PF&Rmin
Renfrewshire Council · 17 January 2023
Back to Communities and Housing Policy Board — 17 January 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
Minute of Meeting Police and Fire & Rescue Scrutiny Sub-Committee Date Time Venue Tuesday, 25 October 2022 15:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN PRESENT Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, Councillor Robert Innes, Councillor Janis McDonald, Councillor Marie McGurk, Councillor Iain McMillan CHAIR Councillor McGurk, Convener, presided. IN ATTENDANCE O Reid, Head of Communities & Public Protection and M Hendry, Resilience & Deployment Manager (both Communities & Housing); C Peters, Cyber Security Architect, E Gray and C MacDonald, both Senior Committee Services Officers, D Cunningham, Assistant Committee Services Officer and D Pole, End User Technician (all Finance & Resources). ALSO IN ATTENDANCE L Waddle, Divisional Commander and D Kane, Area Commander (both Police Scotland); and M Hill, Group Manager (Scottish Fire & Rescue Service). WEBCASTING OF MEETING Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Convener intimated that this meeting of the Sub-committee would be webcast via the Council’s website. Thereafter the Clerk undertook a roll call of members in attendance at the meeting.
Page 2
APOLOGIES Councillor Hood. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting. 1 SPOTLIGHT - POLICE SCOTLAND DIVISIONAL UPDATE The Sub-committee received a verbal update from Police Scotland on the recent personnel changes which had occurred. L Waddle, Divisional Commander, and D Kane, Chief Inspector, introduced themselves as the replacement for D Duncan and the new Area Commander respectively and provided a summary of their careers to date. DECIDED: That the update be noted. 2 SPOTLIGHT – CYBER CRIME The Sub-committee received a presentation from C Peters, Cyber Security Architect, in relation to the action being taken to tackle cybercrime in Renfrewshire. The presentation provided information on the rise in cybercrime around the world and set out the monetary value to emphasise the impact which it could have on individuals and organisations. It was highlighted that public sector organisations were often the most targeted and cited case studies which demonstrated the damage that could be caused. Links were provided to the Council's Get Safe Online resource which offered tips and advice to help the public reduce the risk to themselves and their families while using the internet. Details were also provided around the Council's Online Safety Ambassador scheme which trained individuals on how to help others stay safe online. It was noted that this program was open to anyone, but especially those who came into contact with people who were at risk of cyber fraud and that specific training for Elected Members could be provided subject to demand. Elected members were encouraged to contact the Council's Cyber Security Architect to receive leaflets which contained hints and tips and could be handed out to constituents. They were also encouraged to raise any concerns or queries they may have. DECIDED: That the update be noted. 3 SPOTLIGHT - SCOTTISH FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE – AUTUMN SEASON THEMATIC ACTION PLAN The Sub-committee received a verbal update from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland relative to the Autumn Season Thematic Action Plan, known as Operation Moonbeam.
Page 3
M Hill, Group Commander, set out the challenges which the fire service anticipated to face over the coming months including an increase in deliberate fire raising, misuse of fireworks and hostility towards staff. The local direction was outlined including partnership working with the Council and Police Scotland and discussion took place around the Council's role in identifying fly-tipping hotspots, the removal of material which had been collected to be used in rogue bonfires and supporting compliance with firework sales legislation. L Waddle, Divisional Commander, set out the role of Police Scotland in Operation Moonbeam including identifying and monitoring problem areas from previous years and encouraging further intelligence reporting. DECIDED: That the update be noted. 4 INITIAL REVIEW OF STRATEGIC POLICE PLAN - RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL FEEDBACK There was submitted a report by the Director of Communities & Housing relative to the Council's response to the consultation around the planned review of the joint Strategic Police Plan 2020/23. The response to the consultation was set out at Appendix 1 to the report. The report advised that the current joint Strategic Police Plan was published in March 2020 and that there was a statutory requirement that the Plan was reviewed within three years of its approval. An initial review was carried out by the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland and local authorities were subsequently invited to provide views and observations on the work carried out to date and any areas which would benefit from revised emphasis in a new iteration of the plan. The deadline for responses was 4 September 2022. Renfrewshire Council welcomed the opportunity to comment on the initial review of findings on the Plan and an open- ended response was provided. DECIDED: That the consultation response, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report, which was submitted on 4 September 2022, be homologated. 5 POLICE SCOTLAND - QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT There was submitted a report by the Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland, relative to service performance and activities in the Renfrewshire area during the period 1 April to 31 August 2022. The report summarised the key performance indicators and provided statistics relating to the specific key objectives detailed in Police Scotland’s Policing Priorities 2018-22, comparisons were made against the previous five-year average. The volume of recorded crime and offences had fallen by 5.5% on the five-year average, however had risen by 3.6% on the previous year. Crime categories which increased in recorded volume against the previous five-year average were crimes of violence, sexual crimes, crimes of dishonesty and fire-raising and malicious mischief. These had risen by 23.2%, 5.1%, 7.0% and 2.7% respectively, compared to the five- year averages. The percentage increase of those categories detailed had been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic when many restrictions were in place which had significantly reduced the number of crimes committed. The report provided, in an infographics format, local updates in relation to Renfrewshire Policing Priorities 2018-22 of drug supply and misuse; violence & antisocial behaviour;
Page 4
dishonesty and road safety. Drug dealing and misuse continued to be a priority area for attention in Renfrewshire as communities advised that they were concerned about the harm caused. Due to focus and proactivity on the issue, there had been a increase of 30.1% in the number of detected drug supply offences, compared to the previous five- year average. In the reporting period, 57 crimes had been reported to the Crown. There were 469 recorded missing persons incidents, an increase of 103% on the previous year. Over 12% of the total number of incidents related to the five most frequent missing persons within Renfrewshire, all of whom were young people aged under 19 years. Around 77% of all missing persons in Renfrewshire belonged in this age category. Young Persons’ Units continued to feature predominantly amongst the most common locations for missing persons incidents (36%). Over 73% of all missing people were traced within 24 hours, with over 50% of all missing people being traced within 12 hours. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 6 SCOTTISH FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE - QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT There was submitted a report, by the Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) relative to SFRS performance and local fire and rescue service plan priorities in the Renfrewshire area during period 1 July to 30 September 2022. The report provided updates in relation to Renfrewshire activity, accidental dwelling fires and casualties, unintentional injury and harm, deliberate fire setting, non-domestic fire safety and unwanted fire alarm signals. Accidental Dwelling Fires had decreased by 9% (4 incidents) from Q2 2021/22. Cooking remained the most common source of ignition within Renfrewshire. No firefighting action was required in 44% (17) of the cases, distraction was the cause in 54% (21) with alcohol/drug impairment being the cause in 31% (12) of the cases. The report advised that detection devices were installed in 33 of the 39 incidents and 82% of them had operated and raised the alarm. There was a decrease of 60%, from five to two, dwelling fire casualties for the reporting period. The injuries sustained by the casualty were slight in nature requiring First Aid at the scene. Non-fire casualties increased by 21 from this period last year with a total of 34 casualties. Of the 34 casualties 17 were as a result of Road Traffic Collisions (50%). Incidents involving assisting other agencies accounted for 26% (9 incidents) of all the activity within this indicator. Tragically, two fatalities were recorded this period which were both a result of suicide. The report indicated that Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals (UFAS) increased by 8% (19 incidents) year on year. Of the UFAS incident recorded 12% (33) were in hospital premises, residential care homes accounted for 12% (33 incidents) with 44% (120 incidents) found to be as a result of human interactions, for example, not isolating the system before testing, cooking, smoking etc. DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.
Page 5
7 LOCAL ISSUES Councillor Innes advised that he had received reports of wheelie bins being set on fire and queried if there was any action which could be taken to deter this. Police Scotland advised that education work was being undertaken and that there was difficulty in pinpointing areas of concern as they took place sporadically. They did however advise that since an individual who was believed to be responsible for a number of these instances had left the area the number of reports had fallen. Councillor McMillan raised concerns around anti-social behaviour at Fountain Gardens, Paisley. Police Scotland advised that they had not received reports recently however the new quad-bike officers had a remit to patrol the parks and that they would be notified of these reports. Councillor McMillan also raised concerns around the freeze on rent and evictions in that this may lead to an increase in illegal evictions. He reported that members of the public had been told this was a civil matter by police officers. Police Scotland advised that they had not seen an increase in reports and that this in fact would not be considered a civil matter. They advised that officers were trained to check with their commanding officer if they encountered a situation relating to unfamiliar legislation. Councillor McMillan highlighted reports of school children using and selling drugs and queried if the police had also noted an increase in reports. Police Scotland advised that there were periodic reports around this and that because this fell under a priority area that action was taken timeously. The work undertaken in communities and with schools was also noted. DECIDED: The local issues raised were noted.