry out a media campaign in order to educate dog owners on what they can do to be a more responsible dog owner.  The Head of Waste and Environmental Services stated that this matter had been publicised previously but agreed that a fresh campaign would be beneficial in raising the profile of the issue and provide information how dog owners can help improve the position.

With reference to a comment raised at the last Committee meeting [minute 5 refers], it was emphasised that the current lack of provision for a 24 hour dog warden service needs to be reviewed.  With respect to detection of dog fouling, where there is a known problem, The Head of Waste and Environmental Services stated that Environmental Enforcement resources could be targeted to problem areas if sufficient information was provided to justify concentrated action.

In response to a query raised regarding improving the accessibility of speed management data for local members, the Head of Highways and Transportation explained that speed monitoring data was considered at the Speed Management Group which included partner organisations such as Road Policing Units, Go Safe and the Fire and Rescue Service.  The Road Safety & Traffic Manager added that the recording and access of speed monitoring data was currently being reviewed with a view to move to a digital mapping system which once established would allow for the data to be more readily available to multi-agencies and local members.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be noted.