Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies had been received from Mr Chapman  for whom Mr Finch was present as substitute.

1. Mr Hook declared that he was a Lawyer in private practice and his wife was a serving Probation Officer.

1. Mr Peerbux, Head of Community Safety, introduced the report and delivered a presentation which outlined the purpose and the functions of the Kent Community Safety Partnership.
   1. It was highlighted that the Partnership team worked with local partners to tackle community safety issues, it operated as a county-level strategic coordinating group with a statutory responsibility for developing a comprehensive community safety strategy.
   2. Upcoming focus areas for the partnership included neighbourhood policing updates, domestic abuse commissioning work and continued cross agency collaboration.

2. Superintendent Steenhuis, Kent Police, explained that Kent Police had introduced a new neighbourhood policing model, which aimed to deliver more targeted and community focused policing across the county, with several key components
   1. As part of the Neighbourhood Beat Teams Initiative, each ward had a named officer that the resident could identify online by entering their post code.
   2. Child-Centred Policing Teams, made-up of beat officers and Police Community Safety Officers (PCSOs), focused on youth engagement and worked closely with schools and the Youth Justice Team. Knife awareness programmes had been delivered to over 20,000 students.
   3. Neighbourhood Task Teams based in each district supported beat officers by addressing complex issues such as antisocial behaviour with particular focus on town centres, retail crime and actions to protect women and girls.
   4. The Rural Taskforce had achieved significant results in tackling serious thefts, particularly involving farm machinery.
   5. Prevention Hubs provided centralised support across areas including anti social behaviour, drugs, licencing and child-centred policing, all aimed at crime prevention and community engagement.

3. Ms Cain, Commissioner, provided the Committee with an overview of the Sanctury Access for Eligible Residents Scheme (SAFER Scheme).
   1. The SAFER Scheme was launched in March 2024 to help domestic abuse survivors remain safely in their homes through security enhancements and support services.
   2. In the first thirteen months, the scheme received 810 referrals, with 75% of households receiving security improvements. It supported 1013 children and targeted underrepresented groups including men, people with disabilities and those in private housing across both high deprivation and affluent areas.
   3. Kent also began developing a Cyber Sanctuary Scheme to launch in 2026, offering cyber security advice, home visits and training to address technology enabled abuse, which affected over 72% of service users.

4. In response to comments and questions it was said:
   1. Kent Police did not have off-road motorbikes, due to budget constraints, instead drone technology was utilised to address the issue of anti-social behaviour. Superintendent Steenhuis highlighted the importance of encouraging the public to report incidents and working with landowners to limit unauthorised off-road vehicle use.
   2. The specialist Anti-Social Behaviour Team (ASB) had managed complex cases, with ASB identified as a priority across all Community Safety Units. Effective partnership models, such as in Tonbridge, had been encouraged throughout the districts. Targeted action against the top 20 retail crime offenders, supported by criminal behaviour orders and substance misuse interventions, had resulted in reduced offending. ASB reporting had increased following enhanced community engagement and a review of recording processes, which had strengthened data accuracy and operational response. Offender tag monitoring had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.