Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Omid Miri.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter. The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest. 

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting on 18 June 2025 as an accurate record.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2025 were agreed as accurate record.

This report updates the Committee on the work of the Metropolitan Police regarding overall crime, highlighting some key partnership work undertaken between the Metropolitan Police and Hammersmith and Fulham Council.

Superintendent Pali Grewal briefed members on the update report.  He referred to the delivery of community crime fighting based on data-led policing around hotspot areas including Shepherds Bush Green, Hammersmith Broadway and Fulham, and said that the operations which used to take place on a monthly basis by inspectors were now reviewed weekly to see which wards needed more focus. This weekly update initiative helped track down any pattern of criminal offences that the relevant wards might require additional policing deployment. Inspector Clive Hayes outlined how the ward priorities were decided at the ward panel meeting.  Superintendent Grewal added that ward officers had also started to follow up the outstanding suspects within their wards to keep H&F safe.

Hotspots

Councillor Sally Taylor noted the high crime figures in Shepherds Bush Green and Hammersmith Broadway and asked if it was due to higher footfall there breeding crimes.   Inspector Hayes remarked the two wards were the main areas that generated most of the crimes.  He said that Westfields, situated in the heart of Shepherds Bush Green, was the largest shopping centre in Europe and brough a lot of visitors. Hammersmith Broadway was probably the most transient places in the borough with multiple tube lines/stations running alongside the busy high street. He noted that while offenders were mixed with locals and non-locals, victims in general were across all other areas.

The Chair observed that as a result of extra policing in the hotspots like Shepherds Bush Green and Hammersmith Broadway, anti-social behaviour and crimes were seen being displaced to neighbouring wards.  Superintendent Grewal reassured the Committee that in addition to the wards mentioned, the Met would look into the impact on other parts of the borough when allocating ward resources.  He said adequate policing would be deployed to the appropriate wards based on operational data reviewed weekly.

Crimes and challenges

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler noticed that unlike some other crimes which had been reduced as compared to the same period in previous year, knife crime offences had increased slightly.  She was concerned about the measures to be taken to prevent this life-threatening crime. Superintendent Grewal noted about the pattern of knife crime offences that the majority of knife crime offences happened in the same specific areas like Shepherds Bush Green and Hammersmith Broadway and the operations teams would look into the breakdown of knife crime offences there.  On the possible reasons for the increase, Superintendent Christina Jessah drew members’ attention that 12 of the 25 more cases were possession of knife/bladed article which was generated by proactive stop and searches.

The Chair asked about the main objective of conducting stop and searches.  Superintendent Jessah noted the tactic was deployed for searching weapons to be used in violent crimes.  For areas having a high level of anti-social behaviour, the tactic might also help to track down the use of drugs in addition to the primary focus of violent crimes.

Considering the target emergency response time of 15 minutes was quite long for the calling  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This briefing note is for information only.

The note outlines how co-production is embedded in Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s approach to tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). It highlights the central role of co-production in the commissioning and oversight of VAWG services, with a particular focus on the current procurement process for recommissioning key services. The note also references other initiatives where the VAWG team has worked collaboratively with residents and partners to design and deliver impactful projects.

RESOLVED

That the Committee noted the briefing note.

To note the following dates of future meetings:

·       2 February 2026

·       27 April 2026

The Committee noted the following dates of future meetings:

• 2 February 2026
• 27 April 2026