Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Convener intimated that this meeting of the Sub-committee would be recorded and that the recording would be available to view on the Council's website.

There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland, relative to service performance and activities in the Renfrewshire area during the period 1 April 2020 to 28 February 2021.

The report summarised the key performance indicators and provided statistics relating to the specific key objectives detailed in the Renfrewshire Local Policing Plan 2020/21, together with comparative data. The report 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. 

It was highlighted that there had been an overall downward trend in both serious and minor violence crimes with a decrease of 11.4% in Group 1 crimes, which equated to 31 fewer victims. A decrease of 19.3% on the previous year in acquisitive crime was also reported, mainly driven by the fall in reported common theft and theft by shoplifting.  Cases of recorded fraud had increased by 36.6% on the previous year mainly due the continued trend of financially motivated cybercrimes which included internet order fraud, fraudulent transactions and identity theft.  The increase in cybercrime was Scotland-wide and Police Scotland were working on a number of initiatives to reduce these crimes which included Take 5 to Stop Fraud, leaflet distribution and increased media coverage.

A decrease by 9.5% in domestic abuse crimes in the previous year was reported, with increased detection rate for domestic crimes and offences from 64.6% in the previous year, to 70.3% in the current period. 

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland, which provided an overview of Police Scotland’s use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).

The use of RPAS within Police Scotland came under the remit of the Air Support Unit and were introduced by Police Scotland on 1 May 2019 as an enhancement to the Police Scotland Air Support Unit Helicopter. Police Scotland had procured 7 RPAS with 2 based at Aberdeen, 2 at Inverness and 3 based at Glasgow, each location had a training platform and an operational platform, with 4 used for training purposes and 3 for operational purposes. The report provided details of the capabilities of RPAS and their use for legitimate policing purposes. Permission for Police Scotland to operate RPAS in both urban and rural environments, day and night, where it was necessary and appropriate to do so, was granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. 

Police Scotland had developed and completed a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), also known as Privacy Impact Assessment, which covered all police RPAS activity which minimised the risks of harm to individuals through the processing of personal information. 

It was anticipated that in the near future RPAS would be deployed to support local policing with a number of tasks which included: searches for - missing persons, suspect persons, evidence and of property.  They could also be used to support critical incident response, post incident investigation, crime scene analysis and divisional initiatives.  Operationally deployment could be requested to an ongoing or pre-planned incident in the same format as the Helicopter was requested.
 
DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland, which provided an overview of Police Scotland’s use of Body Worn Video (BWV), how it would be used operationally, how recorded data would be captured, stored, maintained and shared and highlighted the legal frameworks which governed the use of BWV. 

The report advised that the Chief Constable supported an accelerated roll-out of BWV to all officers and staff in appropriate roles across Police Scotland as quickly as funding allowed and that armed officers would be equipped with BWV ahead of the COP26 climate change summit to be held in Glasgow later this year.  The initial roll-out would be followed by a national programme to provide all officers and staff in appropriate roles with BWV which would ensure a uniformed approach to recording, retention and sharing of video providing a greater transparency of policing practices and interactions. Significant work would be required to ensure there was public understanding, engagement and support and full regard for the legal, ethical and human rights considerations.

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report, in an infographics format, by the Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) relative to SFRS performance and Local Fire and Rescue Service Plan priorities in the Renfrewshire area during period 1 January to 31 March 2021.  

The Local Fire and Rescue Service Plan had been developed to complement key partnership activity embedded across Renfrewshire and set out the priorities and objectives which allowed local authority partners to scrutinise the performance outcomes of the priorities to ensure risks to communities were targeted at a local level to make them safer and more secure.

The report provided updates in relation to Renfrewshire activity, accidental dwelling fires and casualties, unintentional injury and harm, deliberate fire setting, non-domestic fire safety and unwanted fire alarm signals. 

A decrease of 18% (7 incidents) in accidental dwelling fires from Q3 2019/20 was reported.  
Cooking remained the most common source of ignition within Renfrewshire, 55% of alarms raised required no firefighting action and detection devices installed were operated in 79% of cases.

DECIDED:  That the contents of the report be noted.

The Group Manager advised that SFRS were facilitating a number of information awareness and positive action initiatives within SFRS in an attempt to boost inclusive and diverse representation within the service. Virtual events designed to increase inclusiveness and diversity had been arranged, with events organised in May 2021 for Ethnic Minority and June 2021 for potential female firefighters which would be co-ordinated locally.  Information on these events would be published on SFRS and Renfrewshire Council social media. 

The Group Manager also advised that many SFRS initiatives which involved face-to-face interaction had been curtailed to due the COVID-19 pandemic and that these would resume soon.

DECIDED: That information provided be noted.

The Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland advised that services provided were proportionate to the different levels of COID-19 lockdown restrictions and that Police Scotland continued to work closely in partnership with Renfrewshire Council.

The Convener advised the Sub-committee that the Protocol for Elected Members - Personal Safety had been provided to all Renfrewshire councillors by the Head of Corporate Governance following concerns raised at a previous meeting of this sub-committee.

DECIDED:  

(a) That the information in relation to easing of COVID-19 restrictions provided by the Chief Superintendent be noted; and

(b) That the information in relation to the Protocol for Elected Members - Personal Safety, provided by the Convener, be noted,