The Chair reported on the sad passing of Councillor Roy Duncan, panel member from the Isles of Scilly, and asked the panel to join with him for a few moments of quiet reflection.  The thoughts and sympathies of the panel were with Roy’s wife, family, friends and colleagues at this sad time.

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2014.

Agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2014, subject to the addition of the presence of Councillor Batters and the correction of Tony to Andy Boyd in minute 3.

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

The following declaration of interest was made in respect of items under consideration at the meeting –

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, Civic Centre, Plymouth PL1 2AA or democratic.support@plymouth.gov.uk.  Questions must be received at least 5 complete working days before the meeting.

There were no questions from members of the public.

The Panel will be asked to approve the Selection Panel’s recommendation for the appointment of the independent member for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.

The Chair thanked Councillors Rule and James for their assistance on the selection panel along with Jo Heather, Cornwall Council, for supporting them in this process.

Agreed to appoint Ms Sarah Rapson as the Independent Member representing Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for a period of four years commencing 17 October 2014.

The Panel will use a select committee style approach to scrutinise the Police and Crime Commissioner’s and Chief Constable’s joint proposals for rationalising Station Enquiry provision across the Force Area including opening times and closures of some station enquiry offices.

The panel undertook a post-decision scrutiny review of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s joint announcement with the Chief Constable to rationalise station enquiry offices.  In preparation for the scrutiny, the Host Authority, on behalf of the panel and in liaison with the Chair and Vice-Chair, prepared and presented a report which included details of a wide range of community and stakeholder engagement and other evidence which aimed to assist the panel in establishing for itself the level of knowledge, understanding and any concerns that existed about the proposals, and particularly in the areas directly affected. 

Many responses were received and an analysis of the feedback was summarised in the report.  Given that much of the feedback came from a number of Town and Parish Councils in Cornwall and, of those that responded, many said that they were unaware of the proposals and did not recall being consulted, the following witnesses were invited to the panel to give evidence -

·         Councillor Pete Tisdale, Stithians Parish Council, Camborne

·         Councillor Robert G Drew, Carn Brea Parish Council

·         Mr Jeremy Joslin,  President, Hayle Chamber of Commerce

Their feedback combined and summarised below included concerns about –

·         Reliability of the footfall data that determined the proposals

·         Lack of Policing particularly at peak times in ‘holiday destinations’ during the summer

·         That some older people may be less likely or less able to contact the Police via modern IT access as opposed to face to face contact

·         The lack of Police presence at community meetings and reducing or no ‘monthly reports’ provided

·         The varying degree or lack of telephone signals in some parts of Cornwall and therefore lack of mobile phone and internet connectivity

·         Effectiveness and reach, and lack of the consultation particularly with Town and Parish Councils about these proposals

·         Lack of the resilience of the alternative means to contact the Police that are timed to coincide with the proposed closures

·         Little or no knowledge of, and unable to find/access the ‘Contact Strategy’ or ‘local engagement plans’ and if they exist, why haven’t they been created ‘with’ communities?

·         Suspicion of the research methodology and decisions made on the basis of ‘professional judgement’

·         Communities haven’t been asked ‘what they want’ and ‘how they can help’

·         The efficiency and effectiveness of the 101 service and that due to these issues, incidents were failing to be reported as there was no faith in the service

·         Processing issues linked to safeguarding

·         Concern that Falmouth’s offer for its One Stop Shop to be used as a community hub was ‘turned down’

·         The public’s perception that their safety could be jeopardised by the closures and that the closures would distance the Police from the public, potentially fostering a “them and us” culture.

Their feedback also included some suggestions, namely:

·         Consider a ‘Blue Light Information Centre’ model, possibly hosted by the Chamber of Commerces and using volunteers.

·         Consider using more honest terminology when communicating – say ‘closures’ rather than use the term ‘rationalisation’.

·         Consider communities for ‘self-help’ solutions and involving communities in co-designing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The Panel will be asked to agree its findings from item 6 of this agenda which will then be used to inform the recommendations in a final report to be reviewed at the next Panel meeting.

Having reviewed the written evidence, heard from the witnesses, and having conducted a comprehensive and searching question and answer session between the Police and Crime Panel, the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable, the following findings were identified –

·         Lack of engagement with Town and Parish Councils (particularly in Cornwall) has been acknowledged.

·         A review of Police Custody Centres is in its infancy.

·         No account of, or consideration has been given to, options for community-led models but there is clearly a will in communities to help Police with their challenges

·         101 still appears to be ineffective, which is a concern that has not been fully addressed and improved to coincide with these proposals being implemented.  This is a key crime reporting tool and there is not a robust alternative

·         There are not enough staff at the Contact Centre who deal with 101 calls.

·         There is a possibility that ‘Blue Phones’ outside Police Stations could take priority in the 101 queue which is welcomed.

·         Equality Impact Assessments have not been shared.

·         A robust alternative for IT is needed – many people do not use, or are unable to use, or have no access (including connectivity) in rural areas and areas of poverty.

·         Local Engagement Plans do exist and are in development.

·         The alternative options to the front desk closure proposals were not shared.

·         That the PCC has stated that the ‘decision’ has, in effect, been made about these closures which will commence from 31 October 2014.

·         The public are not aware of the range of services on offer to discuss matters with the Police e.g. the option for a ‘visit if prepared to wait’.

·         It is not clear what joint working opportunities/initiatives are being undertaken now and what consideration is being made in relation to this in the future

·         It is not clear what plans there are for the future use of the Police estates portfolio.

·         Wider engagement, prior consultation and communication by the PCC is key and there is a need to work more together as a whole i.e. the PCP supporting the PCC who in turn supports the Chief Constable.

·         The PCC needs to recognise the value of the role of the panel as not just being about scrutiny, but that it can also provide support and advocacy and there is a willingness amongst panel members to assist with communicating with communities.

·         Whilst it is acknowledged and understood that public sector cuts are, in part, a driver of this decision, other factors include societal changes in general in preferred methods of communication.

The Police and Crime Panel therefore recommends that –

The Police and Crime Commissioner will present the Annual Report to the Panel.

In accordance with the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, the Police and Crime Commissioner submitted his Annual Report for the panel’s consideration.  Mr Hogg drew Members’ attention to the report’s highlights which included –

·         progress against the Police and Crime Plan Objectives 1 April 2013-31 March 2014

·         an overview of performance for the period 2013/14

·         force performance 1 April 2014 - 31 March 2014 against targets in the Police and Crime Plan

·         the OPCC Treasurer’s Report

·         details of the OPCC’s Governance and Accountability

Members then took the opportunity to respond to the report which included comments on -

·         the Licensing system and issues concerning alcohol harm and pre-loading

·         staff pay increases

·         special Constables and PCSOs and powers of arrest

·         collaboration opportunities both outside of and within the force area

·         suggestions for the P&CC for further public relations opportunities

·         social impact assessment of the work of the P&CC to date and the 3 top things achieved

·         whether the PCC or the Chief Executive should be ‘fronting up’ good and bad news issues in the media

·         early morning restriction orders

·         child sexual exploitation

As a result of those comments and discussions, the Police and Crime Panel made the following recommendations and it was agreed that –

The Panel will receive an update from the Police and Crime Commissioner in respect of performance against objectives in the Police and Crime Plan.

The Police and Crime Commissioner submitted an update on the performance measures set out in his Police and Crime Plan 2014-17.  He reported that –

In response to questions raised, Members were advised that –

It was suggested that in order for the performance information to be more helpful to the panel if the data included the performance target, the performance actual and then whether the performance was rated at red, amber or green.

The panel noted the report.

Members will agree a proposed work programme for Panel meeting business for 2014/15.

The Chair referred Members to the panel’s work programme for 2014-15 and advised that it would be kept under regular review as a standing agenda item.  Following a brief discussion, the panel noted the work programme, subject to inclusion of the following additions –

• a briefing on the new arrangements for Victim Services
• a briefing from the Chief Constable on what was being done to tackle trafficking

The Police and Crime Commissioner has provided the Panel with his regular report regarding the activities and decisions he has made to date and an update on preparations for Victim Services Commissioning.

The Police and Crime Commissioner submitted an update reporting on the activities of the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and progress made in delivering the Police and Crime Plan since the last Police and Crime Panel meeting in June 2014.  He commented on the report’s highlights as follows –

Priority 1

·         a comprehensive review of the 101 Service was being undertaken

·         the second round of the small Grants Scheme had now concluded resulting in £103,000 being provided to 24 projects

·         a safeguarding vulnerable people pilot, which was already showing encouraging signs of success, was under way in Torbay

Priority 2

·         that several work streams were under way to tackle excessive drinking, the effects of alcohol and the impact of alcohol related policing, including improving education awareness and campaigning for minimum unit pricing

Priority 3

·         work was under way to identify areas for potential improvement within Devon and Cornwall

·         the potential for a possible strategic alliance with Dorset was being explored

·         a revision of the Police estates, including relocating the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to Middlemoor

Priority 4

·         sizeable agenda around transforming probation/rehabilitation which included an expected announcement of the preferred bidder for Victim Services on 1 November 2014;

·         improving services to witness

·         training for police officers and staff on understanding and awareness of mental health issues following introduction of a new Section 136 multi-agency protocol

·         there had been a deep dive exercise on Out of Court Disposals

·         work around criminal asset seizure and the potential to recover costs

Priority 5

·         significant changes to victim support services – a separate report on this would be submitted to the panel’s next meeting and Ian Ansell who was heading up the new arrangement in the OPCC’s team would attend to present the item

Priority 6

·         the volunteer review was progressing with terms of reference having been established and the Investors in Volunteers quality standard was being used to benchmark current practices against a national standard.  This was not policing on the cheap but would provide a service that offered local community based solutions within and across public sector agencies

·         the performance measure within the Police and Crime Plan is to achieve 150,000 service hours annually for Special Constables by the end of plan period.  Currently there were 592 Specials within the Force with a further 90 to begin training in November and a similar number to begin training by March 2015

·         the first OPCC Devon and Cornwall Police Partnership Community Volunteer Awards took place on 26 September 2014

·         commencement of public engagement exercises on a number of projects including restorative justice / community remedy

Members raised concerns with the speed of progression toward the possible merger with Dorset, commenting that they would not want to be left in a position where it was too late for them to be engaged.

The panel noted the update and welcomed the opportunity to hear more on Victim Services Commissioning at its next meeting.

Members will consider the report and, after due consideration, agree the resolutions by the CEO of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).

The panel noted that no complaints had been received during the period 7 June – 1 October 2014.

The following are the scheduled dates for the Panel –

·         19 December 2014

·         6 February 2015 (Precept)

·         20 February 2015 (If Precept Veto’d)

·         10 April 2015 (Provisional)

The dates of future panel meetings were noted as follows –

• 19 December 2014
• 6 February 2015 (Precept)
• 20 February 2015 (only required if Precept veto’d)
• 10 April 2015 (Provisional)