Community Safety Update
The Assistant Director Regulatory Services and Community Safety will give a presentation to brief the Committee on work being undertaken in relation to Community Safety.
Recommendation
The meeting is recommended:
1.1 To note the verbal update
Additional documents:
Decision:
Resolved
(1) That the verbal update be noted.
Minutes:
The Assistant Director Environmental Health and Licensing, Assistant Director Regulatory Services and Community Safety and Engagement and Deployment Officer gave a presentation updating the Committee on work being undertaken in relation to Community Safety.
The Assistant Director Environmental Health and Licensing advised the Committee that the Council’s in-house Community Safety Team consisted of four Community Wardens, a Community Safety Development and Engagement Officer and a Team Manager. The team worked with and supported county-wide strategic community safety partnerships and thematic groups.
The Assistant Director Regulatory Services and Community Safety explained that the Community Safety Wardens had received additional training and vetting to obtain accreditation from the Thames Valley Police Community Safety Accreditation Scheme. The accreditation gave the Wardens extra powers to deal with issues within the community.
The Committee was advised that, following consultation, in June 2022 te Executive has agreed to introduce a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in Bicester Town Centre to deal with nuisance or problems that could cause harm to the quality of life of the local community. The Assistant Director Regulatory Services and Community Safety advised that there was an existing PSPO for Banbury Town Centre, and a consultation would be starting in due course to refresh the Order. The Bicester PSPO differed to the Banbury PSPO as different issues affected the two towns.
In response to questions from the Committee, the Assistant Director Environmental Health and Licensing explained that the power delegated from the Police for the Council to issue penalty notices for cycling on a pavement could only be issued when cycling was taking place on a designated pavement, not in a pedestrianised area that was restricted to vehicular traffic for certain times of the day.
Resolved
(1) That the verbal update be noted.