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Meeting Details

Police and Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Sub-Committee
14 Jan 2020 - 15:00 to 16:00
  • Documents
  • Attendance
  • Visitors
  • Declarations of Interests

Documents

Agenda

Agenda
Notification
Standard Items
Members of the Press and Public
Members of the press and public wishing to attend the meeting should report to the customer service centre where they will be met and directed to the meeting.
Further Information

This is a meeting which is open to members of the public. 

A copy of the agenda and reports for this meeting will be available for inspection prior to the meeting at the Customer Service Centre, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley and online at http://renfrewshire.cmis.uk.com/renfrewshire/CouncilandBoards.aspx

For further information, please either email
democratic-services@renfrewshire.gov.uk or telephone 0141 618 7112.

Chair
Councillor McGurk, Convener, presided.
In Attendance
M Crearie, Director of Communities, Housing & Planning Services; O Reid, Head of Communities & Public Protection and C Dalrymple, Communities and Regulatory Manager (both Communities, Housing and Planning Services); and K O’Neill, Assistant Democratic Services Officer (Finance & Resources).
Also In Attendance
A Murray, Chief Superintendent and L Harvie, Detective Chief Inspector (both Police Scotland); and G Binning, Local Senior Officer, M Gallacher, Group Manager, S MacMillan, Deputy Head of Prevention & Protection and M Hill, Group Commander (all Scottish Fire & Rescue Service).
Valediction
On behalf of the Sub-Committee, Councillor McGurk extended thanks to Mark Gallacher,  Group Manager for the significant contribution he had made and for the advice and assistance he had provided and wished him well for the future. These sentiments were echoed by all members present. 
Items Of Business
Apologies
Apologies from members.
Declarations of Interest
Members are asked to declare an interest in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest.
There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting.
Report by Director of Communities, Housing and Planning Services.
1
There was submitted a report by the Director of Communities, Housing & Planning Services relative to consultation on HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s (HMICS) Scrutiny Plan 2020-21. 

The report advised that HMICS utilised an online survey in the consultation process to allow those with an interest in policing in Scotland to contribute. To support the process, HMICS had sought the views of key stakeholders, including local councils, to ascertain whether there were any topical, high-risk or emerging areas in policing that should be included within the 2020-21 Scrutiny Plan.  

The response developed to be submitted by Renfrewshire Council prior to the deadline of 17 January 2020, was appended to the report for approval.  It was noted that the response welcomed the development of a HMICS Scrutiny Plan for 2020-21 and sought continued focus on key national issues. At K Division level, Police Scotland had worked closely with the Council, in particular the Renfrewshire Community Safety Partnership Hub, and with the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service to develop an innovative collaborative learning approach shared across key agencies. 

It was highlighted that local relationships with Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority were excellent and the response highlighted the strength of the relationship.

DECIDED:

(a) That the consultation on the HMICS Scrutiny Plan 2020-21 be noted; and 

(b) That the Council’s consultation response by the Director of Communities, Housing & Planning Services, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.
Report by Director of Communities, Housing and Planning Services.
2
There was submitted a report by the Director of Communities, Housing & Planning Services relative to the consultation on the draft Strategic Police Priorities for Scotland which had a  closing date of 4 October 2019. A draft response to the consultation had been approved at this Sub Committee on 20 August 2019 and submitted to the Scottish Government for consideration. 

The report advised that the consultation exercise had received a total of 59 responses, 29 from individuals and 30 responses from organisations. Scottish Government Officials had also attended a number of stakeholder meetings across Scotland. 

The Scottish Government had now published its revised Strategic Police Priorities based on the consultation responses and broadly in line with those it consulted on. It was intended that the new priorities would remain in place for a period of 6 years, however, they would be reviewed at the mid-point of 3 years. 

DECIDED:

(a) That the publication of the Strategic Police Priorities be noted; and 

(b) That it be noted that the priorities will remain in place for 6 years with a review after 3 years.
3
There was submitted a report by the Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland, relative to service performance and activities in the Renfrewshire area for the period 1 April - 31 November 2019.

The report summarised the key performance indicators and provided statistics relating to the specific key objectives detailed in the Renfrewshire Local Policing Plan 2017/20, together with comparative data. 
 
The report also provided, in an infographics format, local updates in relation to the Police Scotland priorities of violence and anti-social behaviour; acquisitive crime; public protection; major crime & terrorism and road safety & road crime.  

The Chief Superintendent intimated that K Division Public Protection Unit was one of the best performing in Scotland.

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.
Presentation by Police Scotland.
4
Detective Chief Inspector Harvie presented information on the Public Protection Unit, based at Renfrew Police Office.  The PPU was made up of specialist officers who dealt with rape and other serious sex crimes, child protection cases and complex domestic abuse investigations and who were determined to help deliver justice for those who have suffered painfully at the hands of others - giving the victims a voice no matter how long ago the crime took place.

DCI Harvie advised that the PPU put the same level of effort into a rape investigation as with a murder investigation and that the support and help was there that people needed. The PPU dealt with hundreds of inquiries every year and although many of these were historic cases where there were unique challenges involved, in terms of finding forensic evidence, gathering witnesses and piecing together what actually happened, there had been a number of successful prosecutions.

An invitation was extended to all members of the Scrutiny Sub-committee to visit the PPU based in Osprey House to see the work being done.

DECIDED:    

(a) That the information provided be noted; and

(b) Arrangements be made to allow members of the Sub-committee to visit and observe the work of the Public Protection Unit.
Report by Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service.
5
There was submitted a report by the Local Senior Fire Office relative to statistical data which covered a 3 year period concerning incidents of unwanted fire alarm signals locally and nationally; those Council wards where the volume was highest; and the nature of incidents and activities undertaken by Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and numerous other agencies, including Police Scotland, Community Wardens and Housing to address the situation.

The report advised that the success of prevention and intervention activities and provision of fire safety advice to the public was measured around a number of outcome-based performance indicators.  A multi-agency approach to dealing with fire offending and offenders was an effective way of protecting persons and property from fire, reducing operational response costs, and improving fire and fire-related performance indicators. 

East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde (ERRI) Area and Prevention and Protection (P&P) Managers had worked together with National Health Service Greater Glasgow & Clyde (NHSGGC) and launched the TAKE5 UFAS reduction project across all NHS premises within Renfrewshire. 

The campaign focussed on engagement and poster displays within all staff areas. Statistics show that the majority of UFAS incidents were caused by a human action actuating the system, TAKE5 highlighted and promoted staff to TAKE5 to think about their actions and how they could impact or activate the fire alarm system.

ERRI P&P had worked together with East Renfrewshire Council (ERC) and planned to implement a version of the NHS TAKE5 initiative, that would be bespoke to all council premises including office and education facilities. This pilot across ERC would run in early 2020 with a view to launching it within Renfrewshire and Inverclyde thereafter. 

The team was also working closely with other Local P&P managers to plan and implement a UFAS education and awareness campaign aimed at the public. The Be Aware initiative would initially target public sector buildings, including NHS and Education with visible posters displayed within common, waiting and utility areas and would highlight common causes of UFAS by members of the public due to smoking and aerosol use. This initiative would also launch across ERRI in January 2020. 

ERRI P&P Managers were currently reviewing all UFAS policies and processes in line with the continuous improvement framework. Scottish Fire and Rescue Services was engaging with its managers and firefighters across all its local stations. This engagement would allow station based frontline personnel to assist with standardising, streamlining and improving how UFAS are managed across East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

DECIDED: That the information provided be noted.
Verbal Report by Police Scotland and Scottish Fire & Rescue Service.
6
The Local Senior Officer (LSO), Scottish Fire & Rescue Service advised that he had attended a commemoration event which took place in Paisley town centre on Saturday 7 December 2019 to mark the 90th anniversary of the Glen Cinema disaster which took place on 31 December 1929 when a smoking film canister caused a panic during a packed children’s matinee where more than 600 children were present. As a result of the crush that followed more than 30 children were injured and 71 children died.
The commemorative event began with a lantern procession involving more than 150 young people from community groups and schools. This was followed by a service at Paisley Abbey at which a number of invited guests attended and included survivors Robert Pope and Emily Brown along with their families.
The LSO advised the Sub-Committee that safety regulations had been tightened in the wake of the disaster; many authorities had made inspections of cinemas compulsory and all public buildings had improved safety features. 

DECIDED: That the information provided be noted.

Attendance

Name
No other member attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
NameReason for Sending Apology
No apology information has been recorded for the meeting.

Declarations of Interests

Member NameItem Ref.DetailsNature of DeclarationAction
No declarations of interest have been entered for this meeting.

Visitors

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