Strategic Intelligence Assessment 2010

Executive Summary

From 1st August 2007 the requirement for Safer Community Partnerships (SCPs) or Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) to conduct three yearly audits under the Crime and Disorder Act was replaced with a requirement to conduct an annual strategic intelligence assessment. This is intended to ensure that Partnerships are aware of up to date local priorities and can change their priority focus if required. From March 2010 The Safer Harlow Partnership will no longer be known as a CDRP, it will be known as a Community Safety Partnership (CSP). 

This assessment aims to establish an accurate picture of the current and emerging trends in Harlow using a range of data, including comparisons with similar family group towns, and national statistics. Its purpose is to assist the Community Safety Partnership to develop and revise the three year annually reviewed Partnership Plan. The results of the strategic assessment will provide a foundation for the future work for the Safer Harlow Partnership. 

From April 2010 the Probation Service attained trust status, the Probation Service has been a full member of the Responsible Authorities Group of the Safer Harlow Partnership. The partnership will be responsible for developing measures to reduce re-offending rates, and to reflect this change the partnership will seek to integrate work on reducing reoffending with existing work to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and tackle substance misuse where appropriate. 

The priorities set in the Strategic Assessment were reached through research, data analysis, and community consultation.  This strategic intelligence assessment uses the Problem Analysis Triangle (PAT) process to determine hot-spot locations, priority victim groups and offender types.  The assessment is laid out in the format throughout to allow easier identification of common problems which, in turn allow practical, workable solutions to be formulated. 

There were a total of 8,454 criminal offences in the Harlow District between 1 October 2008 and 30 September 2009. This compares to 8,718 offences during the same period in 2007/8 representing a 3.03% reduction. The main contributor to this decrease is criminal damage which saw a 13.30% reduction on the year previous. Drug offences also saw a 23.56% reduction. 

In addition to the crime offences there were 5025 incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB). This is a 3.31% reduction on 2007/08 in which there were 5197 incidents. 

The Government predicted that overall crime and anti-social behaviour would rise during the economic recession, which has not been the case for Harlow. However, acquisitive crime remains high in the District. 

Priorities were decided by applying a priority selection matrix which takes into account various indicators . This matrix produced an overall score for each crime type which identified clear priorities. Public perception was also considered through a variety of consultation events across the district

1.  Alcohol-related crime and disorder (principally Town Centre)

2.   Children and young people as victims

3.   Improve public perceptions of crime and feeling safe

4.    Reducing Anti-social behaviour & Reducing Perceptions of anti-social behaviour

5.   Offender management / reducing re-offending

6.   Drugs and alcohol (substance misuse)

7.   Dwelling burglaries

8.   Domestic Violence

Key Issues for 2010-2011             

1. Alcohol-related crime and disorder.  This has a major impact on the quality of life for many people. It also places huge pressures on criminal justice agencies and emergency services who are confronted daily with alcohol related crime.  It has close links with the other identified priorities such as Domestic Violence, Criminal Damage and ASB and, as in 2008/2009 and 2000-2010, it needs to be one of the key themes for the Partnership for the coming year.  A co-ordinated approach to tackle violence (e.g. alcohol/drug related violent crime, domestic violence, night-time economy) has now been taken by the partnership. 

2.Domestic Violence. Repeat incidents of domestic violence and related assaults are attributable to the highest number of alcohol-related assaults and incidents are increasing across the County and need to be reduced.  Along with alcohol-related violence, tackling domestic violence is key to the Government’s aim to reduce Most Serious Violence and this work links with the Home Office Tackling Violence Action Plan.  This has emerged as a key priority for the Partnership.    

3.Dwelling Burglaries. The monitoring undertaken by the Partnership Performance Executive Group, and a detailed crime pattern analysis, have highlighted an increase in domestic burglaries, including millennium burglaries (those involving the theft of vehicle keys from dwellings where vehicles are stolen).  The Home Office has released funding to aid the Partnership with reducing this crime through a series of public messages, increased Police activity and public awareness raising, in-depth data analysis and a cross boarder offender management post. The Crime Group has agreed to focus on this category as a priority.   

4.Assaults (Assault without Injury and Actual Bodily Harm).  The number of assaults in the last year has seen a drop of 0.29% on the year previous year. 153 of the victims of these assaults had been a victim on a previous occasion which accounts for 14.45% of the total assault victims. 35.79% of the total assaults in the district were incidents of Domestic AbuseSaturdays and Sundays are the most common day of the week for violent offences, although it is likely that a large majority of these offences occur during the period between late Saturday and very early morning on the Sunday.  When compared with Most Similar Groups (MSG’s) using iQuanta data, Harlow is below average for less serious assaults (Actual Bodily Harm offences), however is well above average and above the upper bound when considering assaults without injury (common assault offences). This issue is further compounded when considering the local alcohol profile which shows that Harlow is ‘significantly worse’ than the regional and national average for alcohol related crimes and alcohol related violent crimes. 

5.Community views are central to delivering partnership interventions which really make a difference.  Consultation methods, including local and county surveys need to be reviewed in relation to identified problems and intelligence gaps. Co-ordination of these consultations is vital, including outputs from Joint Action Group and Neighbourhood Action Panels, in order to ensure the burden on the community and resource is minimised by eliminating duplication.  Again, pressure on resources has impacted on the ability to deliver improved consultation channels.    

6.Current financial pressures may have an impact on the prioritisation of action plans and the strategic management of the CSP may need to respond to this challenge.  

Analysis by Location: ·        

• The main hotspot for crime and anti-social behaviour in the Harlow district is Toddbrook, which accounts for 27% of the total crime for Harlow Incorporating the town centre (also known as the High); Toddbrook is very clearly the hotspot for crime and disorder associated with the night time economy, including alcohol-related crime and assaults. This also impacts on the public’s perception of crime generally. The ward of Toddbrook is the highest contributor to crime in 11 of the 18 crime and disorder categories considered for this assessment. Shoplifting offences in particular are expected to occur in Toddbrook due to the number of shopping outlets in the ward which attracts the residents of the district to the centre.  Assaults wounding criminal damage and serious sexual offences also feature highly in this neighbourhood. 
• The wards of Toddbrook, Little Parndon and Hare Street mostly suffer the majority of the district’s two higher volume offences - burglary offences and shoplifting offences which feature highly on the list of priorities. The Little Parndon and Hare Street ward is also a major contributor to crime and disorder in the district, being the primary contributor in 3 categories and the secondary contributor in 7 of the 18 categories. Theft from motor vehicles and theft of motor vehicles also feature highly in the Little Parndon and Hare Street Wards.       
• Town centre & Netteswell. The hotspot for drug offences is actually within the town centre which is no surprise, however, there is an emerging hotspot in the Netteswell ward which is of some concern. Bearing in mind the fact that the ward itself is approximately average sized and the population living within the ward is proportionate to the rest of the district, there is no outstanding explanation for this emerging hotspot. 
• Mark Hall.  Harlow does not suffer from the media-hyped surge in gun crime. 19.23% fire Arms incidents offences occurred within the Mark Hall ward although the hotspot does cross into the neighbouring ward of Netteswell. The hotspot for racially aggravated crimes and harassments crimes sits in the ward of Toddbrook, however extends out towards Mark Hall, theft of bicycle offences also feature high in this ward.  
• Harlow Common – The hotspot for offences of harassment is once again within the Toddbrook ward, however the victims of these offences appear to be suffering a slightly greater number of repeats in the ward of Harlow Common. This suggests that targeted action in cases of harassment could produce quick results if concentrated in Harlow Common 
• Staple Tye suffers from a high number of ‘making off without payment’ offences.  The hotspot for knife crime offences is located in the town centre as is to be expected with offences of this nature, however the disproportionate number of offences in the Staple Tye ward, south of the town centre and notably around the small shopping complex there, is a cause for concern.  As with knife crime offences, the hotspot for robbery is actually within the ward of Toddbrook, however Staple Type was the second highest contributor to robbery offences. 
• Tertiary hotspots appear in the wards of Bush Fair, Mark Hall, and the boundary of Great Parndon and Staple Tye. 
• Bush Fair, Great Parndon, Old Harlow, Sumners & Kingsmoor and church Langely have not featured so far within this strategic assessment due to the fact that in comparison with the other wards within the district, the crimes which they suffer are notably fewer in number, and none of the hotspots for the offences occur within these wards.

 Analysis by Victim: 

• Domestic violence remains a high priority for the district with a high number of assaults being linked to repeat and alcohol related incidents of domestic violence and violent crime. This emerged as a key priority for the Partnership in 2009, and is a high priority for 2010.  Tackling domestic violence is key to the Government’s aim to reduce Most Serious Violence.  This work links with the Home Office Tackling Violence Action Plan.   
• Home dwellers appear in the main to be the victims of a large proportion of crime. The average age of victims for all offences is just over 38 years old, For assaults, the most likely age at which to be a victim is between 16 and 20, which is consistent with common perceptions of youth alcohol consumption and associated violence 
• Evidence suggests that there is no disproportionate targeting of the ethnic community for Domestic burglary. Details of robbery offences were considered to identify the number of offences carried out whilst the victim was at work. 15 victims were either employed in a shop at the time of an offence, working as a delivery driver or taxi driver, or delivering or collecting cash boxes. The most common of these offences were committed on delivery drivers (7 offences). Local businesses suffered 39.12% burglary ‘other offences’ suggesting that local businesses require both education and assistance in securing their property. This compares 31.75% during 2007/08 indicating that businesses are now being targeted more often ·         Research indicates that 82% of residents felt safe within the district during hours of daylight.  This figure drops on average to 40% during hours of darkness. 31% of the respondents to the Place Survey felt that the level of crime needed improving in the district. Activities for teenagers, road and pavement repairs, and traffic levels were all thought to be more pressing issues in Harlow. Race relations featured very low down the list with only 3% of respondents feeling that there was a need for improvement.

Analysis by Offender: 

Offenders in the Harlow District tend to commit crimes in areas they feel familiar with, near to their home addresses are likely to continue to offend

• Prolific and Other Offenders (PPOs)  It is the case that much of the crime in the District is committed by a very few knownindividuals, known by the term “Prolific and Priority Offenders” (PPOs).  The Partnership will continue to target these individuals with particular emphasis being given to assisting the Probation Service in reducing the levels of re-offending. There are 11 identifiable PPO’s in the district who are known to be responsible for a total of 196 offences. Essex DIP (Drug Interventions Programme) evidence shows that the number of offences committed by individuals currently engaged in a Drug Intervention Programme is 7. 
• The majority of the Millennium burglary offences committed in the district are committed by offenders living with the district.  This is in contrast with neighbouring district whom suffer from the numerous burglary teams operating out of the London boroughs. There are approximately 10 known regular known offenders, only one of which is currently in custody. Each of these offenders carries out an offence with a group of associates who are known to law enforcement agencies. 
• All detected theft of motor vehicle offenders were male, of an average age of 25 years. Two offenders were schoolboys aged below 18 years. All of the offenders lived in the Harlow District and travelled an average of just 1600 metres from their home addresses to commit the offences. 75% of the offenders are known to commit other offences within Essex although they are known to predominantly offend in the Harlow district. 
• Several of the known burglars local to Harlow use the MO of trying several uPVC doors to find one that is not double locked; they then pop the lock and can be in the house in a matter of seconds. This MO is employed by several members of a large Harlow burglary team who offend in Essex and Hertfordshire. This team includes several PPOs 
• From a retail perspective, test purchases for under-age alcohol sales were conducted throughout the financial year from April 2009 to September 2009. 68 test purchases were conducted with 7 sales being completed, which represents 10.29%. This compares with 11% for the financial year of 2008-2009, and 31% for the financial year 2007-2008. This suggests that actions in place to deter commercial premises from selling to under age persons are proving to be effective