The Joint Crime and Disorder Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Basingstoke/Hart/Rushmoor) is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 23 September 2026. The primary focus of the meeting will be a performance review of the Safer North Hampshire Strategic Community Safety Partnership for the 2025-27 period.

Performance Review of Safer North Hampshire Strategic Community Safety Partnership

A key item scheduled for discussion is the performance review of the Safer North Hampshire Strategic Community Safety Partnership (CSP) for the 2025-27 period. The report pack details the partnership's work in relation to its statutory functions, as defined by Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998¹. This legislation places a duty on local authorities to work in partnership to prevent crime and disorder, the misuse of drugs and alcohol, and re-offending. The committee is expected to review the partnership's progress against its identified priorities for 2025-26, which included improving feelings of safety and health outcomes, addressing serious violence, tackling antisocial behaviour (ASB), combating domestic abuse, and reducing town centre crime and ASB.

The report highlights that across Safer North Hampshire, 23,359 crimes were recorded in 2025/26, representing a 3% reduction compared to the previous year. However, while theft offences and violence with injury decreased, sexual offences, robbery, drug offences, and possession of weapon offences saw increases. Antisocial behaviour incidents recorded by the police rose by 19% in the same period. The report also outlines the partnership's aims and achievements in relation to each of its priorities. For instance, under Improving feelings of safety, the partnership aims to safeguard vulnerable residents and promote community-led initiatives, noting that speeding, residential burglary, parking issues, drugs, ASB, and vehicle-related nuisance were among the main issues for residents.

Regarding Serious Violence, the partnership has been working with the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) taskforce. The report indicates a 15% reduction in serious violence offences across Safer North Hampshire in 2024/25, though there was no significant change in knife/blade crime. The report also notes that 22% of robberies involved the use of a weapon.

In the area of Domestic Abuse, the partnership aims to promote initiatives that reduce the impact of trauma and ensure consistent messaging. The report states that 77% of offences were violence against the person, with 68% of victims being female. There were 2,250 adult referrals to Stop Domestic Abuse in 2024/25, with the main concerns being emotional abuse, controlling behaviour, physical abuse, and financial abuse. Reports of domestic abuse increased by 3%.

For Antisocial Behaviour, the partnership's aim is to identify opportunities for early intervention with young people and proactively address neighbour disputes. The report indicates a 3% increase in reported incidents of ASB, with key issues including vehicle nuisance (24%), youth-related issues (24%), and neighbour nuisance (14%). Public disorder linked to alcohol and drug use is identified as a key factor influencing ASB reports.

Finally, concerning Town Centre crime and ASB, the aim is to work collaboratively to improve town centres for residents, businesses, and visitors. Business crime accounted for 18% of total crime across Safer North Hampshire in 2024/25, and ASB in town centre beats made up 21% of total reported incidents. Shoplifting offences increased by 23% across the CSP in the past year. The report also details the legal, financial, risk management, equalities impact, and consultation implications of the proposed course of action.