Agenda and draft minutes

Bryan Cope introduced the evening and welcomed Jeff Goodsell (Whitfield Parish Council) and Jenny Miles (Temple Ewell Parish Council) as Chair and Vice-Chair (subject to the agreement of Jennifer Record).

Jeff thanked Bryan and noted how successful last year’s Forums were and that we would all like to continue that success this year.

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations.

Don Covus, Area Supervisor for the KCC Community Safety Unit, Christopher Allen, Community Safety Manager from Dover District Council and Chief Inspector Tony Kofkin from Kent Police will provide a short brief on their roles and how they fit with each others.

The presenters will then join the audience for round table discussions.  This provides the opportunity to question and discuss in greater depth the issues and problems within the wards and parishes of Dover West. 

Don Covus, Area Supervisor, KCC Community Safety Unit, Chris Allen, Community Safety Manager, DDC, Dover Community Safety Partnership and Chief Inspector Tony Kofkin, Area Commander for Dover, Kent Police: were in attendance for this item.

Don noted how everyone works in partnership and this enables more to be achieved, the Wardens will tackle anything, e.g., adult abuse, dog fouling, social and welfare issues, community bonding and much more.  They are not police and do not have the powers the police have.  Don noted some wardens are based in parish halls and the parishes have been very helpful.

Chris noted the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 recognised other partners and how they can help, e.g. DDC, KCC, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, all skills can be used and these partners are all on the Partnership.

The Partnership has had good success in this area, reducing crime by 15% across the whole of the District.  In Kent, with 1 being the worst and 13 being the best, Dover District prominently features at number 9 or 10; this is sometimes surprising given the areas of deprivation within the district.  Dover district also comes out as safest in its family group of similar areas.

There are a number of Community Safety Partnership Sub-groups dealing with locally relevant issues, e.g. road safety and young people staying safe.  The biggest victim group in the district is those aged under 18, with the biggest crime against them being assault.  The sub-groups also look at substance misuse – legal and illegal substances – to provide education and help.  Funding has been going to the sub-groups but it is now also being offered to Parish Councils (up to £5000) for projects tackling crime and disorder and public safety.

Tony noted his role covers front line police, responding to emergency calls, investigating crime, managing sex offenders in the community, the treatment of offenders, amongst other things.  Tony also noted he worked with partners to ensure funding is spent in the places that need it most.

The Community Wardens and PCSOs are the eyes and ears of the Police.  Tony also noted he chairs the Counter Terrorism Forums – this involves information coming forward from local people.

Every individual should know who their Community Warden/PCSO is and a leaflet has gone out to all households – expectations must now be managed. Crime is decreasing rapidly in Dover and this is through good partnership working and good funding.

The bottom line is that Dover is a safe place to live with safe communities.

Question and Answer session:

Q. What is the difference between Community Wardens/Rural Wardens and PCSOs?

A.  PCSOs are funded by the Home Office and Wardens are funded by KCC, however they are housed in the same place and work together with the same objectives, they are simply funded differently.  There are also some powers with the PCSOs.  There are 101 Wardens in Kent and Dover has 10.

Q. In Temple Ewell there is an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Feedback from the tables on what was discussed and if any actions are to be taken away from the meeting.

Louise Bolton noted funding is now available and application forms were supplied at the meeting.

There are 3 streams available:

o       Small Community Capital Grants – combined DDC and KCC funding, £13,116.61 available for this Forum area, application forms available.

o       KCC Member Community Grant - £10,000 for Bryan Cope, application forms available.

o       KCC Local Schemes Grant - £9,300 for Bryan Cope, if you have a project please approach Bryan Cope directly.

For further funding information please access: www.dover.gov.uk/communitydevelopment, www.open4community.info/kent, or www.midsekent-cvs.co.uk.