Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee

• Our towns and villages will be vibrant, well used, clean, attractive and safe.
• Communities will come together to accept and support each other.
• Promotion of positive behaviours.

The Committee is the Crime and Disorder Committee for the purposes of Part 3 of the Police and Justice Act 2006.

Chair's welcome 

We support Safe Durham Partnership in the vision for Durham to be a county where every adult and child will feel and be safe.

The Partnership has six strategic priorities which set out the focus to achieve the vision:

1. promote being safe and feeling safe in your community
2. support victims and protect vulnerable people from harm
3. Prevent strategy: counter terrorism, radicalisation and violent extremism
4. reduce reoffending
5. alcohol and substance misuse reduction
6. tackle and prevent cyber enabled crime

The committee is committed to developing a work programme that will provide challenge and contribute to the delivery of these priority areas with the aim of creating a safer county.

Further information, minutes and agendas for the committee is available on our Safer and Stronger Communities Scrutiny Committee page.

Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee activity

Contact Overview and Scrutiny for a copy of the work programme, or reports on our reviews.

The Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee has scrutinised and responded to the consultation process:

• County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service Community Risk Management Plan (February 2024)
• draft Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy for County Durham 2022-2025 (October 2022)

The committee has reviewed:

• County Durham Youth Justice Service (February 2023).
• Probation Service North East (February 2023).
• activity in response to the statutory duty on Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (November 2023)
• Horden Together Partnership interim report and project update (November 2023)
• activity of the Alcohol and Drug Reduction Strategy Group (June 2022)
• combating drugs and alcohol (February 2024)

The committee has examined:

• Civil Contingencies and Storm Arwen review (May 2022 and September 2023)
• Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) and Safer Streets 4 Programme (September 2022)
• the partnership approach to responding to the Serious Violence Duty (December 2023)
• child and adult exploitation (December 2022)

The committee has monitored:

• the work carried out by the County Durham and Darlington's Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Executive Group (November 2023)
• activity on open water safety (September 2023)
• Safe Durham Partnership Anti-Social Behaviour Strategic Group updates (December 2023)
• work in response to nuisance off road motorbikes and quads (June 2023)

The committee has considered updates:

• home fire safety (June 2023)
• road safety (April 2023)
• enforcement and intervention activity (February 2024)