Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting and went through some general housekeeping arrangements for the meeting.

At this point the Chairperson referred to the recent passing of Councillor N G F Shaughnessy and sent the Committee’s condolences to her family. All present then stood for a moments silence in memory of Councillor Shaughnessy.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor M G Neall.

Post meeting note: An apology absence was received from Councillor V J Bell.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10 October 2024 (copy enclosed).

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10 October 2024 be approved and confirmed.

To disclose the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registrable interests and Non-Registrable Interests relating to items of business on the agenda having regard to paragraph 9 and Appendix B of the Code of Conduct for Members.

(Members are reminded that they are also required to disclose any such interests as soon as they become aware should the need arise throughout the meeting).

There were none.

To receive the views of members of the public, of which prior notification in writing has been received (no later than noon on the Tuesday prior to the day of the meeting).

Should you wish to submit a question please complete the online form at: www.maldon.gov.uk/publicparticipation.

No requests had been received.

To receive a verbal update on Police performance from Sam Girdlestone, Chelmsford and Maldon Community Policing Team Inspector.

Inspector (Insp) Sam Girdlestone, Chelmsford and Maldon Community Policing Team Insp, from Essex Police introduced himself and advised he was attending on behalf of the District Commander, Chief Insp Paul Ballard who was unable to attend the meeting. Inspector Girdlestone then introduced Insp Emily Holmes who would be replacing him as Chelmsford and Maldon Community Policy Team Insp.

Insp Girdlestone drew Members’ attention to the Essex Police Performance Summary report, appended to Agenda Item 7 – Maldon District Community Safety Partnership Update. He reminded Members of the current Local Community Policing structure, the 12 policing priorities to reduce crime and highlighted the Force Plan 2022 / 2025. Insp Girdlestone then provided a detailed presentation and highlighted the following areas:

·                Maldon Performance Summary – Over a twelve-month period to December 2024, the Maldon District had seen a reduction in all crimes and had the second lowest crime statistics in the county. Over the same period, dwelling burglaries had dropped along with theft of motor vehicles. Although Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and theft from motor vehicles had increased over the same period a steady decline was now being seen.

·                Tackling Speeding – The local policing team were working hard to address this, and work included daily speed checks across the district. Members were informed that there were a number of plans to deal effectively with speeding and one of these related to working with schools to get the local children involved. Insp Girdlestone reiterated the importance of reporting any concerns, incidents etc. Members’ attention was drawn to the website ‘traffweb’ which used data provided by the Police where you could enter in any road location and data relating to injury, collision etc. for that location would be shown.

·                Tackling Community issues – Dedicated Community Safety Engagement officers worked closely with the Tri-Services Officer and the Police in relation to all sorts of public safety areas, fraud awareness, dementia work and fire prevention messages. Work had been done in the Dengie to engage with the rural area, a regular event was being held in Purleigh along with further work around the busy town centres with businesses. Members were advised that planning ahead was important for the Community Policing Team looking particularly at holidays like Halloween and Christmas and ensuring plans were in place to prevent any ASB from starting.

Following the update and in response to questions from the Committee, Insp Girdlestone provided the following information:

·                Tru-Cam – In response to a question about how other Parishes got involved with this initiative, Insp Girdlestone advised to let him know and his team along with Officers from the Council will look at how they could support a Parish Council. He encouraged Members to get their villages to get in touch if they had a problem with speeding and his team would support them.

·                Speed Watch – Councillor S J N Morgan referred to being a Member of the Wickham Bishops Speed Watch and queried whether the policy that letters regarding speeding were not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive, (copy enclosed).

The Committee received the report of the Deputy Chief Executive reporting the progress of activities undertaken by Maldon Community Safety Partnership (CSP) since the last meeting held on 10 October 2024.

The most recent Essex Police performance summary (to January 2025) was attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

Members noted the continued good work of the CSP and the liaison it had with Essex Police and other statutory partners.

The Community Safety Manager took Members through the report and gave a short presentation which provided additional information on each of the priorities and work in relation to them. He highlighted discussions with Essex County Council regarding targeted outreach work regarding youth nuisance and the consultations carried out in respect of the new skate park designs and ensuring they were suitable for all users.

In response to a comment about working with Parishes and having suitable community spaces for young persons, the Community Safety Manager advised that he would ensure Planning Policy were invited to the next Essex Learning Event.

Members were advised that instances of pavement parking needed to be reported however, if there was regular occurrence this would a policing matter. In residential areas words of warning were given in advance and a Police officer would attend a premises to also provide words of advice as this was found to be more effective.

The Chairperson thanked the Community Safety Manager for his report and presentation.