Agenda item

            The Assistant Director of Parks and Leisure submitted, for the Committee’s consideration, the undernoted report:

 

“1.       Relevant Background Information

           

            In October 2011 Millward Brown was commissioned to conduct a community engagement exercise on behalf of Belfast City Council, following a number of reports of antisocial behaviour and criminal activity acted upon residents neighbouring the Cavehill Country Park. The purpose of this survey was to establish clear and robust data which would contribute to making the park a more pleasurable and safer space for park users and the local community.

 

            The conclusion of the report states: It is clearly evident from the survey that antisocial behaviour is an issue in Cavehill Country Park and the surrounding area.

 

            This committee report will highlight the recommendations emerging from the community consultation exercise and illustrate the various actions that have been implemented or proposals to be implemented.

 

2.         Key Issues

 

            The Executive Summary of the Cavehill Community Engagement Survey Report makes the following recommendations:

 

            Issues in the local area

 

            The majority of all incidences focus around groups of youths drinking and/or taking drugs in the park or near to residents’ houses, general public drunkenness and rowdiness, and acts of vandalism.

 

·     The PSNI and council should target these types of anti?social behaviour. There are opportunities to target youths through schools, youth clubs and social media to educate and inform of the impacts and consequences associated with anti-social behaviour.

 

·     There are also opportunities to target off-licences and taxi drivers to try and prevent the alcohol from getting into the hands of under-age drinkers.

 

·     More council and police presence at key times such as late night weekends and school holidays would be welcome. There is also an opportunity to put strategies in place to combat the known peak times such as St Patrick’s Day, July holidays and end of school term.

 

            Reporting anti-social behaviour

 

            There are clear issues regarding the reporting of anti-social behaviour in the area. Residents and park users are utilising a number of different channels and there is often uncertainty about who to contact and who is responsible. Another issue is that in many cases residents and park users are not reporting instances of anti-social behaviour at all.

 

·        There is a clear opportunity for the council and PSNI to put in place clear processes and procedures regarding informing residents about how they should report incidences of anti-social behaviour and what they can expect in terms of follow up.

 

·        There is an opportunity to promote a specialist ASB hotline or website for the area to ensure all reported incidents are logged, tracked and followed up.

 

·        The council and PSNI need to ensure that all residents are informed about the importance of reporting all incidences of anti-social behaviour. Only incidents that are reported can be investigated and only if all incidences are reported can they be sure that sufficient resources are issued to deal with the problems.

 

            Communication and engagement with the local community

 

            Residents, park users and stakeholders all demonstrated a willingness to engage and work together going forward. The residents do not feel included in the council’s attempts to address anti-social behaviour issues in the area. Stakeholders also acknowledge that more could be done to engage with local residents in tackling anti-social behaviour.

 

·        There is a clear opportunity to get input from residents and provide a forum for their suggestions on how to tackle anti-social behaviour. By making themselves more available and more accessible, council staff will reap the benefits of working even more closely with residents to tackle the issues. One of the key gripes for residents is the lack of follow up; a quick phone call or face to face chat with a concerned resident can improve satisfaction.

 

·        Another opportunity is to inform residents and park users about the processes and procedures in place to deal with under-age drinking or those caught committing anti-social acts. The stakeholders alluded to the complexities of the by-laws and the current policy on underage drinking (i.e. to confiscate alcohol and issue warnings) and the process of dealing with repeat offenders. Educating the residents will improve their understanding as to why seemingly frivolous issues are not always clear cut.

 

            Steps already taken to tackle anti-social behaviour

 

            There was a clear lack of awareness amongst both residents and park users regarding the entire range of steps and initiatives that have been introduced by BCC to tackle the anti-social behaviour issue.

 

·        There is an opportunity to educate and inform residents and park users as to all the measures that have already been taken and also of any future initiatives.

 

·        There is also an opportunity to inform residents and park users about the success of the initiatives and provide them with statistics about how much alcohol has been confiscated or inform them about educating youths through schools or youth schemes etc.

 

            Tackling anti social-behaviour moving forward

 

            There was a clear understanding that resources are limited; however there remains a strong demand for an increased council and PSNI presence especially during late weekend hours when incidences are most likely to occur.

 

·        There may be an opportunity to reallocate some resources to ensure coverage at some of the key times over the problem times. A possibility could be to ensure some of the Park Rangers are on call over the weekend and holiday periods when anti-social behaviour tends to peak in the area.

 

·        Locking the gates at Innisfayle Park was clearly not a feasible solution for the clear majority of residents, park users or stakeholders.

·        In all likelihood locking the gates would create more trouble for residents as youths may begin to access the park through their property. The risks to public safety if the police or rescue services could not get immediate access in an emergency situation were also clearly highlighted. There was however an opportunity to demonstrate to residents the usefulness and effectiveness of the improved CCTV system which is now in place.

 

·        There is a clear willingness and need for a more joined up approach to tackle anti-social behaviour in the area, while it was also accepted that any one measure or initiative is unlikely to work on its own.

 

·        There is a clear opportunity for the council to engage with residents, park users, the police, local politicians, community leaders and relevant stakeholders such as the Cavehill Conservation Group to work together via meetings, forums and the sharing of knowledge and resources to try and tackle the problems caused by anti-social behaviour.

  

            Departmental response to the survey’s recommendations

 

            The executive summary within the Millward Brown report suggests a number of actions which respond to the concerns raised by Residents, Park Users and Stakeholders. Many of the suggested actions are already being implemented through the Departmental Improvement programme, interdepartmental working arrangements or the Safer Neighbourhoods Antisocial Behaviour programme.

 

            The following initiatives and projects are already in place or will shortly be implemented in response to the Millward Brown recommendations:

 

·        The Park Warden Pilot (Presence in Parks): This pilot will improve the Parks and Leisure Departments ability to educate Park users and enforce the byelaws across all of Belfast’s Parks

 

·        Promotion of the Parks Warden Pilot: The communications plan to support public awareness of this work will be implemented between April – October 2012

 

·        The development of a Parks and Leisure Customer relations system (CRM system): The Parks and Leisure Department have developed an ASB recording and reporting system which will support Park Wardens to respond directly to reports of ASB.

 

·        Interdepartmental working arrangements: The joint working arrangements between the Health and Environmental Services Department and the Parks and Leisure Department will continue to develop to enable more effective joint patrols to reduce alcohol consumption in designated areas.

 

·        Support for the Cavehill Conservation group: this group has been recognised as the Friends group for Cavehill Country Park and through further consultation and negotiation could provide a reference point for residents to report or receive information regarding antisocial behaviour.

 

·        Development of an annual Cavehill Residents Engagement forum: to support further communication between stakeholders, residents, park users, PSNI and BCC.

 

3.         Resource Implications

 

            Resources for implementing the recommendations will be facilitated through the Departmental Improvement Programme and the agreed Antisocial Behaviour Programme budget 2012-13.

 

4.         Equality and good relations implications

           

            All of the interventions and operations proposed in this report will be developed be in line with existing policies and procedures

 

5.         Recommendations

 

            Members are asked to note the contents of this report and Members are asked to approve the action plan to meet the needs identified through the survey.”

 

Table 1: Millward Brown recommendations and BCC responseAppendix 2
Item	Millward Brown Recommendation	BCC Action	Additional comments or Further improvements
2.2	PSNI and BCC should work with youths to educate and inform of the impacts and consequences associated with antisocial behaviour.	The Park Warden Pilot will support staff to educate the public and enforce the byelaws.	Links can be made with schools and youth clubs in the area in partnership with the PSNI
2.3	PSNI and BCC should target off-licences and taxi drivers to try and prevent the alcohol from getting into the hands of underage drinkers.	Through existing interdepartmental working arrangements, the Community Safety Partnership approaches Off licensees to highlight the impact of underage drinking.	Request that this work is extended to Taxi companies in the area.
2.4	More BCC and PSNI presence at peak times such as late night weekends and school holidays.	The Park Warden Pilot will develop stronger links with PSNI in order to develop our partnership approach to patrolling the park at peak times.	This work will be limited to available resources.
2.6	BCC and PSNI need processes and procedures informing residents about how they should report incidences of antisocial behaviour and what follow up they can expect.	The promotion of the Parks Warden Pilot will inform residents across Belfast about the process of reporting ASB and the BCC response.
2.7	Promote a specialist ASB hotline or website to ensure all reported incidents are logged, tracked and followed up.	The Parks and Leisure Customer relationship system specifically for recording reports of ASB will go online in April 2012.
2.8	BCC and PSNI need to ensure that all residents are informed about the importance of reporting all incidences of anti-social behaviour.	The Promotion of the Parks Warden Pilot will emphasise the importance of reporting ASB to the PSNI and BCC.

 

Item	Millward Brown Recommendation	BCC Action	Additional comments or Further improvements
2.10	Provide a forum for residents to voice their suggestions on how to tackle antisocial behaviour.	The Cavehill Conservation group are recognised as a ‘Friends’ group. Residents could potentially connect with this existing group.	Although the Cavehill Conservation group were involved in the Millward Brown survey, further consultation would be required before publicising this response.
2.11	Inform residents and park users about the processes and procedures in place to deal with under-age drinking or those caught committing antisocial acts.	Information about this element could be disseminated through the Cavehill Conservation group.	Further support could be given to the Cavehill Conservation group to facilitate this recommendation.
2.13	Educate and inform residents and park users about any future initiatives and all the measures that have already been taken.	Quarterly updates on evening, weekend and public holiday PSNI and BCC operations could be fed into the Cavehill Conservation group for dissemination to residents.	Further support could be given to the Cavehill Conservation group to facilitate this recommendation.
2.14	Inform residents and park users about the success of initiatives. Provide statistics on how much alcohol has been confiscated or inform them about educating the youths through schools or youth schemes.	Again the PSNI and BCC could work with the Cavehill Conservation group to communicate the outcome of PSNI and BCC joint operations in Cavehill Country Park
2.16	Reallocate resources to ensure coverage at some of the key times over the problem times, for example could the Park Rangers be on call over  weekend and holiday periods when antisocial behaviour peaks	The Park Warden Pilot will develop the Parks and Leisure departments ability to resource patrols and enforcement operations however these interventions will be limited by available resources.	In parallel to the development of the Customer relationship system, an out of hours ASB hotline will support residents to report ASB whenever it occurs. If BCC can evidence that a serious issue is taking place at late hours then we will seek approval to respond with the support of the PSNI.

 

Item	Millward Brown Recommendation	BCC Action	Additional comments or Further improvements
2.17	Locking the gates would create more trouble for residents. Demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the improved CCTV system which is now in place.	BCC could work with the Cavehill Conservation group to invite residents to a demonstration of the CCTV camera.
2.18	Engage with residents, park users, the police, local politicians, community leaders and relevant stakeholders such as the Cavehill Conservation Group to work together via meetings, forums and the sharing of knowledge and resources to try and sort out the problems caused by antisocial behaviour.	An annual forum could be developed in conjunction with all the stakeholders, residents and Park users to share information about the various interventions or operations and to measure the success of the partnership between the residents, Park users, PSNI, BCC and stakeholders in regard to making the park safer .

 

            The Assistant Director of Parks and Leisure answered a number of questions put by Members in relation to the possibility of extending the initiative to other Parks and Leisure facilities and the Committee adopted the recommendations.