A5 Executive / Key Decision Report

Decision maker and date of Leadership Team meeting or (in the case of individual Lead Member or Executive Director decisions) the earliest date the decision will be taken

Leadership Team meeting

Lead Member: Cllr Hargreaves

Executive Director: Sue Harris

Date of report: 3 January 2020

Date of decision 15 January 2020

Forward Plan reference: 05555/20/K/AB

Report title Community Safety Warden Scheme

Reporting officer Stuart Priestley, Chief Officer Community Safety

Key decision Yes

Access to information classification

Public

Wards All.

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 The Council is committed to providing more effective, responsive and accessible environmental enforcement, community safety and engagement outcomes. The CREST (Customer and Resident-focussed Environmental Services Transformation) Programme will join up a range of services delivered on streets, estates and in parks which will strengthen our responses to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and expand our engagement with residents.

1.2 The Council has funded additional police officers since 2014. Since 2018, the

police have been unable to fully staff the contract we have with them. In July 2019 the contract changed to the significant disadvantage of the Council, with increased costs and fewer controls on the operational deployment of officers. As a short-term measure, the Council negotiated new arrangements, as part of the Metropolitan Police’s Partnership Plus Scheme. Seventeen funded officers, with an additional three officers attached to the team at no charge, were agreed by the police. Met wide resourcing challenges have meant that they have been unable to fully staff this contract. The performance of the contract no longer provides good value for money for the Council.

2

1.3 The context of policing has changed and will change further. The Met has

reorganised territorial policing with the merger of Basic Command Units (BCUs) across London. The Royal Borough is now part of Area West BCU along with London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) and Westminster City Council (WCC). The government has pledged an additional 20,000 Police officers nationally of which the Met is lobbying for between 6,000 and 7,000. Residents are therefore likely to see an increase in Police presence across the borough.

1.4. This report recommends a new, more effective and responsive model for delivering

improved community safety outcomes for our residents by: establishing a Community Safety Warden Team comprising 14 wardens and a manager; reducing the police contract to 3 officers who can be fully tasked by RBKC. This model will also achieve the agreed savings of £250,000 to the borough in 2020-2021 budget incorporated in the New Futures Programme.

1.5 The Council delivers and commissions a breadth of community safety services to

tackle anti-social behaviour, violent offending and to support victims of crime to recover. In the past year the Council has committed an additional £1million to tackling serious youth violence and £500,000 to expanding its CCTV network. The Community Safety Warden Team will work alongside these and other local services to provide a proactive, visible enforcement and engagement service for our communities, focused upon tackling anti-social behaviour and supporting the Council’s work to tackle violent offending.

1.6 The new team will support and add value to the network of community safety

services in the borough. The service will work in partnership with different Council services and teams (Housing and the Detached and Outreach Service), the police, residents and communities to tackle and solve community safety problems. The wardens will be both street based and work on estates (depending on priority areas) and all officers will have body worn video cameras.

1.7 This new service will enhance the ASB-focussed resource on streets and estates,

link into CCTV technology, and deliver better value for money for the Council. The service will be scalable in response to further funding opportunities and as part of future proposals made as part of the CREST programme.

1.8 Both of our Neighbouring boroughs, Hammersmith and Fulham and Westminster, operate a warden model and are reducing the number of funded police officers or do not fund them at all. The feedback from both Boroughs is positive, where the targeted and flexible resource is viewed favourably by residents.

2 RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1 That the Leadership Team agree to:

• Vary the Partnership Plus contract with the Metropolitan Police from 2 police sergeants and 14 police constables to 3 police constables; and

3

• Establish a Community Safety Warden Service comprising 14 wardens and a manager.

3 REASONS FOR DECISION

3.1 The drivers for this decision are:

• The change in funding model for the funding of additional police officers, making the service no longer value for money;

• The announcement of additional Police on the streets in London, thereby increasing Police numbers on the streets in RBKC; and

• The CREST programme, which focuses on service transformation to provide more effective and customer focussed targeted enforcement across the borough whilst supporting the Council to meet its savings targets.

3.2 Our Council Plan 2019-2023 sets out a four-year strategy for building and supporting local communities. This includes “Healthy, clean and safe” and “supporting and safeguarding vulnerable” as priorities as well as “Prevention and early Intervention” as a cross cutting theme. The proposals in this report will strengthen the Council’s capacity and capability to deliver these priorities. Similarly, the proposed Team will support the Grenfell Recovery Strategy commitment to “improve community safety”. Further, joining up enforcement services was a recommendation of the 2018 independent review of the Council’s Community Safety Services.

3.3 The Community Safety Warden Team will deliver the following benefits for residents:

• A flexible and swift response to anti-social behaviour issues; • A visible enforcement service with links to the Council’s CCTV network to

provide intelligence-led tasking and responses to live issues; • Enhanced local problem solving with a focus on resident and business

engagement and involvement; • Increased intelligence gathering which supports other Council enforcement

teams and the police respond to issues; • Increased visibility of, and engagement with, a uniformed enforcement

team in the borough; • Better value for money for the Council with an opportunity to join up

services with Housing and Children’s Services; and • An opportunity to recruit local residents into new roles.

4

4 BACKGROUND

CREST Transformation programme

4.1 This key decision forms part of the Council’s CREST Customer and Resident- focused Environmental Services Transformation programme. The aim of the programme is to deliver better outcomes for residents by joining up services and delivering an effective and efficient engagement and enforcement service across the borough.

4.2 CREST Phase 1, in response to resident concerns, focussed on construction sites.

The multi-disciplinary proactive Construction Management Team and went live on 1st April 2019. This has had positive feedback from residents to date.

4.3 Phase 2 of CREST will join up enforcement functions operating on streets, estates,

in neighbourhoods and in parks, enabling staff to deliver a wider remit of enforcement, reassurance and community engagement across the borough. The programme contains two phases:

Table 1: CREST 2 Phases

Phase 2a (October – April 2020) Phase 2b (April 2020 – April 2021)

Creation of new inhouse ASB focussed community safety warden team

Review how teams could be further joined up across:

• Parks Police, • Waste and Street Scene

Enforcement, • Noise and Nuisance • Construction Team • The Warden Team (new)

The aim is to retain some specialisms but join up where it makes sense Systems and processes will also be put in place to ensure links to other enforcement and engagement teams across the Council

Identify areas to improve resident reporting capabilities, in-house systems and data sharing across enforcement services

Identify opportunities to task all enforcement and engagement teams more effectively, and provide greater resilience

Pilot NSL approach to waste and street scene enforcement in the Earl’s Court area to see if any lessons can be learned

5

4.4 The model for Phase 2a will look as per the below, with the new Community Safety Warden Team part of, and linking into, the wider enforcement and engagement teams across the borough

The Community Safety Warden Team will work closely with Housing Management Services, Detached and Outreach (Family and Children’s Services), and the Housing Needs Street Population Outreach Team, to ensure a whole Council approach to tackling anti-social behaviour.

4.5 The Team will improve the way residents and businesses report anti-social behaviour

and other environmental crimes. The Warden team will enable the Council to potentially trial new ways of reporting incidents such as via an App, the internet or other technology.

Community Safety Policy Context 4.6 The Council has invested in an additional uniformed police presence since 2003. In

the period 2003 to 2014 this took the form of additional Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who were assigned to the individual ward Safer Neighbourhood Police teams. In 2014 the Council entered into a new contract to fund additional, warranted police officers. This contract provided a cost-share arrangement by which Councils could fund additional police officers at a reduced rate; for every police

Environmental Health Services Highways

MET Police

Planning

Streets, neighbourhoods and parks-based enforcement,

working in collaboration and providing resilience

Noise & Nuisance

Contractor pilot

Parks Police

Community Policing (targeted)

Warden Team

Waste and Street Scene

enforcement

Construction Management

Team

Street Population Outreach Team (Homelessness)

Detached Outreach Team (Serious

Youth Violence)

6

officer funded by the Council the police would supply an additional police constable. The Council entered into a four-year contract for 41 additional police officers in 2014. These officers comprised the Community Policing Team (CPT) whose purpose was to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. The contract was extended for a further two years in April 2018; and varied to include 34 police officers. The associated reduction in budget was taken as a saving. During the period 2018 / 2019 the Met were unable to fill the full complement of officers under the contract and the number of CPT officers was maintained at around 20 leading to a budget underspend.

4.7 On 1 July 2019 the Met Patrol Plus scheme was replaced with the Partnership Plus

contract to the significant disadvantage of the Council. To have maintained the contract of 34 police officers it would have cost the Council an additional £788,000. The Partnership Plus scheme also reduced the control the Council has over the funded officers with no financial recompense when the officers are abstracted to other duties and locations. The Council entered into a three-year Partnership Plus contract on 1 July 2019 for 17 police officers configured 2 sergeants and 15 police constables, with an opportunity to review arrangements as part of CREST. An additional three officers aligned to the CPT were committed by the BCU Commander as a local agreement.

5 PROPOSAL AND ISSUES

5.1 The warden service will operate across the Borough’s streets, estates and parks. There is the potential for the service to be scalable to include additional functions and services dedicated to tackling issues specific to our streets and estates. The warden team will work closely with the Council’s Housing Needs Street Population Outreach Team and Family Services Detached and Outreach Team.

5.2 The warden service will deliver the following functions:

• Patrol and work with the general public in parks, on streets and estates, and

in neighbourhoods;

• Provide a high visibility, uniformed patrol service to: issue Fixed Penalty

Notices and Community Protection Notices, enforce Public Space

Protection Orders, ensure highways are free from obstructions, undertake

community weapons sweeps, provide crime prevention advice, detect

abandoned bicycles and vehicles, tackle begging, take part in community

events, respond to civil emergencies, tackle anti-social behaviour, arrange

for graffiti removal and encourage responsible dog ownership; and

• Have body worn cameras and a radio link to the CCTV control room to allow

for swift deployment to emerging issues.

5.3 The service will be recruited to locally, trained in anti-social behaviour approaches and problem-solving models, and it is intended to incorporate an apprenticeship pathway.

7

5.4 The service will work with the Council’s Data Protection Officer to ensure that that the relevant protocols and safeguards are in place for the use of body worn cameras. The service will be compliant with the Public Sector Equality Duty (s.149 of the Equality Act 2010).

5.5 It is proposed to maintain a Community Police Team of three police constables

whose focus will remain tackling street crime and anti-social behaviour. The officers will be closely aligned to the work of the community safety wardens and add value to their outcomes. Maintaining a reduced Community Police Team of warranted police officers, with full police powers, will:

• add value to the warden service in the delivery of their outcomes;

• support enforcement of the borough’s two PSPOs;

• support actions to tackle licencing issues and night-time economy crime and

anti-social behaviour; and

• support actions to tackle anti-social behaviour and drug concerns.

5.6 Table 2, below, provides a summary of the proposed funding model for 14 wardens

and 3 Police Constables drawing on the 2020-2021 budget of £835,000 for the

funded officers. A manager post will be funded to the limit of £55,000 p.a. from a

separate Community Safety budget.

5.7 The wardens will be recruited at grade B (25,833 – 29,796) and the Supervisors at

Grade C (31,434 – 34,986). Additional payments will be made for weekend and

unsocial hours worked. These payments have been accounted for in the funding

model at Table 2.

Table 2: Funding model

Number Officers FTE £

Wardens Service

Supervisors 2 £ 105,600

Wardens 12 £ 538,800

Wardens Service Total 14 £ 644,400

Policing Contract

Sergeant 0 £

Constables 3 £ 171,000

Policing Contract Total 3 £ 171,000

Total New Service £ 815,400

Budget 2019 / 2020 £ 1,085,000

Saving 2020 / 2021 £ (250,000)

Final Budget 2020 / 2021 £ 835,000

8

5.8 The difference between the final budget and the new service is £19,600. This will

be used as a contribution to the ancillary costs of establishing and running the

warden service. This is anticipated as £47,000 in year 1 (2020/2021) and £12,000

thereafter. These additional costs have been accounted for in the Community

Safety revenue budgets.

5.9 The key issue relating to the proposal is the transition from Police support to the

new warden team. There may need to be a phased approach to the introduction

of the new Warden Team (depending on the recruitment process and introduction

of systems), and a steady phasing out of Police support.

6 OPTIONS AND ANALYSIS

6.1 Three options have been identified and the benefits and disadvantages of these are briefly described Table 3 below.

Table 3: Options

Option Benefits Disadvantages

1 Maintain existing contract for 17 police officers

Provides an additional policing resource with full police powers

Does not join up, transform or add value to Council enforcement services. No financial recompense for the Council when officers abstracted to other duties. Police struggle to fulfil the contract leading to fewer officers deployed. Does not contribute to the Council’s savings target.

2 Vary the police contract to provide 3 police officers and recruit 14 Community Safety Wardens

Provides an integrated police and Council team dedicated to tackling ASB – police officers provide added value in tackling licensing night-time economy issues and enforcing the PSPO’s. Provides effective enforcement by joining up other Council enforcement services.

A diminution of warranted police officers.

9

Is scalable if other funding is made available. Linked to the Council’s CCTV control room

3 Terminate the police contract and recruit 18 Community Safety Wardens

Provides effective enforcement by joining up other Council enforcement services. Is scalable if other funding is made available at a future date. Linked to the Council's CCTV control room, it will provide an intelligence-led response to issues and live concerns.

No taskable police presence will limit the Council’s capacity to enforce the PSPOs and tackle licencing issues.

6.2 Option 2 is recommended by Officers.

7 CONSULTATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

7.1 Resident engagement events took place in March 2019 relating to CREST 1, with an attendance of approximately 70 residents.

7.2 Three resident engagement sessions took place in September 2019 regarding

CREST 2. Approximately 65 residents attended. Feedback on proposals was broadly positive and has been used to inform the development of the proposed model.

7.3 The Borough’s statutory Community Safety Partnership received a presentation

on the proposals contained in this report in October 2019 and were in support.

7.4 The resident-led, police Independent Advisory Group, similarly considered the proposals at a meeting in December 2019 and were broadly in support of the new model described in this report.

7.5 There is a resident conference planned for 21st January 2020 which will provide a further opportunity for residents to input into these proposals and the wider CREST programme.

8 HUMAN RESOURCES AND EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

8.1 In considering whether to vary the contract with the police and establish a new Community Warden Service, the Leadership Team are required to comply with the public sector equality duty contained in the Equality Act 2010. This means that they

10

must pay ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity for those who possess a protected characteristic under the Act, and to foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. An Equality Impact Assessment (attached at Appendix A) has been completed and identifies positive or neutral impacts. This document will be reviewed and updated as the proposals are progressed.

8.2 This proposal involved the recruitment of a new team. Therefore, it requires support from HR to recruit and advertise accordingly and to help shape the training and induction plans for the new service. There is a risk that 14 people may not be found in the first round of recruitment, so there may have to be follow up campaigns.

9 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

9.1 The recommended decision is lawful and here are no perceived legal risks associated with it. Legal Services will assist with variations to existing contracts and arrangements for new services.

10 FINANCIAL, PROPERTY, IT AND ANY OTHER RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS

Property

10.1 The CREST programme is proposing that all enforcement and engagement teams in Environment and Communities are co-located in Pembroke Road by March 2021. This is being considered as part of the Pembroke Road refurbishment project. A space analysis is currently being undertaken to confirm that the new Warden team could, in the interim (whilst the refurb is being completed), work out of Pembroke Road. The back-up option would be that the team work out of Holland Park until services could be co-located (which is where the Parks Police are currently based).

ICT

10.2 The ICT that the new team will be using is currently being scoped by the shared IT service. There will either be a short-term tactical solution for the new service, to ensure it is up and running by Spring 2020, or the new will be trialling new IT solutions that could be rolled out across all CREST services.

Finance

10.3 The financial implications of the three options are summarised in Table 4 below:

Table 4: Summary of financial implications of Options.

Financial Implications

Option 1 Does not deliver the proposed £250,000 saving. However, there may be an underspend if the police contract is not fully staffed. .

Option 2 Will deliver the proposed £250,000 saving. This will result in a reduced Community Police Team (3 officers). An underspend

11

maybe generated by an inability to recruit all the wardens via first recruitment round.

Option 3 Will deliver the proposed £250,000 saving. An underspend maybe generated by an inability to recruit all the wardens via first recruitment round.

10.4 The Director of Financial Management comments that the proposed change to the delivery of this service as laid out in this report and the recommendation in 2.1, will enable the £250,000 saving proposed for 2020/21 to be achieved by the Council.

Executive Director name: Sue Harris, Environment and Communities

Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) – Background papers used in the preparation of this report

[Note: Please list only those that are not already in the public domain, i.e. you do not need to include Government publications, previous public reports etc.]

Contact officer(s): [Insert name, post title, authority and both email/telephone contact details of the report author or someone who is able to answer questions about the report.]

Mandatory clearance requirements for all Key and Executive Decision reports

Cleared by Finance (officer’s initials) [NP]

Cleared by Corporate Finance (officer’s initials) [TE]

Cleared by Director of Law (officer’s initials) [AJ]

Cleared by Communications (officer’s initials) [NP-T]

Other Implications

The report author should consider, and include paragraphs on, the following as appropriate within the report if justified, or as separate appendix.

1. Business Plan

2. Risk Management

3. Health and Wellbeing, including Health and Safety Implications

4. Crime and Disorder

5. Human Rights

6. Privacy Impact Assessment

7. Impact on the Environment

12

8. Sustainability and energy measure issues