Castle Point Public Meeting
Wednesday 18th November 2015
District Profile
Castle Point forms part of the South policing area for Essex Police, combining with Rochford to form one of Essex Police’s ten local policing areas.
Castle Point is a small borough covering an area measuring approximately 17 square miles. Located in South Essex, at the heart of the Thames Gateway South Essex sub-region, Castle Point is bordered by Basildon to the west and Southend to the east. Castle Point comprises the areas of Benfleet, Hadleigh, Thundersley and Canvey Island, with a combined population of 89,400 according to the last census.
Just over 60 per cent of the land area in Castle Point is designated as ‘Green Belt’ and there are a number of important wildlife areas in the borough. West Canvey Marshes is situated on Canvey Island and has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Partnership work continues between Essex Police, Castle Point Borough Council, the RSPB and Natural England to maintain and secure this site.
Road links via the A13 and A 127, and frequent train services from Benfleet into London Fenchurch Street provide good transport links for the borough, and make it an attractive residential area for commuters.
Current Policing Structure and Resources
The district of Castle Point forms half of the Rochford and Castle Point police district. Rochford and Castle Point District, together with Basildon and Southend police districts make up the South Local Policing Area (LPA).
Neighbourhood Policing Team
Castle Point consists of four neighbourhoods: Benfleet, Hadleigh, Thundersley and Canvey Island. The local Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) for the area comprises an Inspector, Sergeant, Neighbourhood Constables and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). There is one police station, situated at Canvey Island, and the Castle Point NPT operates from this police station, between 08:00 and midnight, seven days per week. Front counter services are currently provided from Monday to Saturday, between 12:00 and 18:00 (with the exception of bank holidays).The local neighbourhood policing teams aim to meet with the community regularly, and work with them to seek solutions to local problems.
Youth Officers
Castle Point NPT currently has one dedicated Youth Officer who operates from Canvey Island police station and liaises with the schools in the Castle Point District. She is closely involved with local schools and youth projects, and supports processes to divert young people, wherever possible, away from the criminal justice system. Currently there are proposals planned to reduce the number of youth officers across the force, which will see the reduction to one centrally managed Youth Officer with responsibility for both Rochford and Castle Point districts.
Local Policing Teams
The Local Policing Teams (LPTs), including officers working response and investigative duties, provide a 24/7 service from within the district, attending emergency responses and routine calls from the community. The LPTs are co-located at Canvey and Rayleigh police stations and comprise three Inspectors, six Sergeants and 54 Constables.
Criminal Investigation Department
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is currently based at Rayleigh, due to the refurbishment of Southend police station. The CID comprises Detective Inspectors, Detective Sergeants and Detective Constables. They investigate the more serious crimes such as assaults of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), fraud, robbery and dwelling burglary.
Juno Team
The Juno Team is a specialist team responsible for investigating domestic abuse cases. It is led by a Detective Inspector and comprises Detective Sergeants and investigators. The team provides a service for the district seven days a week and is currently based at Rayleigh, due to the refurbishment of Southend police station.
Castle Point and Rochford Community Safety Partnership (CSP)
The working relationship with Castle Point Borough Council is very healthy and there is extensive joint working and co-operation through the Community Safety Partnership. The CSP is a multi agency group established under an Act of Parliament to reduce crime and disorder, anti-social behaviour and re-offending. Among partners with a statutory responsibility to work with the CSP are Essex Police, Essex Fire Authority, Castle Point Borough Council, NHS South East Essex, Essex Probation Service and Essex County Council.
Other organisations and voluntary groups represented on the CSP include Canvey Island Town Council, Crimestoppers, Canvey Island Youth Project, the Integrated Youth Service, Victim Support, Neighbourhood Watch and Schools.
Current priorities for Rochford and Castle Point CSP are burglary, anti-social behaviour, violent crime (including domestic abuse) and preventing re-offending. The CSP has also improved its focus on hidden harms often affecting the most vulnerable in communities, which is a key part of the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan for Essex.
Some examples of work undertaken by the CSP in the last year include the provision of security packs for vulnerable residents to help prevent crime in their homes, a sanctuary scheme for victims of domestic abuse, and safeguarding awareness training for taxi drivers, managers of licensed premises and other front line agencies, to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation and other hidden harms. The CSP also holds regular multi-agency meetings to monitor and develop partnership solutions to anti-social behaviour, with a focus on repeat and vulnerable victims.
Proposed Changes to Local Policing in Castle Point
Essex Police is continuing to face significant financial challenges, and is facing further potential cuts of £63 million by 2019/20. With 83% of Essex Police’s budget spent on salaries of police officers, staff and PCSOs, these cuts will inevitably mean Essex Police has to move to a smaller workforce. In addition to this the force faces further financial pressures caused by its ageing estate. Essex Police’s 80 buildings are in poor condition, requiring £30 million of repair work to bring them up to standard, and a further £2 million a year to maintain them. Comprehensive analysis of the use of police stations shows that very few people visit police stations to report crime, making this expense difficult to justify, and ultimately unsustainable. Under current proposals developed according to robust evidence of operational policing need, Essex Police plans to reduce its estate from 80 to 30 buildings.
Essex Police is also proposing to close 15 of its 25 police station front counters, and reduce the current number of PCSOs from 250 to 60. These proposals are currently under consultation with affected staff.
FRONT COUNTER FOOTFALL DATA IN CASTLE POINT DISTRICT Research carried out over two separate months showed:
441 people visited Canvey Island Police Station’s front counter, compared with 3,951 in Basildon, and 6,601 in Southend during the same period.
Of those 441 visitors, only 10 were attending to report a crime.
Under current proposals, Canvey Island Police Station front counter will close to the public in April 2016, although the building will remain an operational base for local policing teams. Front counter services will be available to the public at Basildon and Southend police stations from 9am – 5pm seven days a week. The sale of South Benfleet Police station and Hadleigh Police building will go ahead, as agreed by the former Police Authority in 2012.
Under current plans for the restructuring of local policing in Essex, it is proposed that the new Community Policing Team (CPT), which will cover Castle Point and Rochford, will comprise one Community Policing Inspector, two sergeants, six constables, one dedicated youth officer, and four PCSOs. These proposals, which are currently under consultation with affected staff, could remove 12 of the 16 PCSOs in Castle Point and Rochford, and affected staff would either be retained and redeployed elsewhere in the county, or made redundant.
The Community Policing team will be locally based, and will prioritise protecting people from harm, preventing and reducing crime, bringing criminals to justice, and engaging with the public. Local policing teams will focus on the greatest areas of threat, harm and risk to communities, and will work closely with local partners to tackle all aspects of neighbourhood policing and community safety, from tackling night-time economy violence, to responding to emerging crime trends and repeat anti-social behaviour.
Crime data for Castle Point District
At the meeting on 18th November there will be a detailed discussion on local crime figures and trends, and the facts and operational activity which support the statistics.
Comparing reports for 1st October 2014 to 30th September 2015 with 1st October 2013 to 30th September 2014, areas of note include:
All Crime has increased by 2.9% (103 more offences); Shoplifting has decreased by 17.5% (34 fewer offences); Other Theft has decreased by 12.8% (60 fewer offences); Criminal Damage (including Arson) has decreased by 11.0% (60 fewer offences); Anti-Social Behaviour has decreased by 0.9% (20 fewer incidents); Violence without Injury has increased by 34.7% (133 more offences); Sexual Offences have increased by 27.4% (23 more offences); Other Burglary has increased by 42.6% (80 more offences).
House Burglary
During the reporting period, offences of house burglary increased by 13.2% (45 more offences).
Burglary offences are monitored daily, and crime analysts identify any emerging trends or repeat offences. This, together with community information, contributes to intelligence-led policing activity, targeting areas of concern and the suspects believed to be responsible for these offences. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) teams retain the primary responsibility for responding to and investigating burglary offence, supported by local and neighbourhood policing teams.
The police work closely with partners under the Community Safety Partnership and local groups such as Neighbourhood Watch, to provide communities with security and crime prevention advice and materials.
A graph showing the three-year crime trend for this crime type is below:
Castle Point District - Burglary in a house
60 50
40
30 20
10 offences
0
Numberofrecorded
Jul 13 Jul 14 Jul 15 Jul
Jan 14 Jan 15 Jan
Jun 13 Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun
Oct 13 Oct 14 Oct 15 Oct
Apr 13 Apr 14 Apr 15 Apr
Sep 13 Sep 14 Feb 14 Sep 15 Feb 15 Sep
Dec 13 Dec 14 Dec
Aug 13 Aug 14 Aug 15 Aug
Nov 13 Nov 14 Nov
Mar 14 Mar 15 Mar
May 13 May 14 May 15 May Month/year
Violence without injury
During the above reporting period, offences of Violence without Injury increased by 34.7% (133 more offences).
This category of crime is wide-ranging, and includes harassment, assaults without injury and threats to kill. 43.2% of the Violence without Injury offences that occurred during this period, related to domestic abuse. Dealing with incidents of domestic abuse remains a key priority for Essex Police, and high-risk cases are automatically allocated to the specialist Juno Team. The Chief Constable takes the strategic lead on this issue, which has seen improved partnership working to improve identification of, and support offered to victims. Domestic abuse incidents are often under-reported, and Essex Police is working closely with local partners to improve the confidence of victims to report crime and seek help.
There is no direct evidence to suggest that the night-time economy is the cause for the increase in offences of Violence without Injury. However, Neighbourhood Policing Teams work in close partnership with licensing authorities to maintain robust enforcement of licensed premises’ operating conditions.
A graph showing the three-year crime trend for this crime type is below: Castle Point - Violence without injury
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
0
Jul 13 Jul 14 Jul 15 Jul
Jan 14 Jan 15 Jan
Jun 13 Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun
Oct 13 Oct 14 Oct 15 Oct
Apr 13 Apr 14 Apr 15 Apr
Sep 13 Sep 14 Feb 14 Sep 15 Feb 15 Sep
Dec 13 Dec 14 Dec
Aug 13 Aug 14 Aug 15 Aug
Nov 13 Nov 14 Nov
Mar 14 Mar 15 Mar
May 13 May 14 May 15 May
Number of recorded offences of recorded Number Month/year
Criminal damage
Criminal damage is the intentional and malicious damage to the home, other property or vehicles. Criminal damage includes offences involving graffiti and arson, where a person or people deliberately set fire to property, including buildings and vehicles.
Castle Point borough has seen an 11% reduction in criminal damage, equating to 60 fewer offences in the last year, compared with the year before. A graph showing the three-year trend for this crime type is below:
Castle Point - Criminal damage & arson offences
80 60
40 20
0
offences
Jul 13 Jul 14 Jul 15 Jul
Jan 14 Jan 15 Jan
Jun 13 Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun
Oct 13 Oct 14 Oct 15 Oct
Apr 13 Apr 14 Apr 15 Apr
Sep 13 Sep 14 Feb 14 Sep 15 Feb 15 Sep
Dec 13 Dec 14 Dec
Aug 13 Aug 14 Aug 15 Aug
Nov 13 Nov 14 Nov
Mar 14 Mar 15 Mar
May 13 May 14 May 15 May
Numberofrecorded Month/year
Anti-social Behaviour:
During the reporting period incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB) reduced by 0.9% (20 fewer incidents) when compared to the same period the previous year.
Vehicle based anti-social behaviour in the area of Roscommon Way, Canvey Island, has been a cause for concern, but sustained policing operations have significantly reduced the number of reported incidents. The police monitor social media to identify and combat any organised car cruiser venues in the area. Two CCTV cameras have been installed at Roscommon Way, which have assisted in capturing and recording evidence of inappropriate driving behaviour. Officers from Essex Police Roads Policing and Casualty Reduction units continue to support local policing teams by visiting Roscommon Way and other known car cruiser venues most weekends, and have dealt with a number of drivers for traffic offences.
Every ASB incident that is reported to Essex Police is subject to an assessment regarding the threat, harm and risk that the incident presents to others, in order to maximise the deployment of our policing resources. Often a multi-agency partnership approach, involving local authority teams will be taken to addressing and preventing lower-level anti-social behaviour offences. Sexual Offences
There was a 27.4% increase in reported offences of sexual crime during the reporting period, which equates to 23 more offences. Forces across the country have seen a rise in reported sexual offences, which is partly believed to be due to increased national awareness following a number of high-profile cases reported in the media, and increased confidence in victims to report these crimes. According to the Office for National Statistics, around 85% of victims who have suffered sexual abuse never go on to report it to the police, and therefore, such an increase in reported crime could be considered a positive indication of how trust and confidence in Essex Police is increasing.
Random attacks on strangers are extremely rare, and many reported offences involve a suspect who is known to the victim. A number of sexual offences are related to domestic abuse situations where offenders and victims have been in an intimate relationship with one another.
The Sexual Offences Investigation Team in Essex provides an enhanced service to victims of serious sexual crime in partnership with internal and external stakeholders, including Social Care and the Sexual Assault Referral Centre.
Your feedback is most welcome. Should you wish to contact the PCC about this meeting, or any other matter you can do so through the following routes:
By email: [email protected]
By writing to:
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex 3 Hoffman’s Way Chelmsford CM1 1GU You can learn more about the PCC’s work at: www.essex.pcc.police.uk News alerts will usually be tweeted via the Essex PCC Twitter account: https://twitter.com/essexpcc To keep up to date with Essex PCC events and initiatives, you can ‘like’ our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pages/police-and-crime-commissioner-for-essex
Reporting Crime:
All criminal information and intelligence reported to Essex Police allows them to build a picture of criminality and emerging issues in the area, and therefore plan and respond to these more effectively.
Local policing teams will always act on intelligence received from the community. If you have information regarding any criminal activity please either call the force control room on 101, your local policing team, or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is a completely anonymous line where you can report any criminal activity.