ITEM NO Community Safety WYFRA 10 February 2012 Committee 5
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR OF FIRE SAFETY
PURPOSE OF REPORT: TO REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE YOUNG FIREFIGHTERS SCHEME DURING 2010/11
RECOMMENDATION: THAT MEMBERS NOTE THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: NONE
ACCESS CONTACT OFFICER: Gayle Elvidge, Safety Central Manager 01133874360
BACKGROUND PAPERS OPEN TO INSPECTION: None
SUMMARY
The Scheme continues to attract interest from schools, statutory bodies and partner agencies every year. It is a beacon of good practice for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) in young people’s off-site learning provision. There are currently 32 BTEC courses catering for the needs over 350 students operating from 10 stations across West Yorkshire. 110 fully trained instructors currently deliver the training as overtime which is paid for by the participating organisation or school. 2011 saw the 7th annual pass out parade at Headquarters with 212 students gaining the level 2 BTEC from across West Yorkshire. The two-year BTEC remains popular with schools. However, where an organisation or school is unable to fund a full two-year programme, the short courses offer an excellent alternative with schools frequently following this up with commitment to the full course when funding arrangements change. A suite of short courses have been developed and delivered over the past year at the request of partner agencies and tailored to the needs of each group, with over 220 young people attending. These have included young people referred from, Pupil Referral Units, Youth Offending Team, Signpost, East Moor Secure Children’s Centre, Nacro, Barnardo’s, Aspire-i, West Yorkshire Probation Trust (Intensive Alternative to Custody) and Targeted Youth Support. The programmes are funded by the organisations which request them. Further courses of this type are planned to run later in the year and into 2012 on a rolling programme.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 The Young Fire Fighters Scheme (YFFS) was originally conceived in Wakefield as a response to antagonism directed at Fire-fighters when attending incidents in particular areas of the district
1.2 The scheme was so successful in engaging with young people in a positive manner, and influencing a real change in the attitude and behaviour towards the Service by young people and their families, that the decision was taken to expand the scheme across West Yorkshire. The scheme is now successfully mainstreamed within WYFRS and the intention exists to expand within the existing schemes based on: community need; continued availability of external funding streams within the districts; and capacity within the staffing structure to meet demand. What we have in West Yorkshire is viewed nationally as best practice and this was highlighted recently when Watch Manager Martin Hoole, manager of the YFF schemes, was awarded the Queens Fire Service Medal in November 2011 in recognition of his work.
1.3 Successful completion of the two year course results in the students achieving a BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) Level Two Qualification in the Fire and Rescue Service in the Community. This has gained approval from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (OFQUAL) and is included on “the register of regulated qualifications” at both pre and post 16. The team has also been involved in the rewrite of the qualification to meet the governments newly introduced Qualification Credit Framework (QCF) which gained approval in April 2011. The content of the course includes practical lessons in the use of a variety of operational equipment, community fire safety, the function and structure of the Fire and Rescue Service and also covers general life and employability skills.
1.4 The target audience for the full BTEC is young people attending formal education who are between 14 and 16, who have been identified as being able to benefit from a practical element to their learning that takes place outside the traditional school environment, and who may be in a group that could pose a future risk for the Fire and Rescue Service.
2. INFORMATION
2.1 Two Year BTEC 2.1.1 There are currently 32 BTEC courses catering for the needs over 350 students operating from 10 stations across West Yorkshire. Stations involved are Castleford, Wakefield, Fairweather Green, Ossett, Dewsbury, Rothwell, Gipton, Huddersfield, Keighley and Halifax. 110 fully trained instructors currently deliver the training as overtime which is paid for by the participating organisation or school.
2.1.2 2011 saw the 7th annual pass out parade at Headquarters with 212 students in attendance from across the district. The event was very well attended with around 700 people in the audience over the two nights including head teachers, school staff, parents, families, carers and WYFRS staff. The two year BTEC remains popular with schools across the district, however, where an organisation or school is unable to fund a full two year programme, the short courses offer an excellent alternative with schools following this up with commitment to the full course when funding arrangements change.
2.1.3 Of the original 241 students who signed up 226 proceeded to complete the full 2 year BTEC course in 2011; a completion rate of 93.8%. 29 students passed the course to Award level, 174 achieved the Certificate and 23 students achieved the Diploma. On completion of the BTEC 96% of students went into further education, 2% into employment, 1% training and 1% was recorded as “other”. These outcomes are particularly of interest considering that the introduction of Raising the Participation Age1 has not affected this cohort of Young Fire Fighters. The young people involved in many of the Young Fire Fighter programmes who are currently in mainstream education have in the majority of cases been identified as being at risk of disengaging from formal education or have been identified as being able to benefit from learning outside of the classroom environment and unlikely to continue in education. This success rate further demonstrates the impact this course has on raising aspirations and educational attainment. Following last years annual report a measure of the change in young people’s aspirations has been included in the two year course and will be available for next years graduates. All short courses now include pre and post course questionnaires and a review of evaluation methods applied to Young Fire Fighter courses is underway.
2.1.4 In addition to the full BTEC courses, a suite of short courses have been developed and delivered over the past year at the request of partner agencies and tailored to the needs of each particular group, with over 220 targeted young people attending. These have included young people referred from, Pupil Referral Units, Youth Offending Team, Signpost, East Moor Secure Unit, Nacro, Barnardo’s, Aspire-i, West Yorkshire Probation Trust (Intensive Alternative to Custody) and Targeted Youth Support. The programmes are funded by the organisations requesting them. Further courses of this type are planned to run later in the year and in to 2012 on a role on role off programme.
2.2 East Moor Secure Children’s Centre 2.2.1 East Moor secure children's centre in Leeds is a unit for young juveniles (predominantly from the Leeds area and likely to be released back into the Leeds area) who have committed the most serious crimes. An initial course was run as a pilot to trial the feasibility of running a course in the secure unit. The unit were asked to pinpoint participants known to be involved in deliberate fire setting, convicted arson, anti social behaviour and car crime. A four day kinaesthetic course was delivered, building an understanding and respect of the work of the Fire and Rescue Service and consequences of actions. The culmination of the four day course resulted in a small pass out parade in front of the unit staff, managers and other young people from the centre which was well received. Following the drill the young people involved personally thanked each of the Fire Service instructors showing great respect from a hard target group.
2.2.2 There is significant interest from the unit to develop this area of delivery and BTEC course.
2.3 Leeds Phoenix 2.3.1 The YFFS is contributing to the new Intensive Alternative to Custody Community Order (IAC) in partnership with the West Yorkshire Probation Trust and West Yorkshire Police. The overall objective of the order is the stabilisation and rehabilitating offenders in the community reducing risk in the area.
2.3.2 There will be two x ten week courses delivered at Gipton Fire Station as part of a larger IAC scheme. IAC is applicable to those offenders for whom the courts are considering a sentence of less than 12 months in prison. The intention is to contribute to the programme for those offenders’ whose crimes and life style
1 As part of the Spending Review and the White Paper, The Importance of Teaching, the Government confirmed its commitment to raising the participation age to 18 by 2015. could contribute to risk in the community that could affect the Fire and Rescue Service. The participants have committed a range of fire and road related offences including: TWOC (Taking Without Owners Consent); Aggravated TWOC; Failure to Stop; Dangerous Driving; Driving Whilst Disqualified; and Arson. However, offenders can often have multiple convictions and work with this type of group shows that participants have often been involved in other criminal or anti-social activity which may not have led to a conviction. As part of the order they will also be required to undertake unpaid work, this could be identified by our Arson Task Force teams in a “clear up” an area approach.
2.4 Keighley 2.4.1 The Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA) Performance Reward Grant (Local Area Agreement Reward Element) has been awarded to WYFRS to expand the YFFS in Bradford. The half capital, half revenue funding of £147,785.00 enabled the appointment of a part time co-ordinator to oversee the expansion of the scheme and provided the capital investment required to make the necessary changes to the site at Keighley Station to provide suitable learning facilities for the young people. Without this funding there would have been no planned expansion for new schemes at additional stations 2011/12 due to the lack of capacity within the Youth Training Management Team. The funding has also supplied a Young Fire Fighter Appliance required to expand the scheme into the Keighley area.
2.4.2 The funding has been granted for 12 months with a completion date of 31st March 2012. Sustainability of the scheme beyond the funding period will be achieved through external funding in the same way as the current schemes.
2.4.3 Alongside the generation of interest in the two year BTEC and short courses a fire awareness day will be held during school holidays. The core individuals to attend the fire awareness day will be identified by Barnardos as those who are in greatest need of developing respect for the Fire Service and in need of educational input on safety issues; these individuals could be vulnerable to engaging in anti-social behaviour within their community. The young people will be 8 to 13 years old and live in the Keighley and Shipley areas of the Bradford district. There will be 12 places available.
2.4.4 The building work is now complete and the first course complete. The new facility has been officially opened with a formal ceremony coinciding with the first scheme’s pass out parade.
2.5 SEN (Special Educational Needs) Schools 2.5.1 A series of courses have been developed and run with special educational needs schools one of which gained recognition in the 2010 OFSTED report at Highfield School, Ossett, gaining a grade 2 report overall. The course has also been successfully run at Ravenscliffe School, Halifax.
2.5.2 The course was developed for children who have physical and learning disabilities that will soon to be living independently and offers them a different learning environment with a practical element, bespoke to individual needs. The course builds confidence, assisting in managing peer pressure associated with anti-social behaviour whilst increasing fire safety awareness for young people moving towards independent living and those in supported living arrangements.
2.5.3 Opportunity for expansion of this type of course across the districts in other Schools whose pupils have special educational needs, or for children with statements relating to their educational needs, is being progressed. Bradford is the latest district expressing an interest in this type of provision.
2.6 Combined Services Courses 2.6.1 These courses are delivered at the request of partner agencies including; Police; Targeted Youth Support; and Nacro. They are bespoke to the needs of each particular cohort but typically feature Police Officers carrying out fire fighting training exercises alongside the young people who have become known to them due to their behaviour.
2.6.2 The evaluation of this course checks if any of the young people have been cause for concern again for any of the partner agencies in the months following the course. To date this has achieved a 100% success rate. Future courses will include pre and post course questionnaires to test the impact of the course on the individual.
2.6.3 The plan for the coming year is to continue to strengthen the partner relations these initiatives have generated. To work together, sharing knowledge and information to positively affect the impact the behaviour of these young people have on services and levels of anti-social behaviour in communities.
2.6.4 There continues to be a significant interest from partners in developing this area of work with a desire to continue to fund and contribute to further courses of this type in this and subsequent years.
2.7 Uniformed Public Services Course 2.7.1 The YFFS has been involved in assisting with the delivery of units of the level 3 uniformed public services courses with sixth form schools and colleges. This offers an opportunity to positively engage with young people from across the district, attaining respect and understanding of the work of the service, and the consequences of becoming involved in behaviour which impacts on the service.
2.8 Primary Schools 2.8.1 A trial approach to working with children identified as pre-NEET (not in education, employment or training) will commence at Castleford Station. The six week courses will be based on the basic YFFS and will involve seven primary schools that are feeder schools to the larger secondary schools in the district. Eighty two children will participate in this pilot across the seven schools. It is anticipated that the course will lay the foundation for the full two year BTEC and cover: building relationships with authority figures; building respect for public uniformed services; understanding for the need to abide to rules and regulations.
2.9 Regional work 2.9.1 A regional working group was convened and has just celebrated its first full year. The group have provided an opportunity to share good practice and to raise standards across the region in this field of work by working towards delivery of comparable services. There has been interest from Fire and Rescue Services nationally in this group.
2.10 Conference 2.10.1 The youth training team have delivered two one day conferences at Safety Central utilising the funding provided by organisations and schools. These were attended by the YFF instructors with approximately 100 attending over the two sessions. The conferences were also open to other WYFRS staff who contribute to working with young people and the regional working group who had one attendee each. This conference plays a vital role in maintaining the competence of the instructors. Subjects covered included behaviour management and Safeguarding and included the inspirational presenter Sir John Jones and input from teaching professionals.
2.11 IRMP 2.11.1 The youth training management team are involved in the specification of YFFS facilities where a host station is being refurbished as part of the IRMP. This consultation will ensure that facilities remain fit for current and future purpose in the most cost efficient way possible.
2.12 Case Study 2.12.1 Whilst Crews were attending a derelict building fire the crew inside the building came under attack from a group of young people who started throwing missiles into the building putting the fire fighters at risk of being struck and injured.
2.12.2 As a result the crews were withdrawn from the building for their own safety. A young person not involved in the attack approached the crews on recognising them as instructors from his course. He named the young people involved in the attack and had witnessed them carrying out similar attacks on other emergency service vehicles and staff. The information was passed to the Police resulting in the arrests of the young people involved.
Due to the sensitivity of this case and potential repercussions for the young person involved any identifying information has been omitted including the location of the incident. The YFF involved has opted to protect his anonymity.
3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 The revenue costs of the scheme are borne by local schools and other partners. The Young Firefighters scheme is principally funded through contributions from the local schools. The Authority does commit some capital resources to provide vehicles, equipment and accommodation.
4 EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS ISSUES
4.1 This initiative was acknowledged as best practice in the Equality Framework Peer Challenge in October 2010.
4.2 The monitoring data for the May 2011 Graduates is as follows • Gender: o Male 77.89% o Female 22.11%
• Ethnicity: o White British 70.89% o White Other 11.37% o Asian British 2.62% o Pakistani 11.75% o Black or Black British 0.65% o Other / Unknown 2.72%
4.3 The monitoring data for the current intake is as follows; • Gender o Male 76.7% o Female 23.3%
• Ethnicity o White British 73.7% o White other 11.5% o Asian British 1.63% o Pakistani 11% o Black or Black British 0.54% o Other / unknown 1.63%
• Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Learning and Physical Disabilities2 o Currently 4 bespoke classes with 48 attendees in total
5 HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
5.1 There are no health and safety implications arising from this report
6 SERVICE PLAN LINKS
• Work with partners to deliver a reduction in in fires, road traffic incidents and anti-social fire related behaviour. • Reduce accidental dwelling fires by 24 per cent • Reduce deaths and injuries from accidental dwelling fires by 26 per cent and 36 per cent respectively • Reduce the incidence of malicious false alarms attended by 28 per cent • Reduce the number of malicious false alarms not attended by 25 per cent • Increase the average of the percentage of fires in dwellings where a smoke alarm activated by 11 per cent • Reduce primary fires by 32 per cent and reduce the number of fire casualties by 24 per cent • Reduce fires started deliberately (arson incidents) by 20 per cent
7 RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 It is recommended that the contents of this report are noted
7.2 It is recommended that the review of evaluation methods continues to ensure that all schemes are able to evidence the range of outcomes they deliver.
2 A small percentage in BTEC classes: this information has not been supplied by schools
Glossary of organisations referenced within the report
Aspire-I Aspire-i Ltd is a social enterprise company committed to helping individuals, organisations and communities succeed through learning and work. They are a major provider of advice and support services to young people and adults in the Bradford District.
Barnardo’s Barnardo's is the UK's leading children's charity running over 800 projects across the UK that transform the lives of children and young people every day.
East Moor Secure Children’s Centre East Moor is a secure home to boys between the ages of 10 and 18, who have been sent there by the courts for a variety of reasons. The unit work with the boys in looking at the reasons for them being admitted to East Moor in the first place and aim to make sure it does not happen again.
Nacro Nacro is the largest charity in England and Wales dedicated to reducing crime, helping over 83,000 people each year. Nacro’s work focuses on three areas: before, during and after people are in trouble: • Preventing people getting into trouble - running projects to support children and young people. We steer them away from drugs and crime, teach them new skills, provide housing and support, and create new opportunities. • Offender management - working with people in prison, on post-release licences and on community sentences. We challenge them to stop offending, provide positive skills, help them find a suitable home and create chances for people to move on from crime and to give something positive back to their communities. • Resettling prisoners - helping them cope after serving a prison sentence, so they can settle back into the community, find a place to live and the chance of education, training and a job.
Pupil Referral Units Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) are centre for young people who are not able to attend a mainstream or special school. Each local education authority has a duty to make arrangements for the provision of education in or out of school for all children of compulsory school age. If children may not receive suitable education for any period for reasons such as illness or exclusion from school, these arrangements can be made through Pupil Referral Units.
Signpost Working in Leeds the Signpost project aims to reduce anti-social behaviour in the worst affected neighbourhoods by targeting the young people (9 – 14 years) who are causing the most problems. It works with families where the young people have been served with an ASBO or Anti-Social Behaviour Contract; it also intervenes before such legal intervention has been pursued. In addition to reducing anti-social behaviour, it seeks to enable families to maintain tenancies, to avoid family break-up and improve the life chances of the young people involved.
Targeted Youth Support Targeted Youth Support (TYS) is a multi-agency support programme for children and young people. The main purpose of TYS is to identify and offer support to children and young people (8-19 yrs) who are at ‘risk’ of substance misuse, teenage pregnancy, NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), crime and anti-social behaviour, homelessness, poor health and lack of positive activities.
West Yorkshire Probation Trust (Intensive Alternative to Custody) The Intensive Alternative to Custody (IAC) Order targets adult offenders whose offences are considered “so serious” that a short-term custodial sentence is being considered. Motivation to comply is assessed at the Pre-Sentence Report stage before the Order is proposed to the courts. Targeted tailored community-based interventions are part of the Order. The interventions are delivered by statutory, voluntary, and private sector organisations using a person-centred approach and include a combination of community payback, electronic monitoring, accredited behaviour programmes, activity requirements, judicial monitoring, mentoring, restorative justice, engagement with the Police, resettlement help, and intensive supervision. The pilots have been designed to offer sentencers a broad range of options when sentencing someone to the Order. Sentencers are given the option to include a combination of punitive and rehabilitative requirements.
Youth Offending Team Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are made up of representatives from agencies including the Police, Probation Service, Children’s Social Care, Health, and Education. YOTs identify the needs of each young offender by assessing them and addressing the specific problems that make the young person offend. The YOT also measures the risk they pose to others. This enables the YOT to deliver suitable programmes to deal with the needs of the young person with the intention of preventing further offending.
WYFRA Community Safety 10 February 2012 ITEM No Committee
6
REPORT OF: Director of Operations
To inform Members of the activities undertaken PURPOSE OF REPORT: by West YorkshireFire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) during the riots of the summer of 2011.
RECOMMENDATION: Members note the content of this report.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS EXEMPTION CATEGORY: None ACCESS CONTACT OFFICER: AM Ian Bitcon BACKGROUND PAPERS OPEN TO INSPECTION: None
SUMMARY
The report provides an overview of the activities that took place in response to the civil disorder that took place in England between 6 and 9 August 2011. The report details the ways in which WYFRS was able to prepare for and respond to any disorder that occurred within the County and outlines the specific areas where disorder occurred and the financial implications of these operations.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 During the period 6th to 9th August 2011 England suffered successive nights of rioting. Initially this began in the Tottenham area of London, and subsequently spread to other London Boroughs and then to other major cities, although some disorder was experienced across many other smaller communities as well. The rioting involved a significant amount of looting and has subsequently led to in excess of 4000 arrests and over 2000 convictions. The riots themselves were a significant media event, for their duration and beyond.
1.2 It is believed that the FRS in England received in excess of 3000 additional calls as a result of the rioting. The nature of the riots was such that the majority of the incidents that were attended were deliberate secondary fires associated with criminal damage, however, there were some notable significant primary fires and London Fire Brigade dealt with twelve related fires of greater than four pumps in a single night. Once again Firefighters have found themselves at the forefront of these events and displayed the highest levels of professionalism. It is an important testament that despite the number and range of incidents that were responded to that there were no fire related casualties. Furthermore, the FRS has been key in restoring public confidence and helping to rebuild communities.
2. INFORMATION
2.1 Within West Yorkshire a joint plan was developed with the Police for each evening between Monday 8th August and Sunday 14th August under the title of Operation Ringway. Its aim was to ensure that in the event of any public disorder West Yorkshire Police (WYP) and WYFRS had a safe system of work available to them that would protect firefighters and the community as a whole, whilst at the same time ensuring that an appropriate response could be made to any incidents in an area where disorder was taking place. The plan itself built upon WYFRS’ Operational Procedure No. 24 and is used in conjunction with this procedure. The Operational Procedure has been developed over the last ten years in response to incidents that have been faced by WYFRS and is seen as “best practice” in relation to the incident command systems that are used during public disorder varying between localized small scale disturbances and major widespread public disorder. The long running association with WYP in dealing with and planning for civil disorder and the number of WYFRS officers with Public Order awareness training are key elements in the development of such plans.
2.2 Throughout the planning phase and the implementation phase WYFRS worked very closely with WYP. At the beginning of each day a WYFRS Inter-agency Liaison Officer would attend the WYP “Gold” Planning meeting which would establish the strategy and subsequent tactics for the forthcoming twenty four hour period. Further to this a team of officers was located in the Police Senior Operations’ Room at Dudley Hill, in order to facilitate immediate tactical decision making at a “Silver” Level. Further, officers operated within the Multi-agency “Gold” in order to provide liaison and support in the event of the requirement to fully enable the Command structures. This provided a shared awareness and incident history and ensured that a Fire Officer was immediately available to support the Police Gold Commander, if required.
2.3 At a local level, where disorder is believed likely, or when it has occurred, WYFRS’ response is to establish a base station close to the area of operations. Appliances are operated in pairs and a Station Manager is allocated to ride as the officer-in- charge of each pair. A Group Manager is appointed as the Operations Commander at each base station in order to co-ordinate the response at a local level. The overall command structure is extremely effective; however, it is also resource intensive and requires a significant number of officers and staff to ensure that the operations work successfully. During the disturbances of August base stations were established at both Leeds and Huddersfield.
2.4 From a tactical perspective, the planning arrangements ensure that when an incident is identified within a designated risk area the Command teams of WYFRS and WYP are able to work together to ensure a safe resolution of the incident. In a co-ordinated way WYP will either provide immediate protection for crews at the scene of an incident or will create a “sterile” route to the incident and secure the incident ground itself. This process has been well practiced by both services and ensures that incidents are dealt with in a timely manner whilst at the same time minimizing the risk to crews. As with all firefighting operations, judgements are made about the specific incident and for those incidents where the risk is considered to be high and the incident involves a secondary fire with limited chance of fire spread, a decision may be made not to attend, but rather to allow the fire to burn out. In order to make such assessments clearly good co-ordination and intelligence is required and the command structures allow this to be facilitated.
2.5 During the course of the events at the beginning of August, there was only a very limited operational effect on the communities of West Yorkshire, due in part to the levels of community engagement that has been built upon by both WYP and WYFRS over previous years.
2.6 Incidents that were related to disorder were isolated to specific areas and are detailed below:
• In the Sheepridge and Dalton areas of Huddersfield a total of nineteen incidents occurred. These were mainly secondary fires involving bins and rubbish, although there was a single building fire in an unoccupied garage. Crews were mobilized from a base station at Huddersfield and attended a total of nine incidents. At one of the incidents crews were attacked with stones and bottles and subsequently withdrew whilst the police attended. Appliances from Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Elland, Odsal and Rothwell were used to support these operations.
• There were some minor disturbances in the Chapeltown and Oakwood areas of Leeds. Tensions had been heightened in the area as a result of a shooting that had taken place on 8th August and WYP and community leaders made excellent progress in terms of reducing these tensions and thus avoiding the major disturbances that was seen in other large cities in England. A total of ten incidents were reported and these led to six incidents being dealt with from the base station at Leeds. The incidents were a mixture of bin fires, car fires and a minor building fire, all of which were quickly dealt with. One of the Moortown appliances came under attack in the Grange View area of Chapeltown and had its windscreen broken. Crews from across the County were used to support the Leeds base station, with appliances being mobilized from Leeds, Stanningley, Brighouse, Ossett and Garforth.
• A single incident of violence to staff occurred in the Halifax area during the course of the operations, but this was not necessarily considered to be related to the wider disturbances.
3. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 The estimated total cost of the riots was £9,064 made up as follows :-
• Additional overtime and expenses £2,264 • Damage to vehicles £3,000 • Officer time planning for the event £3,800
3.2 Funding was available from CLG to fund additional staff costs over an above the normal salary costs which in effect limited it to the overtime costs of £2,264 which has been reclaimed from central government.
3.3 The other costs have been met by the Authority
4. EQUALITIES AND FAIRNESS IMPLICATIONS
4.1 WYFRS have a strong tradition of supporting the community and continue to do so in order to maintain and enhance community cohesion. The Young Firefighter’s scheme in East Leeds plays an important role in reducing community tensions and ensuring that the service engages fully with the young people of the area. This engagement over the years has assisted greatly in breaking down barriers and, as such, will have played a role in reducing the likelihood of significant disorder.
5. HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
5.1 Throughout the period concerned it was possible to ensure that the strictest safeguards were in place to protect the health and safety of firefighters. This has been achieved through years of development and practicing of safe systems of work which relate to civil disturbance incidents. The development of detailed plans ensures that all concerned are clear about their roles and hence safety is preserved.
6. SERVICE PLAN LINKS
6.1 The activities and planning carried out by WYFRS staff and strategic partners over the course of the events is a clear demonstration of the levels of operational capability within the organisation. High levels of local intelligence were used in order to construct the response plans and to ensure that crews were provided with the very best information available. Further, the work that was carried out by the Arson Task Force over the period and prior to that assisted in mitigating the likelihood of anti-social behaviour related fires.
7. CONCLUSIONS
7.1 This report highlights to Members the successful activities which took place in response to and in preparation for civil disturbance in early August 2011. Clearly the operation was a success and has built on many years of multi-agency working in relation to the response to public disorder on any scale. The events in West Yorkshire had a limited effect on communities and the work of staff has been crucial in developing community cohesion, which undoubtedly reduces the likelihood of wide scale disorder. When this is coupled with the levels of operational planning and response arrangements that were put in place it can be considered that the operation was a successful one and assisted in making West Yorkshire safer during this period.
8. RECOMMENDATION
8.1 Members note the content of this report.
ITEM NO
WYFRA COMMUNITY SAFETY 10 FEBRUARY 2012 COMMITTEE 7
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR OF FIRE SAFETY
PURPOSE OF REPORT: PROVIDES AN UPDATE ON THE CAMPAIGN FOR SAFER CIGARETTES
RECOMMENDATION: THAT MEMBERS NOTE THE REPORT
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: N/A
CONTACT OFFICER: NT CHARLSTON
BACKGROUND PAPERS F&R COMMITTEE PAPER 16 OCTOBER 2009
SUMMARY: This paper provides a further update on the campaign for safer cigarettes. It is our view that the creation of a European Standard for a fire-safer cigarette (based on the existing US standard) could potentially reduce the number of fires, fire deaths and injuries by up to 68%.
1. Background
1.1 On 19 October 2009, the Finance & Resources Committee was provided with an update on the campaign for fire safer cigarettes, also called ‘reduced ignition propensity or ‘RIP’ cigarettes.
1.2 The standard setting process is now complete and the new standard was agreed on 18 November 2010. It came into force across the EU on 17 November 2011. Every cigarette sold in the EU must now meet a reduced ignition propensity (RIP) requirement.
2. Information
2.1 Cigarette papers must now have special bands at intervals down its length so that, once lit, a cigarette will go out if it is not actively smoked.
2.2 A fire safer standard is already in force on cigarettes sold in Canada, Australia, Finland, New York and other US states. DCLG undertook some research into the comparisons of the propensity of fire safer cigarettes and conventional cigarettes to ignite textile materials used in a domestic environment. The research estimated that had cigarettes in the UK conformed to the New York standard in 2003, the number of smoking related fires would have been reduced in that year by nearly two thirds.
2.3 There are approximately 170 fires a year in West Yorkshire that are started by smoking materials. Between January 2010 and November 2011 there were 7 fire related fire deaths where smoking materials have been the source of ignition.
3. Financial Implications
3.1 There are no financial implications arising from the report.
4. Health & Safety Implications
4.1 As stated in the report.
5. Equality & Fairness Issues
5.1 There are no equality and fairness issues arising from the report.
6. Service Plan Links
6.1 With all cigarettes conforming to the new safety standard could assist us with achieving an on-going reduction in:
• Accidental Dwelling fires • Deaths & Injuries from accidental dwelling fires • Non domestic fires • Primary fires
7. Conclusion
7.1 Although this is a voluntary standard, manufacturers have a strong incentive to comply, as the standard will provide a ‘presumption of safety’ for cigarettes manufactured within it. If a cigarette does not comply with the standard, member state authorities (in the UK, this would be Trading Standards) would be able to take action - such as withdrawing it from the market.
7.2 With all cigarettes in the EU fulfilling this fire safety requirement, the European Commission estimates that one to two lives could be saved every day.
WYFRA Community Safety 10 February 2012 ITEM No Committee
8
REPORT OF: Director of Fire Safety
PURPOSE OF REPORT: To update the Community Safety Committee on the project relating to rough sleepers and derelict buildings across West
Yorkshire
RECOMMENDATION: That the Community Safety Committee note the content of this report
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: None
ACCESS CONTACT OFFICER: Thomas Rhodes, Arson & Special Projects Coordinator – 01274 655768
BACKGROUND PAPERS OPEN TO INSPECTION: Rough Sleepers Community Safety Committee report - November 2010
SUMMARY Following two fire fatalities in 2010 involving rough sleepers, a piece of work was undertaken by the High Risk team to research and develop links with those support agencies working with rough sleepers, to identify what procedures WYFRS could introduce to assist in the reduction of fire risk within the rough sleepers community. A report on this work was presented to Community Safety Committee in November 2010, which highlighted the partnership working with the Leeds based Crime Reduction Initiative (CRI) and their Outreach team, working with the rough sleeper community across West Yorkshire. During the project, it became apparent that there was a need to widen out the work to look at the fire risks associated with derelict buildings and rough sleepers, and as a result, a number of projects have been developed on Districts. There are plans to further develop this area of work in 2012. 1
1 BACKGROUND
1.1 Over the past four years, the High Risk team has concentrated on identifying those individuals or groups that are most “at risk” from fire within West Yorkshire.
1.2 A group that had not previously been considered were those from the rough sleeper’s community. However, following two tragic fire fatalities involving rough sleepers, a piece of work was implemented to research and develop links with those support agencies working with rough sleepers, and to identify what procedures WYFRS could introduce to assist in the reduction of fire risk within the rough sleepers community.
1.3 An initial report was presented to the Community Safety Committee in November 2010, outlining the project developing around rough sleepers.
1.4 However, during the project it became apparent that there was a read across to the number of incidents attended by crews to derelict buildings, with possible links to rough sleepers, and so the project was expanded to address issues around derelict buildings.
2 INFORMATION
2.1 Work has been carried out with partner agencies and District personnel to identify the areas where rough sleepers may be located. The current prohibitive financial costs of redeveloping vacant housing or ex-business premises has led to a high number of buildings which are unoccupied and poorly maintained, and these buildings are attractive to the rough sleeper community.
2.2 Once these buildings have been identified as being empty they are then being actively targeted by rough sleepers. As these buildings are generally within walking distance of a town or city centre, they are ideal locations for rough sleepers who may be street begging during the day or finding employment in the local factories or shops.
2.3 Such use of these ‘derelict’ buildings presents a fire risk, particularly during the warmer months. Statistical analysis appears to show there are more fires during the warmer months (see appendix 1 - All Derelict Building Fires and appendix 2 – Fires in unoccupied buildings), which could indicate that rough sleepers may seek other accommodation such as hostels during the colder winter months. As recently as October 2011, the incident at the large mill complex in Bradford which had to be demolished following a serious fire, was proven to have been started by four rough sleepers.
2.4 The graph shown on Appendix 1 - shows All Derelict Building Fires since April 2009 (IRS data only available from April 2009) and is broken down into fiscal years. The fiscal year of 2011-12 is incomplete and only contains data up to and including November 2011. Comparison of data for 2009-10 and 2010-11 indicates a significant downward trend in the number of fires attended by WYFRS in all Derelict Buildings. Projected figures for 2011-12 indicates the downward trend should continue.
2.5 The graph shown on Appendix 2 - shows Fires in Unoccupied Buildings since April 2009 (IRS data only available from April 2009 and includes IRS classifications of Unoccupied, Under Construction and Not Known) and is broken down into fiscal years. The fiscal year of 2011-12 is incomplete and only contains data up to and including November 2011. Comparison of data for 2009-10 and 2010-11 indicates a slight upward trend in the number of fires attended by WYFRS in Unoccupied Buildings. Projected figures for 2011-12 indicate the upward trend may continue.
2
2.6 A further issue with such derelict and unoccupied buildings is that they attract members of the criminal community, and metal theft in particular is becoming a concern on a large scale in the unoccupied and derelict buildings across West Yorkshire. Metal theft presents a fire risk due a process known as ‘burning off’. This process takes place after the cabling has been stripped. The wires are then set alight in order to burn off the plastic or rubber insulation which surrounds the metal wires, which is the valuable commodity, and is then sold for scrap.
2.7 There are numerous examples of where burning off has happened within the buildings where the wires have been stripped out. This has led to either small fires, or in the worse cases, where due to metal theft; the physical fire protection measures have been removed allowing fire to spread unhindered. These incidents are not just confined to unoccupied or derelict industrial premises but also to office blocks, empty residential care homes, schools and domestic dwellings both private and those owned by social landlords.
2.8 As this is a West Yorkshire-wide issue, each of the five District Teams is undertaking a piece of work to identify, risk assess and communicate information onto partners about properties that are derelict or unoccupied.
2.9 Bradford: The Arson Task Force (ATF) is leading on identifying buildings that are derelict through a range of means. Contact has been made with the relevant statutory organisation including the Empty Homes Team within the Local Authority. The ATF team has been given information as to the locations of empty properties within Bradford, which runs into thousands. However, after highlighting which of the properties are likely to cause most risk, and be attractive to rough sleepers, the properties are then visited by the ATF Officers and station personnel. Findings from these visits are being recorded locally and where there are particular issues of concern, contact is made with the relevant authority, such as trying to negotiate the boarding up and securing of the property.
2.10 Calderdale: Over the past twelve months a number of buildings have been identified as being ‘at risk’ through analysis of fire incidents. Information and incident data sharing between the ATF team and relevant partners has improved, enabling action to be taken. A recent success has been the demolition of an old Public House which had been derelict for a number of years. The building was being targeted by children who were lighting fires and involved in other anti-social behaviour activities. The Local Authority took on board the concerns raised by WYFRS over the risks to firefighter safety in having to tackle fires within the building due to its unsafe structure, and agreed to cover the costs of demolition.
2.11 Kirklees: Within Kirklees there is a significant population of rough sleepers and overcrowded properties which are housing people that may become homeless. The rough sleeper population in this area seem to prefer to set up ‘encampments’ as opposed to occupying derelict buildings. There are, however, a number of buildings that are unoccupied which have been targeted by metal thieves resulting in fire incidents. If buildings are reported by partners as being a risk, they are visited by the ATF team who work with relevant agencies and/or landlords to try and get the buildings secured and to educate the owners to hopefully prevent future fires.
2.12 Leeds: The Prevention ADM has been utilising the local knowledge of the crews and Prevention teams to identify those empty/derelict properties which could present the most risk, which has resulted in a ‘top 10’ list. Information about these buildings, including any potential risk to fire crews, has been shared across the District. Due to the volume of incidents in Leeds, the ATF team is focussing their efforts on fires in and
3
around derelict and unoccupied buildings, gathering information which can then be shared at the relevant neighbourhood management group meetings.
2.13 Wakefield: The crews in Wakefield are working on a project managed by the ATF team. This initiative tasks station personnel with visiting those buildings which they know to be problematic due to previous fire incidents, and those buildings that are derelict. A risk assessment is undertaken identifying any safety issues or signs of entry to the building. These reports are recorded on a dedicated database and are followed up at the local Neighbourhood meetings to alert partners to the concerns and discuss any potential resolutions.
2.14 Each District has had its own successes in dealing with an ever increasing issue of fire incidents involving derelict and unoccupied buildings, and this work will be further developed in 2012 both internally and with relevant partner organisations.
3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 The cost of this can be met from within the existing approved revenue budget.
4 EQUALITY & DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS
4.1 This initiative provides evidence for the Public Sector Equality Duty, the Equality Framework and the Service Plan.
5 HEALTH & SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
5.1 Preventing incidents occurring in derelict and unoccupied buildings will contribute to Fire Fighter safety as well as reducing community risk
6 SERVICE PLAN LINKS
6.1 Working with partner agencies and District personnel to identify areas where rough sleepers may be located and derelict buildings can assist us in achieving an on-going reduction in: • Dwelling fires and Deaths & injuries from both dwelling and other building fires • Non domestic fires • Secondary fires • Anti-social behaviour
7 RECOMMENDATION
7.1 It is recommended that the Community Safety Committee note the contents of the report and support the continuation of the work to reduce the fire risks associated with rough sleepers and derelict/vacant properties across West Yorkshire.
4
Appendix 1 - All Derelict Building Fires
IRS data only available from April 2009.
The graph below shows All Derelict Building Fires since April 2009 and is broken down into fiscal years. The fiscal year of 2011-12 is incomplete and only contains data up to and including November 2011.
Comparison of data for 2009-10 and 2010-11 indicates a significant downward trend in the number of fires attended by WYFRS in All Derelict Buildings. Projected figures for 2011-12 indicate the downward trend should continue.
The graph below shows All Derelict Building Fires is broken down into quarters and shows fires in these types of buildings are more prevalent during the warmer months i.e. quarters one (April – June) and quarter two (July – September).
5
Appendix 2 – Fires in Unoccupied Buildings
IRS data only available from April 2009 and includes IRS classifications of Unoccupied, Under Construction and Not Known.
The graph shown on Appendix 2 - shows Fires in Unoccupied Buildings since April 2009 and is broken down into fiscal years. The fiscal year of 2011-12 is incomplete and only contains data up to and including November 2011.
Comparison of data for 2009-10 and 2010-11 indicates a slight upward trend in the number of fires attended by WYFRS in Unoccupied Buildings. Projected figures for 2011-12 indicates the upward trend may continue.
The graph below shows Fires in Unoccupied Buildings is broken down into quarters and shows fires in these types of buildings are more prevalent during the warmer months i.e. quarters one (April – June) and quarter two (July – September).
6
WYFRA COMMUNITY SAFETY 10 FEBRUARY 2012 ITEM NO COMMITTEE 9
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR FIRE SAFETY
PURPOSE OF REPORT: TO INFORM MEMBERS OF THE OUTCOME OF A NUMBER OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO ARSON BY THE FRE INVESTIGATION (FI) TEAM AND PREVENTION ARSON TASK FORCES (ATF)
RECOMMENDATION: THAT MEMBERS NOTE THE REPORT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: NONE
ACCESS CONTACT OFFICER: G S ASQUITH 01274 471756 THOMAS RHODES 01274 655768
BACKGROUND PAPERS OPEN TO INSPECTION: NONE
SUMMARY
This report provides a summary of the outcomes of a number of fire investigations carried out by the FI team which have lead to criminal prosecutions. The summary includes brief details of the incident, the charges brought by the Crown Prosecution Service and the subsequent sentences.
The report also includes summary information relating to outcomes of a number of incidents investigated by Prevention Arson Task Forces in conjunction with West Yorkshire Police, Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMO’s) and any other relevant partner organisation.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 At the Management Team meeting on 5th January 2010, a report was submitted to inform on the outcome of fire investigations carried out by the Fire Investigation (FI) Team and the subsequent sentences handed out to those convicted. Following the meeting, it was decided that the FI Team would provide a report for members on a quarterly basis.
2 INFORMATION
2.1 Appendix one provides a summary breakdown of the criminal investigations in which the FI team have been involved and which have been resolved at the time of this report. There are a number of other investigations that are at differing stages and will be reported on at a later date.
2.2 Appendix two provides a summary breakdown of the activities of Prevention Arson Task Force (ATF) Teams in relation to deliberate acts of fire setting / anti-social behaviour undertaken in conjunction with partner agencies resulting in conviction or community orders. There are a number of other investigations currently underway with partners which will be reported at a later date once information is available.
3. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report.
4. EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS IMPLICATIONS
4.1 There are no direct equality and diversity implications associated with this report.
5. HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
5.1 The statistical results suggest that detection and conviction reduce deliberate fire setting behaviour and, in doing so, improve public safety.
6. SERVICE PLAN LINKS
6.1 Detection and conviction can assist us in achieving an on-going reduction in:
• Dwelling fires • Deaths & injuries from dwelling fires • Non domestic fires • Secondary fires • Anti-social behaviour
7. CONCLUSIONS
7.1 Since last reporting on 11 April 2011, 14 people were convicted of criminal offences involving arson as a result of evidence provided by fire investigation officers. These convictions have led to prison sentences totalling 29 years & 9 months, Community Supervision Orders totalling 7 years and 610 hours of unpaid work.
7.2 As a result of ATF intervention, 12 individuals issued with Acceptable Behaviour Contacts; 2 individuals have received Community Resolution Orders, 2 individuals have received 12 month youth referral orders; 4 Anti- Social Behaviour Orders and 4 Final Warnings have been issued.
APPENDIX 1
CONVICTIONS FOR ARSON OFFENCES 2011 QUARTER 4
The following information is extracted from West Yorkshire Police conviction logs.
CONVICTED
Michaela Louise SIDDELL
Inc No 5011111 Date 30/1/2011 Address 59 School Street, Castleford
SIDDELL SET FIRE TO HER FLAT AND ENDANGERED THE LIFE OF HER BOYFRIEND AND SISTER. FIO GAVE A STATEMENT WHICH ASSISTED IN SECURING A CONVICTION.
10/6/11 pleaded guilty to Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered
Sentenced to - 32 months imprisonment
Christopher BRIGGS
Inc No. 58919101 Arson at: Flat 14 Underwood House Northwing Road Bradford
BRIGGS, AFTER BEEN ORDERED TO STAY AWAY FROM HIS MOTHER’S FLAT, RETURNED AND CONFRONTED HIS MOTHER. HE WENT IN TO THE SPARE ROOM AND SET FIRE TO THE MATTRESS.
20/12/10 convicted of Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered and breaching a restraining order
Sentenced to - 10 years Imprisonment
Vanessa WRIGHT
Inc No. 3721111 Arson at: 14 Torre Place Burmantofts Leeds Time/Date: 00:10 24/1/11
WRIGHT SET FIRE TO A MATTRESS IN HER RENTED HOUSE.
24/7/11 pleaded guilty to Arson
Sentenced to – 12 months imprisonment (suspended for 2 years) and 180 hours of unpaid work.
Geraldine Patricia WALTON
Inc No. 11721101 Arson at: 19 Nutfield Street Todmorden Time/Date: 21:45 8/3/10
AFTER ARGUMENT WITH BOYFRIEND WALTON PILED A NUMBER OF BIN LINERS CONTAINING HIS CLOTHES IN THE CENTRE OF THE LOUNGE AND SET FIRE TO THEM. SHE ALLEGED SHE DROPPED A CIGARETTE BUT FIO PROVIDED A STATEMENT TO PROVE THIS WAS NOT POSSIBLE.
10/10/11 pleaded guilty to Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered
Sentenced to - 2 year community order
Zulekha BIBI
Inc No. Arson at: 64 Killinghall Drive Undercliffe Bradford Date: 24/9/11
BIBI CAME DOWNSTAIRS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHILST THE REST OF THE FAMILY WERE ASLEEP AMD SET A FIRE TO CLOTHING IN THE LOUNGE USING WHITE SPIRIT. FAMILY MEMBERS UPSTAIRS WERE TRAPPED AND HAD TO ESCAPE ON TO A FLAT ROOF.
25/10/11 pleaded guilty:
Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered Producing a controlled drug Committing arson recklessly
Sentenced to – 12 months supervision order and 60 hours of unpaid community work.
Matthew ANDREWS
Inc No. 35061111 Arson at: 22 Lingfield Gate Moortown Leeds Date: 16/7/11
ANDREWS SET FIRE TO A WHEELIE BIN AGAINST THE KITCHEN WINDOW OF THE PROPERTY WHERE HIS EX-PARTNER LIVED. POLICE CONTACTED THE FIRE INVESTIGATION UNIT AND ASKED IF A FIRE INVESTIGATION OFFICER (FIO) COULD EXAMINE THE SCENE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE. THE FIO DETERMINED THE CAUSE WAS DELIBERATE AND PROVIDED A STATEMENT TO THAT EFFECT. ANDREWS PLEADED GUILTY AS A RESULT OF THE STATEMENT.
14/11/11 pleaded guilty to Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered
Sentenced to 4 years imprisonment and 3 years out on licence.
Martin Paul STEWART
Inc No. 13620111 Arson at: Flat 4 Acorn House Neatherfield Castleford Date: 11/2/11
ALTHOUGH NO ATTENDANCE WAS MADE TO THIS INCIDENT THE FIO GAVE A STATEMENT AT THE REQUEST OF THE POLICE AFTER NEWSPAPER WAS PLACED IN THE LETTERBOX AND IGNITED. POLICE THANKED FIO FOR HIS ASSISTANCE IN THE SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION.
10/3/11 convicted of Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered
Sentenced to 18 months imprisonment
Arber SAHITI
Inc No. 49324101 Arson at: Flat 12 Block C 1, Coates Street Bradford Date: 24/8/10
SAHITI SET TWO FIRES WITHIN AN HOUR IN SEPARATE FLATS IN A 3- STOREY HOSTEL FOR YOUTHS.
10/12/11 convicted of Arson
Sentenced to – a 2 year community supervision order and 100 hours of unpaid work.
Doreen FALLOWFIELD
Inc No. 42579101 Arson at: 15 Harlech Crescent Beeston Leeds Date: 17/7/10
ALTHOUGH NO ATTENDANCE WAS MADE TO THIS INCIDENT THE POLICE REQUESTED AN OPINION STATEMENT AND THE FIO PROVIDED ONE AFTER LOOKING AT PHOTOGRAPHS. POLICE THANKED FIO FOR HIS ASSISTANCE IN THE SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION.
10/4/11 convicted of Arson with intent to endanger life
Sentenced to – 12 months community order, 150 hours of unpaid work, attendance at a binge drinking group, a 6 month supervision order.
Deborah WAINWRIGHT
Inc No.42160101 Arson at: 56 Grove Lane Hemsworth Date: 20/7/10
WAINWRIGHT SET FIRE TO THE CURTAINS/ARMCHAIR IN THE LOUNGE OF HER TERRACED HOUSE CAUSING SEVERE DAMAGE. FIO PROVIDED A STATEMENT WHICH HELPED SECURE CONVICTION.
6/12/11 convicted of Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered
Sentenced to – 4 years imprisonment
Rebecca HOWELL
Inc No.26761101 Arson at: 12 Clifford Avenue Bramham Leeds Date: 20/7/10
HOWELL PLACED PETROL SOAKED KITCHEN ROLL IN THE LETTERBOX OF THE HOUSE SHE SHARED WITH HER HUSBAND AND IGNITED IT. FIO MATCHED THE KITCHEN ROLL WITH THAT INSIDE THE PROPERTY AND PROVIDED A STATEMENT.
8/4/11 pleaded guilty to - Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered X2
Sentenced to – 9 months imprisonment (suspended for 12 months) and a12 month supervision order.
Steven URCH
Inc No. 3204111 Arson at: 11 Hartland Road, Holmewood, Bradford Date: 20/1/11
URCH PLACED CLOTH SOAKED IN IGNITABLE LIQUID IN THE LETTERBOX OF THE FLAT AND IGNITED IT CAUSING A SMALL FIRE BEHIND THE DOOR.
Pleaded guilty to - Arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered
Sentenced to – 12 months imprisonment (suspended for 2 years).
Ahmad Reza NOORI
Inc No.13942111 Arson at: Flat 4, 170 Wakefield Road, Huddersfield Date: 22/3/11
NOORI WAS LIVING IN A HMO WHEN HE BURGLED A NEIGHBOUR’S ROOM. HAVING BEEN CONFRONTED BY THE NEIGHBOUR HE ASSAULTED HIM, LOCKED HIMSELF IN HIS ROOM AND SET FIRE TO THE BED. NOORI THEN JUMPED FROM THE WINDOW AND FOUGHT WITH POLICE UNTIL HE WAS ARRESTED. FIO PREPARED A LENGTHY STATEMENT AND ATTENDED COURT WHERE HE WAS ON THE WITNESS STAND FOR 90 MINUTES EXPLAINING FIRE DYNAMICS AND WHY THE CAUSE HAD TO BE DELIBERATE. THE POLICE THANKED THE FIO FOR THE EVIDENCE GIVEN IN SECURING A CONVICTION
24/10/11 Convicted of: Arson with intent to endanger life Burglary Wounding/causing grievous bodily harm with intent
Sentenced to – 30 months imprisonment and to be considered for deportation upon release
Kelly LEES
Inc No.23433101 Arson at: 28 Union Street Sowerby Bridge Date: 29/4/10
LEES IGNITED PAPERS IN THE LETTERBOX AT THE ABOVE PROPERTY WHICH SUSEQUENTLY SET FIRE TO THE CURTAINS. THE OCCUPANT WAS ASLEEP IN BED AND THE POLICE FORCED ENTRY AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. FIO PRODUCED A STATEMENT WHICH ASSISTED PROSECUTION.
24/10/11 Convicted of - Arson with intent to endanger life and committing arson recklessly
Sentenced to – 3 years (suspended) and ordered to do 300 hours of unpaid work.
APPENDIX TWO
LEEDS
12 individuals given Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABC’s) relating to Numerous fire incidents – 56362111/51618111 which occurred throughout October 2012 in the wooded areas of - Halton Moor Rd & Temple Newsam.
This is one success story achieved as a result of Leeds Arson Task Force’s multi- agency working as part of the new Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour team (LASBT).
LASBT received information relating to a group causing nuisance in the Halton Moor Area. A total of 12 individuals were identified as being party to causing anti-social behaviour. The behaviour consisted of loitering around the shops on Halton Moor Road, drinking and smoking, causing damage to street furniture and property, lighting fires in and around the wooded areas between Halton Moor Road and as far as Temple Newsam. There was also information relating to verbal abuse and intimidation to local residents.
Leeds ATF were able to provide information relating to the locations, date and time of fires that had occurred in/around that area and offer information which could potentially link the fires to the group causing the issues mentioned above.
West Yorkshire Police on assessing the information obtained through the partnership were able to approach the individuals in question and challenge their behaviour, thus encouraging them to engage with support providers and agree to address their behaviour whilst being monitored by LASBT.
Interviews were arranged to take place at Killingbeck Police station which enabled all services to be present and provide input to both the individuals and their parents, heightening the fact that all agencies were aware of the issues and working closely in a multi-agency approach to tackle the issues that had been reported.
Of the 12 individuals given Acceptable Behaviour Contract’s, 7 signed and agreed to the terms and 5 remain still outstanding. LASBT will keep Leeds ATF updated with progress and any further outcomes will be reported.
WAKEFIELD
JAMIE BOOTH and DYLAN WILLIAMS
Incident Numbers 34201111 and 38497111 which took place on 21.6.11 and 1.8.11 at:
1. St Edmonds Church Hall Queens Park Drive Castleford. - Persons set deliberate fire to unoccupied Church Hall premises within densely populated housing estate.
2. Redhill Junior School Stansfield Drive Castleford - Persons set deliberate fire to grassland surrounding school situated within the same housing estate.
Through on-going investigations with West Yorkshire Police, two youths aged 15 years were identified as starting the fires and were arrested and charged with the offences of Arson.
The arrests were made as a direct result of interventions and enquiries carried out by Wakefield ATF
Wakefield ATF carried out school assemblies across the year groups at Airedale Academy in the aftermath of the fires and appealed for information from the pupils the majority of whom live on the Airedale Estate. A number of pupils came forward in confidence to the officer and gave details of two possible suspects both of which were Booth and Williams. Wakefield AFT worked closely with the local NPT for the area and gave an in depth Community Impact Statement which was duly commended in Court by the Magistrates for its professional and informed presentation of the facts.
Both fully admitted their involvement and appeared at Pontefract Magistrates in Oct 2011 and were found guilty.
Booth – Sentenced to a 12 month Youth referral Order; 2 year ASBO with the conditions not to carry matches; lighters; not to enter any church grounds within Airedale or Castleford; not to enter school grounds without prior arrangement and not to associate with co-accused Dylan Williams.
Williams – Sentenced to a 1 year Youth Referral Order
Both the accused had no previous convictions.
CALDERDALE
Incident Numbers 49356111 and 49366111 on 25/09/11 at Ryburn Valley High School, Sowerby.
Two separate wheelie bin fires were started at the rear of the school premises during the same evening. Information was obtained by Calderdale ATF and subsequently passed to West Yorkshire Police to investigate.
Benjamin Hague Thomas Hague
Both arrested by West Yorkshire Police for Arson and received final warnings on 21/10/2011
Numerous Incidents and unreported fires taking place during October 2010 and March 2011 in the Ovenden area of Halifax.
William Sayle Rachel Mottram
Couple residing in privately rented accommodation running a scrap metal / clearance business from the property. Items such as fridges burned in back garden in order to remove fittings so metal can be removed and weighed in for cash.
Environmental Health and Calderdale ASB Unit were involved in the investigations. At the suggestion of Calderdale ATF, Anti-Social Behaviour Order proceedings were initiated and evidence provided by Calderdale ATF.
Both occupants of the property received 5 year Anti-Social Behaviour Orders banning any fires at any location in the UK or possession of an oil drum.
Incident Number 34669111 on 14/07/2011 at 30 Hebble Vale Drive, Wheatley
Deliberate fence and large conifer fire in front garden of private house. Enquiries made by Calderdale ATF identified a potential suspect. Information subsequently passed to West Yorkshire Police and a joint visit was conducted.
Lewis Barrett
Offender currently subject to Anti-Social Behaviour Order process
KIRKLEES
123 fire related incidents during 01/08/2011 and 12/01/2011
As a result of interventions carried out by Kirklees ATF and information subsequently passed to West Yorkshire Police for further investigations the following outcomes have been received.
Charged with Arson = 5 individuals Received Final Warning = 2 Individuals Received Community Resolution Order = 2 Individuals Refused charge / No Further Action = 13 Individuals Under Investigation (with a suspect) = 3 individuals
Further information and resulting outcomes to be reported at a later date.
BRADFORD
Following intervention by Bradford ATF there are a number of on-going investigations still taking place following incidents in the Bradford area, resulting outcomes will be reported at a later date.
Incidents under investigation are:
2 youths linked with a number of fires and related anti-social behaviour in the Bingley area
5 youths linked with a number of anti-social behaviour incidents and fires on the Rushton Road area of BD3 (Bradford)
1 individual charged with arson following a number of fires in the bin chute of a block of flats in the Holmewood area of Bradford – awaiting outcome from court appearance.
WYFRA COMMUNITY SAFETY 10 FEBRUARY 2012 ITEM No COMMITTEE 10
REPORT OF: DIRECTOR FIRE SAFETY
PURPOSE OF REPORT: TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO THE
CONSULTATION DOCUMENTS ON TRANSFORMING REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT.
RECOMMENDATION: THAT MEMBERS NOTE THE REPORT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS
EXEMPTION CATEGORY: None
ACCESS CONTACT OFFICER: NT Charlston
BACKGROUND PAPERS OPEN TO INSPECTION: Responses made in September 2011 to both consultation documents. Management Team Papers 6 Sept 2011.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this document is to provide details on the Government’s response to the consultation documents on the drive to reduce regulatory burden of business.
1. Background
1.1 In June 2011, the Government launched two documents underpinning a consultation period on regulatory enforcement to seek views on the best ways to deliver improvements. Proposed changes should deliver commitments made in the Growth Review as part of a package of measures to free up business from unnecessary regulatory burdens.
1.2 There were two parts to the consultation. One was a discussion document asking for views on the general principles of enforcement, and of ways in which the system of regulatory enforcement could become more accountable, more transparent, and better reflect the efforts business already makes to comply.
1.3 The second asked for views on our proposals to extend and improve the successful Primary Authority Scheme, and to make changes to the Local Better Regulation Office.
1.4 The service responded to both consultations
2. Information
2.1 The Coalition Government has already put in place radical measures to tackle what it perceives to be burdensome regulations. It has introduced the “Red Tape Challenge” identifying those regulations that are burdensome and should be removed, those that can be merged, simplified or delivered in better ways. The basis of this is to reduce the cost of complying with regulations, and no additional regulation without either a “One-in One-out” process that ensures the cost of regulation will be off-set by other deregulation measures.
2.2 Hand in hand with the reduction in regulatory burden is the proposed reform of the way regulation is enforced on the front line. It suggests three basic principles to build the strategy around: • Greater accountability • Recognising and promoting good practice • Greater transparency
3. Government’s Response to the Consultations
1. Review all regulators, not just to examine the case for continued existence, but to make sure each one is making the fullest possible use of the range of alternatives to conventional enforcement models, working with business and others and reducing state activity wherever possible. The reviews will also identify areas of good practice, and we will build on them.
2. Co-regulation to be introduced wherever this is practical. There is a huge untapped potential for business and others to be more involved – co- designing enforcement strategies with the regulator, using certification or accreditation
3. More use of “earned recognition”. This means developing approaches that incentivise and reflect businesses’ own efforts to comply with the law. If businesses are already compliant, regulators should recognise that, and focus their inspection activities elsewhere.
4. No business should face a sanction for simply having asked a regulatory authority for advice. This could also be achieved through extending the Regulators’ Compliance Code. Exceptions will be defined and are likely to include where there is an emergency or imminent risk to health.
5. A new partnership between government, regulators and businesses. The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) has had a positive impact in a short space of time, working with businesses and regulators to deliver improvements in locally delivered regulation. Changes will be made to LBRO, transferring its functions to a new unit, the Better Regulation Delivery Office, in BIS, but maintaining its operational independence in order to run the Primary Authority.
6. Extend the Primary Authority scheme to improve the coherence, accountability and transparency of local regulation. The ‘primary authority’ is a specific local authority that serves as a business’ first point of call for advice on regulatory issues. Any other local authority must consult with the primary authority before taking enforcement action - promoting consistency and proportionality in the way these businesses are regulated and providing confidence for the business in the information it receives.
7. Establish sunset review clauses on new statutory regulators created in the future. This will ensure that the principle of regular review becomes a cornerstone for the future of regulatory enforcement.
8. Retain the Regulators’ Compliance Code, giving it a higher profile, placing it at the heart of the reviews of regulators and ensuring that it is understood by customers.
4. Financial Implications
4.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report
5. Health & Safety Implications
5.1 No implications
6. Equality & Fairness Issues
6.1 No Issues
7. Service Plan Links
7.1 All of the above actions could transform the culture of enforcement so that businesses will see a real difference; becoming more like customers, rather than simply on the receiving end of the regulatory enforcement system. They could also help ensure that the authority’s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the incidence of fire and the effects of fire should it occur.
WYFRA COMMUNITY SAFETY 10 FEBRUARY 2012 ITEM No COMMITTEE
11
REPORT OF: Director of Fire Safety
PURPOSE OF REPORT: To update the Community Safety Committee on the review of the volunteer partnership arrangements between West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) and the British Red Cross Fire Emergency Support Vehicle (FESS) and to recommend proposals for the expansion of the partnership arrangements.
RECOMMENDATIONS: (i) That the current partnership arrangements with the British Red Cross FESS service be continued; (ii) That the working relationship with Emergency Damage Management (EDM) support be via the British Red Cross FESS service, rather than a separate partnering arrangement direct with WYFRS; and (iii) The opportunity to volunteer out of hours to the FESS service is offered to staff in all service areas, both Green and Grey Book.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT DETAILS EXEMPTION CATEGORY: None ACCESS CONTACT OFFICER: Ruth Cornelissen – 01274 473860
BACKGROUND PAPERS OPEN TO INSPECTION: Partnership Agreement between West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) and the British Red Cross – January 2009
SUMMARY WYFRS and the British Red Cross have worked together for over ten years, offering support to victims of house fires and domestic flooding. The unit that gives this support is the Fire and Emergency Support Service (FESS). The FESS is a motorhome sited at Idle Fire Station in Bradford. In January 2009, a partnership agreement was signed with the Red Cross whereby WYFRS agreed to support staff in the Community Safety department (now Prevention) in becoming volunteers to be on call for the FESS vehicle during normal working hours, and the staff would continue to be paid by WYFRS if they were called out during their working hours. Staffing changes have seen the number of volunteers in Prevention falling to the present level of ten from a peak of twenty-one. A review of the partnership arrangements with the FESS has confirmed that the service is a valuable one and one which WYFRS should continue to support. However, for the arrangements to be sustained and even enhanced, consideration to widening the opportunity for becoming a volunteer to staff working in all service areas.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 In 2009, WYFRS entered into a partnership arrangement with the British Red Cross to provide volunteers from the Community Safety department (Prevention) to be on call / standby for the British Red Cross Fire Emergency Support vehicle (FESS). The agreement at that time committed WYFRS to providing 15 volunteers.
1.2 The purpose of the FESS service is to allow individuals that have suffered an incident, either a domestic dwelling fire or flood, to receive immediate emotional and physical support which cannot be provided by fire crews that are managing the incident. The FESS vehicle is used as a platform from which the individuals affected can be signposted to other support agencies to assist them at their most vulnerable time. The motorhome is fully equipped with all amenities including food and clothing supplies.
1.3 The FESS vehicle is not staffed by paid members of the British Red Cross, but instead relies on using a team of skilled volunteers from across West Yorkshire. There are two rotas that operate to ensure staffing levels are met. The night time rota operates from 18:00 – 07:00 weekdays, and 18:00 – 09:00 at weekends, and is staffed purely by volunteers. These volunteers operate on a pager system for mobilisation, and come from all walks of life, including some who are employees of WYFRS.
1.4 Prior to January 2009, British Red Cross staff provided a limited service during the day, but with work commitments, this was hard to maintain. In early 2009 a pilot project was initiated between WYFRS and the Red Cross, which was the only one of its kind at the time. The pilot project provided volunteer staff from the Community Safety department to staff the FESS rota during the hours of 07:00 – 18:00 on week days. This was on a purely voluntary basis, but with WYFRS commitment to allow staff to cover the FESS vehicle if called out, and still be paid by WYFRS if during their normal working hours. The first round of recruitment resulted in 12 volunteers who all received training from the Red Cross.
1.5 Following the success of the pilot project, the partnership agreement was signed and further recruitment of volunteers took place, with numbers peaking at 21 at one stage. In 2009 WYFRS was awarded the national ‘Best Partner’ Award by the British Red Cross and also gained recognition with an award from Yorkshire Forward as an innovative scheme accessing volunteers from within WYFRS. There have also been numerous compliments from individuals who have received support from WYFRS volunteers staffing the vehicle.
1.6 Over the last year, the number of volunteers has declined due to a variety of reasons, including staffing restructure within the Prevention department. The number of volunteers now stands at ten, six of which are from the High Risk team which only has a staffing total of nine. However, one of the daily tasks of High Risk Officers is to visit properties after a fire so their work with the FESS service does compliment this area of work.
1.7 The British Red Cross has recently approached WYFRS with ideas for expanding and enhancing the current partnership arrangements, utilising the FESS volunteers.
2. INFORMATION
2.1 The Senior Fire Officer at an incident initiates the call out of the FESS service by informing MaCC, requesting the attendance of the vehicle where volunteers can assist with welfare and practical issues. The incident does not have to be a major one, just one where the victims may be in trauma or in need of the facilities which the FESS service can offer. Although the physical attendance of the vehicle is always the best way to support an individual who has had a fire or flood, this is not always possible, sometimes due to lack of volunteer availability, and instead a telephone advice service is offered. This follows the format of signposting the individual to necessary support agencies over the phone.
2.2 The Red Cross FESS Co-ordinator collates the rota by requesting dates from individual volunteers on their availability. There has to be at least two volunteers on the daily rota for a service to be provided. The rota is circulated a month ahead to each volunteer and the managers of the teams within which they work. The rota is also sent to MaCC so that they have the contact details of the officers on cover. On average each volunteer is on the rota one day a week, but this can alter due to volunteer availability, particularly with only ten WYFRS volunteers currently available. WYFRS has requested that no two volunteers from the same team are on cover together to lessen the impact on normal service delivery, but again, this is sometimes unavoidable.
2.3 In the calendar year 2010, the FESS vehicle was requested on 82 occasions, of which WYFRS volunteers attended on 24 occasions during the day. So far this year, the volunteers have attended on 13 occasions, but have also provided a telephone advice service when the number of volunteers required to take the vehicle out have not been available. Although the level of turnout and, therefore, demand on WYFRS staff time, does not seem high, there is a need to encourage more use of the FESS service at incidents. The High Risk Officers carry out ‘after fire’ visits following incidents involving particularly vulnerable people, and the information collected at those visits has highlighted that there are occasions when the occupiers would have benefited from the support provided by the FESS service, but it was not requested at the incident.
2.4 The volunteers are supported by British Red Cross (BRC) through a series of monthly meetings held on a Wednesday evening at Idle Fire Station. Attendance at these evening meetings by the WYFRS volunteers tends to be sporadic, with the evening volunteers being the main attendees. These meetings are an important method of providing volunteers with updates and any changes in service delivery. There are also training and scenario exercises. There is a need to encourage better attendance at these events by WYFRS volunteers to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date. BRC has proposed holding a day-time half-day session at their Leeds office for training input. This would need agreement from WYFRS to release the volunteers to attend.
2.5 Each volunteer is issued with a manual listing statutory and voluntary agencies that may be able to assist the occupiers following the fire incident. One of these voluntary organisations is Emergency Damage Management (EDM) with which the British Red Cross has a partnering arrangement. EDM was set up to assist individuals who have suffered either flood or fire to ensure that they are sufficiently protected through their insurance company. Should a householder hold contents insurance EDM is contacted by the FESS volunteer and advice is sort to what assistance they can provide. EDM will visit and help and support the householder to ensure a smooth transition into the claims process. If the householder has no insurance, EDM may be able to offer advice. There is no charge for their assistance and they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. EDM has approached WYFRS in having a more formalised partnership arrangement, which they have with a number of other Fire & Rescue Services across the country.
2.6 The British Red Cross (BRC) has been discussing with WYFRS a number of opportunities for expanding the current volunteer scheme, which utilises the FESS vehicle. One such request is to support the BRC in their proposed partnership with Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team on a 6-month pilot. The pilot will look at the role that the FESS unit and volunteers can play in providing practical help and emotional support to the family and friends of people missing in rural areas. BRC has requested utilising WYFRS volunteers to support FESS in a response to a Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) mobilisation.
2.7 The day time volunteers are all keen to provide an excellent service to the public through the FESS service. However, these volunteers have a primary role to play in the delivery of the Authority’s risk reduction priorities and as such this can leave the FESS rota stretched on some days, and in the worst case, without any cover. If WYFRS are committed to continuing and even expanding the partnership with the British Red Cross, there will need to be consideration given to widen the volunteering opportunities out across all service areas under the same principles as the current agreement. However, given the major restructure facing the organisation, it is not advisable to ask for additional day time volunteers at this time. However the out of hours volunteering could be offered to all staff.
3. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report.
4. EQUALITY & DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS
4.1 This will provide the opportunity for volunteering across the whole organisation.
5. HEALTH & SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
5.1 All health and safety issues arising through the volunteering scheme are covered within the current partnership arrangements, and any new volunteers should receive full training on the use of and driving the FESS vehicle before they join the cover rota.
6. SERVICE PLAN LINK
6.1 The recommendations in this paper link directly to the aim of the organisation to; ‘Provide an excellent fire and rescue service working in partnership to reduce death, injury and economic loss and contribute to community well-being’.
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 It is recommended that the Community Safety Committee agrees:
6.1.1 The continuation of the current partnership arrangements with the British Red Cross FESS service.
6.1.2 That the working relationship with Emergency Damage Management (EDM) support should be via the British Red Cross FESS service, rather than a separate partnering arrangement direct with WYFRS.
6.1.3 The opportunity to volunteer out of hours to the FESS service is offered to staff in all service areas, both Green and Grey Book.