INVERLEITH NEIGHBOURHOOD PARTNERSHIP
CLEAN, GREEN AND SAFE ACTION GROUP
Minutes of Meeting held on 16 January 2013, 2.30pm
Item / Actions1. / Attendance:
Steven Cuthill, SfC
Eddie Thorn, CBCC
John Young, CBCC
Alex Dale, DTCC
Craig Stephens, LBP
Pam Barnes, Friends of Inverleith Park/ Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council
Ruth Stanley, SfC
Judy Conn, Friends of KGV
2. / Apologies:
Stephen Brennan, SICC
Elaine Lennon
3. / Minutes of Previous Meeting:
Approved as true record.
Matters arising:
SC was to check up on outstanding parks actions – these have been completed.
SC was to check on the steps at Gabriel’s Road (between Saxe Coburg and Glenogle) which are very smooth and slippery when wet. These are old stone, and the debris has been cleaned off which should improve the situation. Further improvement could only be gained by replacing them altogether, which would come at a significant cost.
Following the flood prevention works, the pillars at the end of Bell Place were removed and couldn’t return due to the redesign of the new bridge. There was a request that the pillars are installed at entrance to the Snakey from Glenogle Road. SC has no objection to this in principle following inspection/assessment of viability and budget being identified. / SC
4. / Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT):
Sgt Stephens gave some recent crime figures – crime figures for all types of crime between April to December 2012 were down 31% compared to April to December 2011. Vandalism was down by 55%, housebreaking down by 33% and business break-ins by 40%.
This isn’t believed to be a reporting issue, as it’s known that people do generally report
housebreakings. CS has been tasked to delve further into the figures to identify where the
biggest drops are and why this might be. Youth calls are down, and this could be because a
group of youths who were coming into Wester Drylaw and causing problems no longer have any associations with that area. It can be difficult to work out why HBs have reduced – it could be to do with better crime prevention among householders combined with good enforcement.
The figures are encouraging but the SNT isn’t complacent and will be keeping up the crime
prevention messages.
There were two serious incidents recently, both involving elderly women whose handbags
were taken from them. One culprit has been identified for these and is now in prison
awaiting trial. He was caught on the day of the second incident by the swift use of a dog who tracked him along the nearby walkway. The use of the dog will also provide evidence for the case. There has been no other serious crime in the area.
Looking at month to month figures, there was an increase in housebreaking over December. This is usual, as criminals know there will be valuables around at that time. The solvency rate for the year is 50%, but many individuals are likely to be responsible for more break-ins than the ones for which they are actually charged.
Following a recent incident where one dog was attacked by another person’s dogs, the
group asked about how these incidents are dealt with. Where there has been an attack on a human, the matter should be reported to the police. Other types of incidents where dogs are out of control should be reported to the Environmental Wardens, who carry out enforcement under the Control of Dogs Act. The Act does build in some preventative and protective measures.
Community priorities:
Cycle thefts – there is no dedicated officer working on this at present, but the focus of
activity on this has led to a lot of recoveries and people reported to the Procurator Fiscal or Children’s Reporter for theft. December showed the lowest number of cycle thefts for a year at 5, and 4 of these were solved. Bikes are still very attractive to thieves, so vigilance is still needed. There is an intelligence gap about what’s happening to the more valuable stolen bikes so more information is needed. Any information from members of the community will be welcomed, and can be passed to the police via Crimestoppers.
Road Safety – there was a force wide focus on road safety in December, as there is every year over the festive season. Road checks were carried out and action taken.
Cycle/Walkways –patrols along these are a standing item. There was one incident at St Marks Park (just within the Leith Neighbourhood) but the culprits might be from the Drylaw policing area. Officers have been doing extra patrols as people walk to work. JC- Has speeding among cyclists been targeted? There seems to be less of an issue now at King George V Park. People do generally moderate their behaviour when the police are around, and the officers do speak to cyclists about any issues.
Craigleith Retail Park was also given attention to deter shoplifting. There was only one reported incident of shoplifting for the while of December. This is good, but consideration will be given next year to how much resource needs to be given to the issue.
There will be changes to local policing as a result of the introduction of the single police force on 1 April. However, there are not likely to be any immediate sweeping changes, a progressive change is more likely. There will still be a community police team. Consultation events have taken place concerning the local priorities for the new force, but these were poorly attended. A survey monkey was also carried out. Inverleith responses were gathered – the top three priorities were assault and serious violence, housebreaking and drunken behaviour/antisocial behaviour. Road safety was 4th. These are quite similar to the priorities we have already been dealing with. It is yet to be decided whether these will become the future priorities.
New community priorities:
It was agreed to roll forward the existing priorities as follows –
Cycle/walkways – in view of the incident at St Marks Park, keep this priority going
Road safety – continue, with a specific focus on Craigleith Road roundabout where there may be speeding issues and bad driving eg use of mobiles, and with use of Park smart initiative in response to complaints about schools
Pedal cycle thefts – there were a few more in January so continue this.
Alongside these, there can be a focus on other emerging issues. PC Dickson has been to visit Dear’s pharmacy – there’s a problem here off an on with groups of methadone users who can be intimidating to other customers.
5. / Community Safety update: Performance and Activity Reporting (October 2012)
Community Safety Officers
Number of complaints per 10,000 population
/
Neighbourhood
/ October 2012
/ November 2012
/ December 2012
/ Current Target
/ Status
/
Value
/ Value
/ Value
/
Citywide / 4.07 / 3.74 / 2.57 / /
City Centre/Leith / 2.9 / 4.23 / 2.3 / 4.72 /
East / 9.25 / 6.43 / 5.23 / 10 /
North / 3.27 / 2.49 / 1.56 / 5.58 /
South / 3.48 / 3.01 / 1.79 / 4.12 /
South West / 5.13 / 4.78 / 3.72 / 5.05 /
West / 1.71 / 1.85 / 1.28 / 2.12 /
New cases in Inverleith 2012
January / February / March / April / May / June / July / August / September
7 / 2 / 2 / 7 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 3 / 4
October / November / December
7 / 2 / 1
There was a slight spike in the number of cases in October, but this is a normal seasonal variation. Most of the October to December cases involved noise, and one involved threats and abuse to Council staff. Three warnings were issued and officers mediated a resolution in another, while two further problems had quietened down during the investigation.. One complaint was withdrawn and no evidence gained of any problem in another. One complaint was a tit for tat personal dispute and difficult to resolve, and the final complaint is still ongoing.
Cases resolved ie action taken to prevent the antisocial behaviour and complainant agrees the problem is resolved
Neighbourhood
/ October 2012
/ November 2012
/ December 2012
/ Current Target
/ Status
/
Value
/ Value
/ Value
/
Citywide / 70% / 69% / 68% / 80% /
City Centre/Leith / 66% / 78% / 70% / 80% /
East / 71% / 59% / 53% / 80% /
North / 68% / 55% / 54% / 80% /
South / 63% / 72% / 79% / 80% /
South West / 78% / 87% / 86% / 80% /
West / 68% / 69% / 78% / 80% /
Both North and East teams are having similar problems improving the level of cases which are resolved, compared to other teams around the city. We are currently looking at other team’s cases to look at best practice which we can adopt in North. Where possible, monitoring periods at the end of a case are to be used for a period of exploration to try different angles and be creative and innovative with case work. This is to be discussed further in Team Meetings. The Team Leader will continue regular case reviews, looking at actions with a focus on timescales and targets.
In general, cases in Inverleith are more often resolved that in Forth.
Number of repeat complaints
Neighbourhood
/ October 2012
/ November 2012
/ December 2012
/ Current Target
/ Status
/
Value
/ Value
/ Value
/
Citywide / 2.3% / 1.6% / 1.4% / 2.5% /
City Centre/Leith / 2.7% / 2.5% / 0.9% / 2.5% /
East / 1.7% / 2.9% / 2% / 2.5% /
North / 3.2% / 2% / 2.1% / 2.5% /
South / 1.4% / 1.4% / 0.5% / 2.5% /
South West / 0.6% / 0.6% / 0.9% / 2.5% /
West / 4.8% / 1.1% / 4.6% / 2.5% /
The number of repeat complaints for the team is steady, which indicates that when a complaint is resolved the action taken has had a sustainable effect.
Environmental Wardens
We are now able to provide similar performance figures for the Wardens’ teams.
Cases resolved ie action taken to and complainant agrees the problem is resolved
Neighbourhood
/ October 2012
/ November 2012
/ December 2012
/ Current Target
/ Status
/
Value
/ Value
/ Value
/
Citywide / / / 94% / 80% /
City Centre/Leith / / / 94% / 80% /
East / / / 98% / 80% /
North / / / 85% / 80% /
South / / / 96% / 80% /
South West / / / 94% / 80% /
West / / / 96% / 80% /
Number of repeat complaints
Neighbourhood
/ October 2012
/ November 2012
/ December 2012
/ Current Target
/ Status
/
Value
/ Value
/ Value
/
Citywide / / / 0.1% / 2.5% /
City Centre/Leith / / / 0% / 2.5% /
East / / / 0.3% / 2.5% /
North / / / 0.4% / 2.5% /
South / / / 0% / 2.5% /
South West / / / 0% / 2.5% /
West / / / 0% / 2.5% /
The number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued in the North for December was 37 – 18 were in Inverleith Ward
At the request of the Director of Services for Communities, Wardens from across the city recently took part in an exercise contacting all businesses in Stockbridge to ensure that Trade Waste is being disposed of efficiently, with no unnecessary containers on the street. The aim was to reduce the number, size and variety of containers. Businesses were encouraged to increase the number of collections or to share containers.
There was a request for Environmental Wardens to have a visible presence at Orchard Park North to deter dog fouling, and also at Drylaw Field. The group requested more bins for the disposal of dog fouling. Could there be notices put up in dog fouling blackspots, to alert the public that Wardens are patrolling in the area? This has been done elsewhere, and could be a deterrent.
The group felt that professional dog walkers were a particular problem, and wondered what the Council could do about this. The Council are looking at their parks management rules, which could have an impact on the activities of professional dog walkers. They are making a financial gain, but using the venue for free. / RS
6. / Parks updates
a) Inverleith Park –
Tony Cook resigned, and Pam Barnes is now the Convenor for the Friends. It would be good to have more people on the Committee.
The weather has hindered ground reinstatement. Surface drainage improvements will be underway shortly. A large amount of money is needed for further work, which would involve substructure drainage. This would be at the segment around the tennis courts.
The Clean, Green and Safe Group would like to thank Tony for his years of commitment and his contributions to the work of the group. Tony was one of the original members of Clean, Green and Safe and has given five years of much-valued service to the Inverleith area on this group.
b) Rocheid Path –
Ian Hooper is now the Convenor for Rocheid Path. There has been major work with the Water of Leith following the serious flooding earlier in the year. Lots of reinstatement is still needed to the banks. Ian Hooper and Pam Barnes are working with Ritchie Fraser on a management plan.
c) KGV –
Biffa are interested in funding some play park equipment, and there will be a working group meeting tomorrow.
Poor quality maintenance causes concern to the users and Friends group. The Parks Quality Assessment was reduced from excellent to very good due to ruts and puddles caused by vehicles driving off paths. The Taskforce Street Cleaning empty bins, so SC will discuss this with them. Sometimes they will drive off paths to allow pedestrians and cyclists to pass, but the ground cannot take this in the wet.