Environmental Crime

Thursday January 29th 2009, Grange Holborn Hotel, London, 09:20 - 16:05

Tackling Environmental Crime: Towards Cleaner, Safer and Greener Neighbourhoods

"Perceptions about the quality of our public spaces are crucial factors in determining how satisfied people are with their local area. Councillors are in a unique position to respond to the challenges highlighted by their local communities and champion the solutions necessary to create better quality town centres, residential areas and parks."

Baroness Andrews, Parliamentary under-Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government, 13th August 2008

Overview

The quality of the local environment – the power, in partnership with others, to shape the place where you live to make it safer, cleaner , more neighbourly and greener - is a key concern for people throughout the UK and, as such, a hot political issue. In the most recent British Crime Survey, respondents named vandalism and property damage as the most serious anti-social behaviour issues in their areas.

The government demonstrated its commitment to working with local authorities and to creating safer, cleaner and more sustainable communities by bringing into law the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. The Act simplifies existing laws and gives local authorities the new powers they have long sought to more quickly and effectively tackle every type of environmental crime from dropping litter, chewing gum and fly-tipping to nuisances caused by noise, fouling by dogs and abandoned vehicles.

While the Act has clearly strengthened the enforcement capability of local authorities by allowing them to issue fixed penalty notices to immediately remove or impound abandoned vehicles, which successful strategies have local authorities pursued to engage with their local communities to enforce the Act? Furthermore, what role has technology played in assisting organisations to successfully implement the Act?

Agenda

09:20	Registration and Coffee
10:00	Chair’s Welcome Address John Thompson, Head of Green Space, London Borough of Lewisham
10:10	Towards Cleaner, Safer and Greener Neighbourhoods The Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 3 years on: has it made a difference? Dorothy Thornhill, Mayor, Watford Borough Council, Deputy Chair, Environment Board, Local Government Association
10:30	Place-Shaping: Community Responsibility, Community Benefit Listening, engaging, empowering local communities to improve the quality of their local environments Ownership, belonging and trust: understanding and meeting locally-determined need by providing local amenities and services Overcoming environmental crime over the long-term: facilitating community-driven approaches to regeneration to improve the neighbourhood: Michael Ojo, Head of Environment, London Councils
10:50	Improving the Quality of the Local Environment Local empowerment and civic pride: using the 2005 Act to reshape our neighbourhoods Engaging with all sections of the community to encourage leadership at all levels of the community Cleaner, brighter, safer neighbourhoods: tackling graffiti, litter, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour Sophie Walker, Delivery Director - Community Safety and Housing, ENCAMS
11:10	Newham: Using CCTV to Change Behaviour and Attitudes to Dropping Litter Litter-dropping: the size, scale and scope of the problem Sustainable development: reducing the cost of cleaning Newham Garnering support for the use of CCTV to curb littering: embarking on a borough-wide information campaign: Persuading local councillors of the need to manage the Olympic dividend Prosecutions: the use of CCTV evidence in court Is there widespread community acceptance for the use of CCTV in this manner? Measuring the effectiveness of the use of CCTV Cllr June Leitch, Advisor to the Mayor of Newham for Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour, Newham Council
11:30	Coffee Break and Networking
11:50	Questions and Answers Session
12:40	Lunch and Networking
13:45	Using Head-Cams to Cut Environmental Crime in Salford Context: what used to happen, on what scale, where, by whom and why before the wearing of head-cams by neighbourhood wardens? The rationale for the introduction of technology: An evaluation of the effect of head-cam technology on all categories/types of environmental crime Using images captured on the head-cams to build prosecutions Liaising with partner organisations to deploy the technology to best effect: police; wardens; neighbourhood officers; legal officers; community, faith, sporting and voluntary groups Philip Morton, Principal Officer, Licensing and Environmental Crime, Salford City Council
14:05	Camden’s Local Environmental Quality Enforcement Strategy Raising expectations: improving the quality of the local environment Key success factors: win buy-in and leadership from senior management and elected members Changing attitudes and behaviour through borough-wide information, education and awareness campaigns How successful has the strategy been? Richard Bradbury, Senior Policy and Projects Officer, Street Environment Services, Camden Council
14:25	Reducing Fly-Tipping and Tackling Environmental Crime in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region Introduction to Yorkshire and Humberside Environmental Enforcement Group by Geoff Belll Short video showing a joint vehicle Stop and Search Operations within the Yorkshire and Humberside LA Group (SW) Two short videos of recent Fly Tippers caught in action in Leeds (SW) Results and examples of prosecutions taken in Leeds for Fly Tipping and Duty of Care offences (SW) How sharing best practice across local authorities can improve regions (SW & GB) Use of Litter Clearing Notices and other similar powers to clean up local communities (GB) Agreeing set FPN levels and enforcement actions across LA Boundaries (GB) Process for Finger printing / DNA recording of offenders (GB) Steve Waterhouse, Deputy Service Manager, Highways and Environment Specialist Enforcement Team, Leeds City Council Geoff Bell, Principal Legal Officer, Kirklees Council
15:10	Questions and Answers Session
15:55	Chair's Summary and Conclusions
16:05	Close

*programme subject to change without notice

Audience

Delegates will be drawn from across the local authority landscape, both officers and members, including those working in environmental services, waste management and enforcement, street scene services and regeneration, community safety and crime reduction, legal services, town centre management as well as environment agency officials, industry representatives, police authorities, magistrates, central government departments, agencies & bodies, trade associations, and consultancies.