Issue - meetings

To provide an overview to Members of the activities of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Community Safety Partnership.

Resolved:

1.    To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

2.    To support the priorities and the future direction of the work.

3.    Recommend that the Partnership add preventative work linked to sexual offences as a specific priority for the future. 

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being, Senior Manager for Safeguarding, Quality Assurance and Mental Health, Senior Operational Officer of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Community Safety Partnership, Statutory Director of Social Services and Chief Inspector of North Wales Police. ⁠

All were reminded that submitting an annual update on the implementation of the Safety Partnership was a statutory requirement for Local Authorities in accordance with the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2002 and 2006.

It was explained that Community Safety Partnerships had been established in 1988 to ensure that crime and disorder was considered as a problem for everyone within society, not just for the police. It was added that the Partnership had a responsibility to formulate and implement a strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence and this was being done regionally across north Wales.

It was emphasised that no funds were permanently allocated for community safety and the Partnership was dependent on ad-hoc funding opportunities following the submission of detailed bids. It was noted that the only service directly commissioned by the Partnership were the Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHR). It was explained that the Domestic Homicide Reviews were a statutory duty as a result of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2024. It was confirmed that two reviews had been submitted to the Home Office and had been approved. Members were updated that the Partnership had submitted a bid to the Self-Harm and Suicide Prevention Fund to deliver a joint project with the Domestic Abuse Safety Unit, North Wales Police, and the ’Live Fear Free’ helpline to provide support to victims of domestic abuse. Pride was expressed that this bid had been approved and the project would be developed during 2025.

Several priority issues were highlighted for the partnership during 2024-25, based on the regional priorities of the Safer North Wales Board Strategy. It was explained that these included:

·       Prevention of crime and anti-social behaviour

·       Tackling violent crime

·       Tackling serious organised crime

·       Safeguarding and building resilient communities and maintaining public safety.

Data was shared data on several different types of crime and compared with the 2023/24 data statistics to look if Gwynedd's statistics were similar to what was seen across north Wales. It was recognised that there was a significant increase in the rates of stalking and harassment (+11.5%) and sex offences (+27.9%) compared with 2023/24 rates. It was considered that this increase derived from the fact that more cases were being reported as victims were more confident to do so following recent campaigns. It was added that there was an increase in the number of offences being reported after more than 12 months had elapsed since the offence. Reference was also made to hate crime rates, and it was also noted that these were 16.3% higher in Gwynedd compared to 2023/24. It was emphasised that a 10.9% increase in this type of crime appeared to be regional. However, it was assured that the rates of all types of crime were not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6