Further to my post on 29th September, below, I have now received further information from the Housing Manager and the Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team, plus the letter attached:
"Following numerous concerns around ASB and criminality in the Holt Park area, there has been an opportunity to deploy additional resources to problem solve the issues in this community. The additional resource is 3x Police Constables, working in a team called “LEODIS.” This team is wholly funded by Housing Leeds and hosted by Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team. The team have a citywide remit and are solely dedicated to each project they undertake, problem solve area issues looking at people, places and events; the project ends when the issues are at a manageable level for local teams. This means the team will not be abstracted, purely focused on Holt Park and surrounding area. It is important to note though that these 3 officers are not patrol or response staff and work separately from any NPT tasking arrangements.
The team work with existing staff from NPT, Housing Leeds and LASBT on each project. In the coming weeks, a lot of work will be done in terms of scoping/research, resident and partner engagement as well as looking at diversionary and enforcement opportunities required. They have achieved some fantastic results over the years, for example in relation to their last deployment in LS14, on exit, there had been a 76% decrease in reported crime in the area compared to prior to the deployment, and a high return on resident surveys reporting that they felt safer in the community.
Shortly, a letter will be sent to residents in the area, please see attached. This is part of the scoping exercise so we can understand the real life experience of residents in the area. You may see or hear about this from residents who we would urge to come forward in confidence. There is an email address offered for the Team, however the important thing to stress is that it should never be used as a means of reporting real time crime, 999/101 and police web chat are still the methods of reporting crime and ASB."
Posted on 29th September
I have received the update below from the Police, which may be useful to you:
"Dear Councillor,
Recently I submitted a bid to secure the services of Team Leodis into Holt Park to combat the ASB and criminality which causes so many problems and affects the lives of local residents.
Op Leodis is a team of 3 Police Officers funded by the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and they are an addition to LASBT specifically tackling anti-social behaviour. The team works with partner agencies to implement long term problem solving solutions across Leeds. The team usually deploys for periods of 3 months into areas which are chosen by Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Police.
The team has a wealth of knowledge in both criminal and civil anti-social behaviour legislation, and have been recognised for their innovative use of civil orders to reduce anti-social behaviour in areas they have worked. This includes using different types of closure orders both in tower blocks and residential houses, along with civil injunctions and criminal behaviour orders on individuals. They also work with partner agencies including LCC Housing, LCC ASB team, Social Services, Youth Offending Team and Leedswatch to deal with individuals and premises that are the root cause of ASB.
Happily, my bid was successful and we will be shortly commencing a plan of action."
