Key FindingsKey FindingsIntroductionIntroduction

MethodologyMethodology

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Homeless figures for theSouth East Region

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Sexual offences

Robbery

Burglary OTD

Fraud & Forgery

Burglary Dwelling

Other offences

Criminal Damage

Drug Offences

Violence

Theft and Handling

% Homeless Offenders

% Homeless Aggrieved

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Dep

ress

ion/

Men

tal H

ealth

Alc

ohol

/Liv

er/

Hep

atitis C

Stro

ke/

Para

lysis

Ast

hma/

Res

pito

ry

Epile

psy

Gas

tric

Prob

lem

s

Oth

er

050

100150200250300350

Jul-

09

Sep-

09

Nov

-09

Jan-

10

Mar

-10

May

-10

Jul-

10

Sep-

10

Nov

-10

Jan-

11

Mar

-11

May

-11

Jul-

11

Sep-

11

Nov

-11

Jan-

12

Mar

-12

May

-12

Inci

dent

s

3

8

13

18

Tem

pera

ture

Begging, RoughSleeping andStreet DrinkingIncidents

Avg UKTemperature(high-low)

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Unknown

Mental Health

My Choice

No Employment

Relationship end

Drugs/ Alcohol

Housing problem

Sussex Street Community Strategic Assessment Garry Seville. Intelligence Analyst garry.seville@sussex.pnn.police.uk 101 (Sussex Police) ext 50118 John St Police Station, Brighton, Sussex BN2 0LA

What is the ‘Street Community’

• Usually homeless or living in a vulnerable situation• Typically have a drink/drug problem• Chaotic offenders

There is no national definition. Home Office and Local Authority statistics relate to councilhousing and other measures not directly linked to quantifying the street community

Levels of Homelessness

• Home Office homeless figures are a reasonable indicator of street community movement,

• The steady decrease in numbers has reversed in recent years:

Links to increasing unemployment Links to family breakdown Links to immigration Links to the economic/banking crisis Links to government spending cuts

Recording Issues

• No way to readily extract data related to the street community

• Reliance on incident types: begging, street drinking, etc

• Use of crime data where offender is recorded as ‘No Fixed Abode’ – Only a very rough indicator

• No addressable locations for many street community incidents

The Operation Street Scoping Exercise

• A terms of reference was agreed• A Pro-forma was devised to collect necessary information• Local officers and volunteer organisations collected data• Some issues of trust, especially in responses to criminality• Results compiled onto a single spreadsheet by Researcher• Both quantitative and qualitative information gained and analysed• Findings set against partnership data and open source findings• Strategic Assessment compiled by Strategic Intelligence Analyst• Recommendation to repeat the exercise annually to assess progress and new threats

130 questionnaires were received back of varying quality. An unavoidable issue was the intoxication level of the respondents which hindered data collection.

Key Objectives

• Identify the causes and drivers of the street community increase.• Identify criminality linked to the street community (as both offender and victim).• Identify locations most frequented by the street community and any seasonality issues.• Identify specific threats and vulnerabilities faced by the street community.• Reduce the stigma and fear associated with the street community.

Operation Street

This is a long running operation which aims to better engage with the street community. Working together with local volunteer organisations and the council, it aims to increase trust and confidence within the community and open a communication channel whereby safety advice can be disseminated and intelligence can be gleaned.

Research conducted by the Operation Street team into the previous convictions of known street drinkers found that 435 high profile members of the street community were responsible for 14,935 offences – an average of 34 convictions per person.

In response to a perceived increase in street community offending, and to further progress the objectives of the operation, a strategic profile was requested. It was to be shared and acted on with partners.

OutcomesOutcomes

• Ch.Insp Jane Derrick, Neighbourhood Specialist Team, Arun District• PS Richard Siggs, Street Community NPT. Brighton• Kayleigh Kehoe, Researcher, Force Intelligence Bureau• Markie Barrett, Homeless Services Manager, Sussex St John Ambulance• Fiona Paterson, Principal Analyst, Sussex Police• The 130 members of the street community who took part in the scoping exercise

Pull and Push Factors

Analysis of the street community hotspots, and the areas in between the hotspots, has identified a number of key factors which affect begging and street drinking activity. These can be split into two headings, ‘Pull Factors’ and ‘Push Factors’. Pull Factors are environmental issues which attract the street community to a particular area. Push Factors are environmental issues which discourage the street community from a particular area.

Pull Factors Push Factors

• The availability of cheap alcohol or drugs

• Seating or grassed areas to sit on• The availability of public toilets• Proximity of support agencies• Poor commercial districts• Shelter (depending upon the weather)• Other members of the street

community• Somewhere that is safe and familiar• Passing public (if begging)

• Areas with drinking or smoking restrictions• Security guards, police, other guardians• Well organised commercial districts• Areas distant from facilities and toilets• Locations with no seating• Areas open to the elements (dependant

upon the weather)• Persons hostile to the street community• Passing public if the issue is drug taking

• Ownership of specific problem areas across partnerships - reduces duplication.• Improved sharing of information, including health data.• Improved understanding of the community, their vulnerabilities, numbers, and offending

behaviour. • A communication strategy to engage with the affected groups and remove the stigma

and fear.• Sharing of best practice and the aligning of priorities across partner agencies.• Management of push and pull factors to manage where the street community spend

their time.• Liaison with UKBA to remove members of the street community that shouldn’t be here.• Improved recording and detection due to improved communication with the street

community.Internally, the police are to consider improving recording practices by creating a street community flag. Further scoping exercises are to be commissioned annually to measure progress against objectives. It is hoped that by working together with a common strategy that money will be saved across partner members whilst also resolving a lot of the key issues.

There are marked differences between the types of offences targeted toward the street community and those committed by them. Theft and handling offences are a major issue. 81% of theft offences committed by the street community are shoplifting – most often alcohol.

Drug and drink related offending is predictably high amongst the street community. It is often unclear whether drug use led to the homelessness or if homelessness led to drug taking, the reality is likely to be somewhere between the two.

0

10

20

30

40

Brig

hton

Wor

thin

g

Craw

ley

East

bour

ne

Has

ting

s

Arun

% NFA cr ime records

% Homeless incidents

The vast majority of the Sussex street community reside in the major conurbations. Brighton & Hove accounts for about a third of the Sussex total.

All incidents of begging, street drinking and rough sleeping were mapped to identify hotspot areas. This led onto the identification of push and pull factors which was supported by questionnaire findings.

0

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10

08:0

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09:0

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14:0

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0

% offences targeted

towards the street

community

% offences

committed by the

street community

% Ambient Cr ime

Levels

Seasonality

Temporal Factors

Geography

Reasons for Homelessness

Immigration Impact

Medical Issues

The vast majority of migrants from EU Accession States successfully find employment in the UK, however, A8/A2 migrants have to legitimately work for a year before they have recourse to public funds. A8/A2 migrants who have lost their job or who have not been able to find work are therefore at high risk of becoming homeless. Unsurprisingly then, there is a significant minority of A8/A2 migrants in the street community population

Crime

8am - 8pmMore incidents and crimes

linked to the street community but they are less vulnerable to crime

8pm - 8amFewer incidents and crimes linked to the

street community but they are more vulnerable

to crime

Homelessnessrelated incidents

in central Brighton(25m stacking)

“Coastal towns, such as those in Sussex, are believed to be places where the homeless gravitate - especially for those originating from London.”Bill Randall, Leader of Brighton & Hove Council

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Repeat the

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Substance

misuse, mental

Illness and

homelessness

are closely

linked Some within

the street

community

enjoy the

freedom of

the life style

A8/A2 refers to newEU accession states.Immigrants from thesecountries have morerestrictions on themthan other EU citizens.

Brightonrecorded

3 murders

Involving the

community

in 6 months

Homelessness

is increasing

as a result

of the ongoing

recession

No readily

available data

relating

to the street

community