Councillor Croad nominated Councillor Haydon for the Chair of the Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2024/25, which was seconded by Councillor Penberthy.

Following the vote, Councillor Haydon was appointed Chair of the Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2024/25.

For Councillor Haydon (12)

Councillors, Alvey, Chopak, Croad, Ewings, Hackett, Loudoun, Penberthy, Thomas, Toms, Tyerman, Worth, Wright.

Abstain (0)

Against (0)

Councillor Haydon thanked Councillor Towill for sitting as Chair for the Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2023/24.

Councillor Alvey nominated Councillor Worth for the Vice-Chair of the Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2024/25, which was seconded by Councillor Ewings.

Following the vote, Councillor Worth was appointed Vice-Chair of the Police and Crime Panel for the municipal year 2024/25.

For Councillor Worth (12)

Councillors, Alvey, Chopak, Croad, Ewings, Hackett, Loudoun, Penberthy, Thomas, Toms, Tyerman, Worth, Wright.

Abstain (0)

Against (0)

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2024.

The minutes from the meeting held 2 February 2024 were agreed as a true and accurate record.

Members will be asked to make any declaration of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive questions from (and provide answers to) members of the public that are relevant to the panel’s functions.

Questions should be no longer than 100 words and sent to Democratic Support, Plymouth City Council, Floor 3, Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ or democratic.support@plymouth.gov.uk

Questions must be received at least 5 complete working days before the meeting.

There were no public questions.

Councillor Loudoun proposed to move item 9 to item 7 on the agenda. This was seconded by Councillor Hackett.

After a vote, the Panel agreed to move item 9, Confirmation Hearing for Deputy Commissioner, to item 7.

The Chair welcomed Mr Mark Kingscote (the preferred candidate for the post of Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) to the meeting and outlined the procedure for the confirmation hearing. After the hearing the Panel would adjourn to consider the appointment in private. The Commissioner would then be advised of the Panel’s decision.

Alison Hernandez (Police and Crime Commissioner) introduced the hearing, and outlined the following reasons for choosing Mr Kingscote as her preferred candidate:

a)    Around half of the Police and Crime Commissioners in the country had Deputy Police and Crime Commissioners;

b)    The position was not open for recruitment and was the decision of the Police and Crime Commissioner to appoint;

c)    During her terms, the Commissioner had recruited record numbers of police officers, reopened Police Enquiry Offices and had offered projects to the community such as Prisoners Building Homes;

d)    There had been challenges with the performance of the police force, meaning the force was engaged with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to monitor the situation with the suspended Chief Constable;

e)    Devon and Cornwall police force were struggling with phone answering times and responding to incidents which is why a Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner was needed;

f)     Having the Chief Constable suspended had caused challenges;

g)    The Commissioner needed specific help in relation to the Estates function, as it was difficult to get planning applications through Exeter Council, and Mr Kingscote’s background would help scrutinise the planning applications and the approach the Estates team in the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) took;

h)    The OPCC wanted to be focussed on the challenges of the community in a different way in the new term of office;

i)     Funding had been given to Local Authorities to tackle specific problems, but no matter the cost they were not getting to the root cause of the issues affecting communities;

j)     The main issues affecting communities were anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and street homelessness;

k)    Although the responsibility for street homelessness did not lie with the OPCC, supporting Local Authorities was a priority;

l)     Torbay was a priority area in Devon, and the Commissioner was hoping to create a blueprint for the rest of Devon and Cornwall;

m)  Mr Kingscote’s background made him a good candidate for Deputy Commissioner due to his knowledge of scrutinising Local Authorities, chairing the Planning Committee and dealing with contentious planning applications;

n)    Mr Kingscote was a strong-minded individual who was able to cope with pressure, in particular due to his background in dealing and supporting people with mental health challenges who had diagnosed disorders;

o)    A big issue was the State of Policing Report which had been produced by, and released, by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Alison Hernandez (Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Police and Crime Commissioner), introduced the report and highlighted the following points:

a)     £46.5 million had been agreed in a the budget which would maintain 3,610 police officers; 

b)    Police Enquiry Offices had been opened in Ilfracombe, Devonport, Okehampton, Kingsbridge, Looe and Honiton, with four more due to open in the next 12 months;

c)     Plymouth now had three Police Enquiry Offices, whereas Exeter and Truro only had one each;

d)    The Police, Fire and Ambulance Tri Service in Cornwall was the first in the country and had been difficult to deliver;

e)     Cornwall Fire was hosted by Cornwall Council and the Tri Service had been seconded to Holsworthy in Devon;

f)      The Panel would meet with the Tri Service Officer during their two-year trial period with the aim to understand how the service could be expanded further into Devon;

g)     The Government had appointed Timpson to oversee the prisoners probation for the Prisoners Building Homes Scheme;

h)    The aim was the role out the Prisoners Building Homes Scheme nationally;

i)      The Director of the Prisoners Building Homes Scheme had been invited by the Bishop of Gloucestershire to give a presentation in at an event in October in the House of Lords;

j)      Criminal Justice and You should be promoted to any victim of crime, and helped victims of crime through the criminal justice process as it outlined which organisations can help, and what to expect, at every stage of the process;

k)     Devon and Cornwall were the first in the country to produce the Criminal Justice and You website, and it had been promoted nationally;

l)      The biggest challenge for the OPCC was getting the force into a position of good performance.

In response to questions, it was explained:

m)   Hate crime scrutiny had been highlighted but was not strengthened within the report;

n)    Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) had been mentioned in the Deputy Prime Minister’s speech;

o)    If Panel Members had recommendations for Prisoners Building Homes sites, they could feed them back to the Scheme Chair.

The Panel agreed to note the report.

The Panel agreed to take the report as read.

In response to questions, it was explained:

a)    The partners involved in the four-week public consultation outlines in the report were charitable, voluntary and community sector;

b)    The Commissioner would write to leaders of Local Councils to ensure they were aware of the consultation;

c)    The file for the suspended Chief Constable had been passed over to the Public Prosecution Service;

d)    There were mechanisms the Government could use to aid The Commissioner including the Strategic Policing Requirement and possibly strengthening the VAWG element;

e)    There was upcoming legislation regarding the Police and Crime Plan, ensuring that experience in Devon and Cornwall in terms of remote and peripheral urbanity was taken into consideration;

f)     New MPs would have to be educated around the specific challenges that Devon and Cornwall face;

g)    It was clear in the Police and Crime Plan that a case for policing in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly regarding summer challenges would be made. 

The panel agreed to note the report.

At 13.07pm the Chair advised there were insufficient members for the meeting to be quorate and advised no formal decisions would be taken.