On behalf of the host authority, Pete Aley, Head of Neighbourhoods and Communities, apologised for the cancellation of the last meeting and for any inconvenience this may have caused panel members or the Police and Crime Commissioner and his team.  Considerable attempts had been made to reconvene a meeting between April and July, however, due largely to elections and panel members’ diaries this had proven impossible.  Lessons had been learned and contingencies put in place to avoid any such future occurrence.

The Panel will elect a Chair of the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel.

Having been proposed by Councillor Watson and seconded by Councillor Brown, and in the absence of any other nominations, it was agreed that Councillor Croad is appointed Chair for the 2015/16 municipal year.

The Panel will elect a Vice-Chair of the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel.

Having been proposed by Councillor Eddowes and seconded by Councillor Wright, and in the absence of any other nominations, it was agreed that Councillor Batters is appointed Vice-Chair for the 2015/16 municipal year.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the new municipal year, including new members – Councillors Boundy, Davey, Mathews, Moulson, Mrs Pengelly, Mrs Squires and Toms.  As a result of the membership changes, the Chair wished to record a vote of thanks to all those who had left the panel for their commitment and contribution, namely Councillors Eginton, Haywood, Inch, Penberthy and Rennie.  A personal thank you for her support and much valued input was expressed to the former Vice-Chair, Carolyn Rule, who had left the panel following the sad and unexpected loss of her husband.  On behalf of the panel, the Chair wished her and her family well for the future.

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2015.

Agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2015.

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 an item 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, Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth PL1 3BJ or democratic.support@plymouth.gov.uk

There were no questions from members of the public.

The Panel will review formal recommendations made to the Police and Crime Commissioner in relation to the agreement of his proposed level of precept and consider the response and actions/progress from the PCC to those recommendations.

Further to consideration and acceptance of the PCC’s proposed level of precept at its meeting on 6 February 2015, the panel considered the report which had been produced arising from its findings and recommendations at that meeting, together with the PCC’s response dated 17 February 2015.

The following responses were provided to questions raised –

Agreed –

The Panel will review the Final Refresh of the Police and Crime Plan 2014-17 and satisfy itself to what extent regard has been made to the recommendations made by the Police and Crime Panel to the Police and Crime Commissioner and consider the response and actions/progress from the Police and Crime Commissioner to those recommendations.

Further to the last meeting, the Police and Crime Commissioner submitted for the Panel’s consideration the Final Refresh of the Police and Crime Plan 2014-17.  Accompanying the refresh was an update on progress made against the recommendations arising at that meeting, one of which was that the PCC kept the panel informed throughout the remainder of the consultation process for finalising the refresh with the option to comment on any significant changes via the Panel Chair.

The Chair advised Members that whilst the Commissioner’s initial response had been that it would not be possible for the Panel to have sight of the full draft plan each year he had since reconsidered and the timeframes had been amended so that the Panel could now review the actual draft Plan rather than a statement of intentions.  This was very much welcomed by the Chair and Panel Members.

A number of questions were raised during the ensuing debate to which the following responses were provided –

The Panel will consider proposals for ‘reactive’ and ‘proactive’ detailed scrutiny topics and agree the Work Plan for 2015/16.

The Panel reviewed its work plan for 2015/16.  Given the limited resources available and an already packed work plan, it was suggested that the Panel may wish to consider the scrutiny item on Neighbourhood Watch scheduled for consideration at today’s meeting as the ‘reactive’ scrutiny item for 2015 and that Members should therefore focus on identifying the next ‘proactive’ piece of scrutiny from the following list –

·         How is the PCC addressing issues of inequality amongst communities of geography and communities of interest across a large diverse geographical area?

·         How is the PCC encouraging reporting and improving monitoring in the areas of domestic violence/abuse and sexual violence and support for victims?

·         How is the PCC improving communication/consultation with the Public?

·         How is the PCC improving confidence in the Police/Neighbourhood Policing across the Force area?

There were conflicting views on which of the above should be taken forward, and given its raised profile and priority, whether child sexual exploitation should be included.  However, following a vote, it was established that ‘How is the PCC encouraging reporting and improving monitoring in the areas of domestic violence/abuse and sexual violence and support for victims?’ would be the next item of ‘proactive’ scrutiny, to include child sexual exploitation.

A concern was raised about the closure of custody centres and, in particular, the impact of the closure of the Launceston custody centre on officers having to transport offenders to the custody centre in Newquay.  Members were advised that a review had been undertaken of all the custody centres across Devon and Cornwall due to the significant running costs.  Despite the fact that Launceston was the newer centre, it was still more cost effective to close Launceston in favour of the Newquay custody centre and have officers travel the extra distance (an average of 8 minutes extra travelling time) with savings of £750,000 annually having been identified. 

Agreed -

(Councillor Brown’s proposal for ‘How is the PCC improving communication/consultation with the Public?’ to be the next item of ‘proactive’ scrutiny, having been seconded by Councillor Excell, was put to the vote and declared lost).

(Yvonne Atkinson’s proposal for ‘How is the PCC encouraging reporting and improving monitoring in the areas of domestic violence/abuse and sexual violence and support for victims?’ to be the next item of ‘proactive’ scrutiny, having been seconded by Councillor Wright, was put to the vote and declared carried).

The Panel will receive a verbal update from the Police and Crime Commissioner in respect of his “Volunteering Review”.

The Police and Crime Commissioner’s Chief Executive provided a verbal update on the ‘Volunteering Review’.  Members were informed that the review had revealed a mixed picture across the Force area which, unfortunately, was not a very satisfactory one.  Whilst some positives had been identified, such as a strong street pastor scheme which had delivered over 40,000 hours, as well as some decent activity undertaken by Speedwatch, the overall view was that volunteers were not being as well supported as the Police would like them to be.  Special Constables in particular were an area that the Commissioner was keen to utilise more, with a personal commitment to increase hours from 100,000 to 150,000.  In this regard, enhanced training, identifying where particular skills were lacking as well as a recruitment drive were being actively promoted and driven, with a specified lead (Chief Superintendent Chris Singer) having been identified to take the project forward.

Both the PCC and the Chief Constable were of the shared view that it was essential to develop and deliver an effective volunteering scheme.  An outline action plan had now been drafted and this would be available in 2-3 months.

The panel noted the update with thanks.

(Councillor Mrs Squires declared a personal interest in respect of the above item).

The Panel will use a ‘select committee’ style approach to scrutinise “Is the significant reduction in engagement of Neighbourhood Watch Volunteers in Plymouth reflected across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and, if so, what is the PCC doing to address it”?

The Chair welcomed the following witnesses and thanked them for volunteering to participate in the review –

·         Lorraine Robinson, Secretary to Plymouth Neighbourhood Watch Forum

·         Rob Paterson, former Chairman of Restormal District Neighbourhood Watch Forum

·         Julie Dowton, Devon and Cornwall Community Watch Association (DaCCWA) – the umbrella organisation for Devon and Cornwall NHW’s

·         Inspector Paul Morgan, Force Lead for Neighbourhood Watch, Devon and Cornwall Police

Members were advised that, in preparation for the review, a letter had been sent out to a number of relevant agencies and organisations to determine whether the decline in NHW schemes in Plymouth was reflected across the force area and, if so, sought their opinions as to what the Police and Crime Commissioner should do about it.  The response rate had been very good and a summary of all of those received had been appended to the report.

Adopting a select-committee style approach, the panel then heard from the witnesses and the following summarises their verbal submissions and responses to the questions arising –

The Panel will receive a presentation from the Police and Crime Commissioner in respect of opportunities for strategic collaboration between Devon and Cornwall Police and Dorset Police and a report in respect of the South West Procurement Collaboration.

The OPCC Chief Executive provided a verbal update on progress with the Strategic Alliance.  Members were informed that –

With regard to maximising efficiencies through regional collaborative procurement arrangements, Members were advised that, in addition to what was being done locally, as detailed in the report, use of the national arrangement was becoming the norm.  One such example being the bulk purchase of police vehicles to which Devon and Cornwall Police had signed up.

In addition, there had been a great deal of work done in the south west on uniform.  However, nationally this was being particularly slow to progress. The Home Office had done some investigatory work last year which had revealed that prices vary dramatically on uniform and equipment from anything like a helmet to a shield.

The panel noted the report.

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

The Police and Crime Commissioner introduced his performance report and drew Members attention to the highlights which included that –

·         the report format had been changed in response to the panel’s request at the previous meeting and now included baseline data against each headline measure;

·         some of the information was historic and should be regarded as such, for example the 80% satisfaction rate with the 101 service which was a nonsense and had since been overwritten;

·         as part of the refresh of the Police and Crime Plan for 2015/16 attainment levels for existing measures had been reviewed, along with the secondary/supporting measures used to help understand and track performance in relation to key issues such as levels of violence and the 101 service;

·         with regard to the area of Domestic Abuse, the focus would now be on the narrative and on the culture that encouraged reporting rather than the numbers and percentages;

·         there was disappointment at the number of hours of service provided by special constables and those undertaken by volunteers;

·         with regard to ‘reducing crime and harm caused by the misuse of alcohol’, the headline measures had been separated out at the request of the Chief Constable so that they were now –

o   number of recorded violence with injury offences

o   number of recorded violence without injury offences

In response to questions raised it was reported that –

The panel noted the report.

The Police and Crime Commissioner has provided the Panel with his regular report regarding the activities and decisions he has made since the last Police and Crime Panel meeting.

The Police and Crime Commissioner submitted his update report and commented that –

The Chair sought clarification that the date mentioned in respect of the 101 Review on page 168 should be 2014 and not 2015.  The Commissioner confirmed that the date referred to should indeed be 2014. 

The Commissioner again took the opportunity to invite the panel to come and visit his offices and his team who worked hard behind the schemes to help bring all of this information to the panel.

The Chair welcomed the offer and asked any panel members who were interested to contact either Sarah or Jo who would co-ordinate a visit.

The panel noted the report.

Members will consider the report and, after due consideration, agree the resolutions by the Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The OPCC Chief Executive reported that one complaint had been received during the period 21 January to 17 June 2015, however, the complaint had not been recorded as it related to a member of the public’s dissatisfaction regarding a police investigation and was not a direct complaint against the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Chair reminded the panel that part of the responsibility for delegating the handling of complaints to the OPCC Chief Executive, included an obligation for the panel Chair and lead officer to visit the OPCC and ‘dip sample’ a number of complaints.  To date this had not been done but an assurance was given that this would be undertaken before the next meeting.

The following are the scheduled dates of future meetings of the Panel –

·         9 October 2015

·         18 December 2015

·         5 February 2016 (Precept)

·         19 February 2016 (Provisional if Precept Veto’d)

·         15 April 2016

Future meeting dates were confirmed as –

·         9 October 2015

·         18 December 2015

·         5 February 2016 (Precept)

·         19 February 2016 (Provisional if Precept Veto’d)

·         15 April 2016