Angela Whitehead, City Centre Delivery Manager, and Gareth Parkin, City Centre Chief Inspector

Transcription

1 To: From: Re: Community Safety Partnership Board Angela Whitehead, City Centre Delivery Manager, and Gareth Parkin, City Centre Chief Inspector Priority 8: Making the City Centre Safer Date: 17 November 1.0 Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Community Safety Partnership with an overview of the work that is taking place to meet priority 8 of the Community Safety Strategy 2014/17: Making the City Centre Safer. 2.0 Background 2.1 The City Centre and its night time economy (NTE) are extremely important to Manchester, a city which continuously develops and changes. Having a vibrant leisure and cultural offer is a key factor in people s choice about where they live and work. 2.2 It is estimated that 150,000 people visit the City Centre each weekend to enjoy the nightlife. Over the past ten years, there has been a growth in the cultural and leisure offer. This offer includes over 200 restaurants catering for a vast range of eclectic tastes, cinemas, theatres, art galleries, music venues, and around 270 bars, pubs and clubs. Manchester can also boast a number of open spaces such as Albert Square, St. Anne s Square and Spinningfields which host a range of events. These events attract local, regional, national and international visitors and include Pride, the Christmas Markets, and the Manchester International Festival. There are however challenges in how the City Centre operates over a 24 hour period. One of these challenges is how alcohol impacts on the behaviour of some people. 2.3 As part of its commitment to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and following consultation with local residents, the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) identified making the city centre safer as one of eight priorities contained in the Community Safety Strategy 2014/ To meet this priority a City Centre and Night Time Economy Steering Group comprising Manchester City Council Members and Officers, and Officers from GMP and CityCo was established. The steering group is supported by an Officer s Group comprising officers from Manchester City Council s City Centre Neighbourhood Delivery Team, Licensing Team, Crime and Disorder Team, and Public Health Manchester, GMP s City Centre Chief Inspector and Partnership Chief Inspector, and CityCo.

2 2.5 An action plan has been developed to address the challenges identified and to support a change in tone within the City Centre, ensuring it remains a safe place to live, work and visit for all people. These challenges include: The changing face of the City Centre over a 24 hour period Ensuring that the City Centre provides a good experience for all Managing the demands on key resources The impact of behaviour of key groups Transport out of the City Centre at night A copy of this action plan can be found in appendix 1. The Action Plan is under continuous review to ensure that it addresses emerging issues and the concerns of the City Centre and NTE Steering Group. 3.0 Current and Planned Activity This section provides an overview of some of the activity that is currently taking place or is planned for the future. 3.1 Licensing Compliance and Enforcement A key aim of the Licensing Policy is to ensure licensed premises have a positive impact on their locality and any problematic premises are dealt with swiftly and appropriately. In the early days of the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, the Council and GMP worked closely together in order to achieve a balance between protecting individuals and allowing responsibly managed premises to extend their opening hours. This partnership work included joint visits to licensed premises, joint training and the regular sharing of information. Enforcement played an important part in preventing potential problems, and the Police, Environmental Health, Trading Standards, the Licensing Unit, Planning, and the Industry developed a cooperative approach. The enforcement carried out included educating premises about their responsibilities, informal warnings and formal enforcement action such as the service of Notices and the review of premises licences. The links between drunkenness, crime, disorder and anti social behaviour are well established. Well run premises contribute towards achieving less crime, anti social behaviour and disturbance. One of the main challenges of the night time economy is that as the number of licensed premises and night time venues has increased, the resources of those services that manage the night time economy has either stayed static or reduced. Due to restructuring within public services such as the Council, GMP and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, the link between those working in these teams need to be re-established. As part of the Growth and Neighbourhoods restructure, a specialist licensing enforcement team will be established comprising Council and Police staff. This

3 team will be responsible for taking enforcement action against licensed premises where appropriate and ensuring consistency in how premises are managed. This dedicated team will also enable a more robust approach to assessing licensing applications (including new applications and variations to existing licences) and will be able to provide regular feedback to the Licensing Committee on enforcement work undertaken. This feedback could be utilised by the Licensing Committee to help inform their decisions as well as giving reassurance that the licences they have issued are being complied with. The team will also link closely with industry led groups such as the Pub and Club Network, the Village Business Association, and the Northern Quarter Business Association to give a centralised contact point which would ensure a consistent message is communicated to all these groups Refresher training around the Licensing Act 2003 was delivered to frontline officers from Manchester City Council and GMP in July. Further training will be offered to new members of the Licensing Team when established Discussion is taking place around redesigning Custodian, GMP s response to policing the night time economy on a Friday and Saturday night and special occasions. GMP will be looking to utilise colleagues from South Manchester to supplement current numbers. This should also enable GMP to provide a visible presence further along the Oxford Road Corridor. As the Force restructures in the first quarter of next year, numbers will once again change. However, at this point it is not known what shift pattern will be agreed. Two case studies are provided in Appendix 2 which highlight some of the work taking place with GMP and individual premises around tackling night time economy issues. GMP has also held conversations with some venues regarding self financing the policing of the night time economy. A number of venues are now considering paying for dedicated policing resources with Suede being the first The Officer s Group will look at the tools and powers that are available to us to manage the night time economy, and identify good practices in other authorities. For example, representatives from the Officer s Group met with a colleague from the Safe Newcastle Unit in October to discuss Newcastle s late night levy. 3.2 Intelligence Gathering Intelligence mapping has taken place to help inform how and where resources are deployed. This has included mapping: Victim based crime hotspots linked to the NTE Time profiles for victim based crime Crime hotspots compared to location of pubs, bars, clubs, taxi ranks and private hire bases CCTV locations compared to crime and anti social behaviour hotspots GMP Top Ten Scheme repeat premises

4 A+E data North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) data Further work is taking place around the current CCTV system. Initial mapping indicated that there were some gaps in CCTV coverage in some hotspot crime locations. Conversely, some cameras were located in areas which saw very little crime, either during the day or during the night. The CCTV review will look at current locations, functionality, usage, redeployment possibilities, connectivity, options for future proofing, and costings and timelines for upgrading the system The Officers Group have commissioned New Economy to undertake a survey around the city centre and the night time economy. This is looking at how and why people use the City Centre (for example theatre, pub, club, event, etc.), how and when people arrive and leave (mode of transport and length of stay), and whether they stay in one area or move across the City Centre during the evening/night. Questions have also been added to this quarters Manchester Quarterly Telephone Survey. It is anticipated that the responses will be analysed and available in January Safeguarding Vulnerable People A Safe Haven, based at Nexus Art Café on Oldham Street, is currently being piloted. The initial four week pilot was open for three Saturdays and one Friday night from 11pm to 5am. Officers from GMP, Village Angels, Manchester Street Angels, and the Nexus Art Café staffed the base and patrolled the streets. A total of 13 people were brought into the Safe Haven for a variety of reasons including intoxication, homelessness, mental health and separation from friends. A further 14 sessions are being run between September and December, some of which will include medical input from NWAS. At the end of the pilot, an evaluation will be conducted Safeguarding training has been developed for city centre hotels, particularly focusing on child sexual exploitation. GMP have also established an alert system with city centre hotels concerning missing from home. Safeguarding training along with a handbook has also been developed for taxi drivers. Training around new psychoactive substances (so-called legal highs) has been delivered to front line staff including GMP, NDT, ASBAT, and support agency officers. 3.4 Engaging with Partners The Officer s Group recognise that the licensed trade play an integral role in ensuring Manchester has a safe and vibrant night time economy. Representatives from the group have met with the Pub and Club Network to discuss the role that the Network plays in representing licensees and how this can be developed. The Pub and Club Network have identified a number of strategic priorities for them to pursue which should enhance partnership working and communication between the trade and the authorities. Members have been canvassed for their opinions and it is intended that the final objectives will be presented at the December Pub and Club Network meeting.

5 At the beginning of October a joint MCC/GMP letter was sent out to licensed premises in the city centre. The letter emphasises that the Council, as the licensing authority, and GMP aim to work in partnership with the licensed trade in promoting the licensing objectives. It also encourages licensed premises to participate in the Network and work collaboratively in ensuring a safe and vibrant leisure and night time economy for Manchester An electronic newsletter has also been developed as a tool for keeping licensed premises up to date with licensing issues. The first edition contained information around entertainment guidance, licences, nite-net workshops, and the Gorton Pub Watch, whilst the second edition contained details of the licensing policy consultation, annual fees and the PASS scheme. The contents of the newsletter can be read by clicking on The Link with other CSP Priorities It is recognised that there are close links between making the city centre safer and the priority to tackle alcohol and drug related crime led by Public Health Manchester. Meetings have therefore been taking place to ensure that the two workstreams complement each other and areas of crossover are effectively addressed. This includes discussions around CSP allocated funding. 4.0 Next Steps 4.1 The Officers Group continues to meet on a regular basis to take forward the action plan. Membership of the Officers Group and the Action Plan are under frequent review. 4.2 Key performance indicators will be developed once the CCTV review and the NTE survey evaluation have taken place. 4.3 An update on this workstream will be presented to the Communities Scrutiny Committee in December. 5.0 Recommendations 5.1 In order to progress the work in the city centre there are some key areas of work that should be continued and developed: 5.2 All events organised in the City Centre should include full consideration of the community safety implications of the event and appropriate liaison with partner agencies to address community safety issues. 5.3 Continued development of the relationship with Public Health in the licensing process, building on existing practice, in order to ensure that issues affecting health are reflected in the process. 5.4 Universities to support the work around addressing the student drinking culture with Public Health and City Centre partners to tackle alcohol related crime and vulnerability of students in the City Centre.

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7 Appendix 1 City Centre Action Plan: November 2014 to October 2017 Licensing Compliance and Enforcement Area Action Lead Officer Timescale Updates / Actions Specialist licensing Establish a specialist enforcement licensing AW/GP January 2016 Team to be established as team team comprising MCC and GMP officers to: part of the Growth and Take enforcement action against Neighbourhoods restructure licensed premises where appropriate Help inform licensing decisions and provide feedback to the Licensing Committee Ensure consistency in how premises are managed Work closely with industry led groups Scope out the feasibility of bringing together the various systems in place for managing the NTE Review and refresh the existing risk rating system for licensed premises Training Review current responsible retailing training Provide refresher training around the Licensing Act 2003 Joint visits MCC and GMP licensing officers to undertake joint visits to licensed premises AW/GP April 2016 To be undertaken once Licensing Team established AW/GP April 2016 To be undertaken once Licensing Team established LF March 2016 To be considered as part of the alcohol and drug treatment redesign AW Ongoing Training held on 16 July 2014 and will be offered to new staff in the Licensing Team AW/GP Ongoing

8 Nite-net system Agree protocol between CCTV, GMP and CityCo RD/DH/GP November Held nite-net workshop with licensees and other stakeholders in March. Held further stakeholder event on 26 October Disseminate protocol to licensed premises RD December signed up to nite-net Pilot the use of nite-net amongst a number of hotels in the Piccadilly area RD December BT Redcare Test BT Redcare technology to link CCTV GP control to GMP officers Roll out use of BT Redcare to GMP and GP MCC officers Licensing Policy Review current licensing policy FS January 2016 Consultation period closed and revised policy will be published in January 2016 Intelligence Gathering Area Action Lead Officer Timescale Updates / Actions Mapping Undertake a comprehensive mapping JD/JB Completed Mapping completed and exercise to look at: Hotspot areas for crime and anti-social presented to City Centre and NTE Steering Group in July behaviour linked to the NTE Time profiles for victim based crime A+E admissions North West Ambulance data Operating times of licensed premises and other venues open at night

9 CCTV Surveys Transport networks CCTV locations Lighting GMP Top 10 Premises Comparisons with other Core Cities and Greater Manchester areas What organisations are working at night Undertake CCTV review to look at current locations, functionality, usage, redeployment possibilities, connectivity, options to future proofing, and costings and timelines for upgrading the system Commission New Economy to undertake a survey into why and how people use the city centre at night DH AW November November Include questions in MCC Quarterly Telephone around how and why people use the city centre at night Evaluate findings from surveys and use to AW/GP February 2016 direct resources Unmet taxi demand Review taxi provision in the city centre AS November JD October Completed Enventure Research chosen to undertake survey, questions agreed and tested. Survey due to take place in November with responses analysed in December.

10 Safeguarding Vulnerable People Area Action Lead Officer Timescale Updates / Actions Safe Haven Pilot a late night Safe Haven for vulnerable LM June Completed people Pilot further late night Safe Haven for vulnerable people with medical input from LM December 2016 NWAS Evaluate Safe Haven pilots LM January 2016 New and Emerging Provide training to officers working in the PS/JD September Completed Drugs city centre Training for NTE staff Provide safeguarding training to staff working in the NTE JS Ongoing Training developed and provided to hotel staff and taxi drivers Engaging with Partners Area Action Lead Officer Timescale Updates / Actions Licensing trade Discuss with Pub and Club Network the role that the Network plays in representing licensees and how this can be developed to FS January 2016 Pub and Club Network have identified a number of strategic priorities which should enhance enhance partnership working and partnership working and communication between the trade and the communication between the authorities. trade and the authorities. These should be presented in December. A joint MCC/GMP letter has been sent to city centre licensed premises encouraging them to participate in the Network.

11 Community Partnership Safety Develop and disseminate newsletter to premises licence holders Ensure activity complements work taking place to address priorities 1 and 2 of the Community Safety Strategy FS Ongoing An electronic newsletter has been developed as a way of engaging with premises licence holders. ngnews AW/GP Ongoing Horizon Scanning Area Action Lead Officer Timescale Updates / Actions Transport Evaluate responses from MCC telephone AW/GP February 2016 and why people use the city centre surveys Hold discussions with TfGM around late City Centre and night transport out of the city centre NTE Steering Group New initiatives Monitor initiatives taking place in other AW/GP Ongoing Met colleague from Safe cities to reduce crime and anti social behaviour, engage with the industry, protect Newcastle Unit in October to discuss Late Night Levy vulnerable people, and change the tone of the city centre.

12 Appendix 2 - Case Studies The following two case studies highlight some of the work taking place by GMP with licensed premises to ensure they are managed safely. Sakura GMP identified that disorder was taking outside these premises on a Monday night from 2am onwards. They diagnosed that an externally promoted event was attracting a criminal element. Further analysis indicated that the problem was associated with those being refused entry remaining in the area. There was evidence to suggest that the venue was working well to restrict their entry and comply with their licensing obligations. GMP worked with the venue who changed the night of their event. Prohibitive licence conditions were removed which supported the venue to attract alternative trade. As a result, there was a dramatic fall in incidents. Cooperation was the key to a long term solution. The Ritz GMP had diagnosed that there had been an increase in anti social behaviour and violence at weekends between am. A visit was conducted to the premises and exit interviews conducted with customers. Pre loading along with a drinks promotion were identified as contributing to the problem. A number of areas were looked at in order to tailor an appropriate solution. The premises had a history of working with the police to manage night time economy issues. The ratio of door staff to customers was ascertained and no problems were found with numbers. GMP also looked at the positioning and visibility of door staff and undertook a walkthrough to assess processes. They concluded that the design of the premises were not an issue but did identify that there was a training need around the responsible selling of alcohol. As a result, the Public Health Development Advisor (Alcohol) from the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust ran a responsible retailing workshop for Ritz staff. GMP also attended the workshop and provided an informal question and answer session.