Agenda and minutes

Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel - Friday 9 October 2015 10.30 am

Venue: Council House (Next to the Civic Centre), Plymouth

Contact: Katey Johns  Email: katey.johns@plymouth.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

Moment of Reflection - PC Dave Philips

The Chair commented on the recent death of PC Dave Philips from Merseyside who had been killed in the line of duty.  He asked that the panel join him in a moment’s silent reflection as a mark of respect.

Additional documents:

17.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 155 KB

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 3 July 2015.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

With regard to minute 8a, the Police and Crime Commissioner offered to bring a presentation on safeguarding to the December meeting.

 

Agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 3 July 2015.

18.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made by members in respect of items under discussion at this meeting.

19.

PUBLIC QUESTIONS

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, 3 Floor (West), 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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no questions from members of the public.

20.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER pdf icon PDF 30 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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.  The report included –

 

·         progress against the Police and Crime Plan Priorities for 2014/15;

·         commentary on five important themes which were common to all areas of OPCC work;

·         commentary on HMIC reports issued in 2014/15;

·         a summary of the PCC’s public consultation and engagement activities;

·         details of the additional responsibilities held by the PCC during 2014//15;

·         the OPCC’s Chief Financial Officer’s Report covering financial resources, expenditure and risk.

 

In response to questions raised, Members were advised that –

 

(a)

 

the Home Office was developing a national on-line crime reporting tool, however, until that, or other similar systems, were available and widely known, it was impossible to say whether the level of reported crime would change;

 

(b)

 

whilst public attendance at the Performance and Accountability Board had initially been low, it was increasing and the Police and Crime Commissioner was open to suggestions on how this could be improved or done differently;

 

(c)

 

the ‘Treasury Management’ headline within the Chief Financial Officer’s report covered both sides of the operation –

 

·         investment side (£65m of balances and investment income arising from it),

and

·         capital expenditure (which included £34m of outstanding debt from previous years relating to buildings and some of the vehicle fleet) which was a fixed cost attached to long-term borrowing of between 10 and 30 years;

 

(d)

 

one of the barriers to partnership working at operational level was attitude.  However, in order to achieve the efficiencies required, combined Fire and Rescue Services and Policing, such as the strategic alliance of Devon and Dorset, were the way forward;

 

(e)

 

copies of the Special Constable and Volunteering reports would be made available to the panel;

 

(f)

 

the Police and Crime Commissioner welcomed the opportunity to work with Yvonne Atkinson on social impact assessments;

 

(g)

 

where fleet vehicles were re-assigned, modifications were only made where it was cost effective to do so;

(h)

 

a review of the Devon and Cornwall Police’s estate had been undertaken and 25 sites had been identified and approved for either complete release or rationalisation.  It was acknowledged that, to date, the review of the Force’s estate  had been slow and that was why the matter had been taken in hand by the OPCC and an aggressive policy to deliver was now in place.

 

The panel noted the report.

 

21.

THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER'S AND CHIEF CONSTABLE'S PRESENTATION ON "WORKFORCE PLANNING AND THE FUTURE POLICING MODEL" pdf icon PDF 106 KB

The Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable will give a presentation to the Panel on “Workforce Planning and the Future Policing Model”.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Police and Crime Commissioner, the OPCC Chief Executive and Chief Constable were jointly presented the latest budget position and the potential implications arising therefrom to the panel.  The presentation covered –

·         savings history

·         recent assumptions

·         what the OPCC was predicting

·         funding formula

·         Government’s formula consultation

·         the PCC’s formula assumptions

·         summary of assumptions

·         council tax considerations

·         council tax consultation

 

In response to questions raised, Members were advised that –

 

(a)

 

it was possible that the savings of £53m would not be achieved.  The situation was extreme and a complete rethink of how policing could be delivered was required;

 

(b)

 

a review of the estates portfolio was already under way with a view to using the proceeds to offset some of the savings to be achieved, however this would not be a quick fix;

 

(c)

 

the referendum consultation would be launched at the beginning of November and run up until Christmas and it would be made clear to the public about what any reductions might mean;

 

(d)

 

their input into the consultation would be welcomed, particularly an extraordinary meeting at the earliest opportunity in order that the launch of the consultation would not be delayed;

 

(e)

 

there was a lot of support available to help people move into the digital era and even banks were using a clever advertising campaign to encourage people to move to online services.  The move to online reporting of crime was one way of reducing resources;

 

(f)

 

police staff were aware of the potential implications and would form part of the consultation process;

 

(g)

 

the OPCC would be engaging the services of UK Poll to predict what the outcome of any referendum would be, UK Poll had been successfully used in advance of the Bedfordshire Referendum;

 

(h)

 

a copy of the presentation would be circulated.

 

The panel noted the presentation and agreed to hold an extraordinary meeting on Friday 30 October 2015 commencing at 10 am.

22.

PROGRESS OF RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE POLICE AND CRIME PANEL TO THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER IN RESPECT OF "IS THE SIGNIFICANT REDUCITON IN ENGAGEMENT OF NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH VOLUNTEERS IN PLYMOUTH REFLECTED ACROSS DEVON, CORNWALL AND THE ISLES OF SCILLY AND, IF SO, WHAT IS THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER DOING TO ADDRESS IT"? pdf icon PDF 49 KB

The Panel will review formal recommendations made to the Police and Crime Commissioner in relation to the select committee review on “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 Police and Crime Commissioner doing to address it”? and consider the PCC’s response in how he is addressing the Panel’s recommendations.

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Minutes:

Due to time constraints, this item was deferred to the panel’s next meeting in December.

23.

POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER'S PERFORMANCE REPORT pdf icon PDF 111 KB

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Police and Crime Commissioner submitted an update on the headline performance measures set out in the refreshed Police and Crime Plan 2015/16.  Members were advised that the performance material had been updated to reflect the refreshed performance management framework for 2015/16 presented to the last meeting.

 

In response to questions raised, Members were advised that –

 

(a)

 

it was highly likely that for every incident of sexual violence or domestic abuse reported to the Police, there were at least another two that went unreported.  Victim Support services would have a more accurate picture of what the true figures were as they dealt with all victims irrespective of whether or not they had reported incidents to the Police;

 

(b)

 

with regard to (a) above, work was under way to try and establish what it was that prevented victims from either reporting crimes to the Police in the first instance or pursuing the matter to a conclusion in court;

 

(c)

 

problems with 101 remained and it was still unfit for purpose.  However, a further review of the progress made against the PCC’s 101 report last year was under way.

 

The panel noted the report.

 

24.

POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER'S UPDATE REPORT pdf icon PDF 481 KB

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.  This will include updates requested by the Panel on:

 

·         Fair Funding Update

·         PCC’s Report on Police Custody Centre Review

·         PCC’s Progress Report on Implementation of Victims Services

·         PCC’s Update on Police 101 Number

·         Results of the Review of the Effectiveness and Integration of Volunteering including the Special Constabulary

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Police and Crime Commissioner submitted an update report which included information relating to –

 

·         his Fair Funding Campaign;

·         items within the Police and Crime Panel’s work programme, namely –

o   101

o   Volunteering, including Specials

o   Custody Review

o   Victim Services

·         progress against the Police and Crime Plan priorities since July 2015;

·         his Public Engagements;

·         OPCC Communications;

·         Finance and Governance.

 

Highlights of the report included that a significant piece of work, led by Chris Singer, was being undertaken on Volunteering and a report on this would be brought to the panel in due course.  In addition, Custody centres had been identified as being one of the Force’s largest single areas of cost, with the cheapest one costing £1m to run alone.  More information on this review would be available at the panel’s December meeting.

 

In response to questions raised, Members were advised that –

 

(a)

 

a very detailed study had been undertaken on where people had been picked up from and taken to and it could be demonstrably evidenced that it would be more appropriate to close Launceston custody suite rather than Newquay;

 

(b)

 

the Chief Constable had given his assurance that special arrangements would be put in place for the North of the area (eg Bude) and it was possible that someone other than the Police could be used to transport those detained to the nearest custody suite;

 

(c)

 

use of the areas Universities to explore how to deal with the changing nature of crime (eg cybercrime) was already being considered, with Plymouth University already positively engaged.

 

The panel noted the report.

25.

REVIEW OF POLICE ENGAGEMENT PLANS INCLUDING THE STATION ENQUIRY DESK CLOSURES pdf icon PDF 152 KB

The Police and Crime Commissioner will present a report to the Panel on his review into Police engagement plans.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Police and Crime Commissioner submitted a report setting out his findings and recommendations following a review into police engagement plans.  The review comprised four broad elements –

 

·         Feedback from local policing teams on engagement activity within the area, how events are publicised, how engagement plans have operated and their plans for the future;

 

·         Engagement with local councillors and MPs to seek their views on the operation of the existing engagement plans, in particular with regard to feedback and views from their constituents;

 

·         A dip sample of local policing team websites to see how effectively they are being used to communicate information and engagement opportunities to the local community;

 

·         Face to face consultation with the public (in 3 locations) to seek their views on accessibility, awareness of local opportunities and the operation of the engagement plan.

 

In response to questions raised, Members were advised that –

 

(a)

 

no evidence could be found opposing the closure of enquiry offices;

 

(b)

 

the majority of those consulted preferred the telephone as the method of contact;

 

(c)

 

many of the reasons people visited enquiry offices were unrelated to policing activities;

 

 

Members commented that in order for enquiry desk closures to be absorbed without any issues, the 101 service would need to step up to the mark.  If neither service was accessible, the only route of communication with the Police would be via 999.

 

The panel noted the report.

26.

REPORT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER IN RESPECT OF ANY NON-CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER AND HOST AUTHORITY REPORT OF THE HOST AUTHORITY DIP-SAMPLING EXERCISE pdf icon PDF 101 KB

Members will consider the report and after due consideration, agree the resolutions by the Chief Executive Officer of the OPCC.  The Host Authority will also provide a brief report on the outcome of the ‘Dip Sampling’ exercise carried out by the Chair of the Panel and the Host Authority.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The OPCC Chief Executive reported that two complaints had been received during the period 18 June to 23 September 2015.  One complaint contained insufficient information to support recording so remained unrecorded at this time and efforts were ongoing to establish the nature of the complaint to inform the recording decision.

 

In addition, the panel received a report from the Community Safety and Partnerships Manager, on the recent ‘dip-sampling’ exercise which had been undertaken into the complaints process. 

 

Members were advised that –

 

(a)

 

the Chair and Vice-Chair, accompanied by Sarah and Jo Heather from Cornwall Council, visited the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner on 10 September 2015;

 

(b)

 

two recorded and two unrecorded complaints were investigated from the list of 11 formal complaints that had been received and the Chair and Vice-Chair were generally satisfied that the delegation process was working satisfactorily;

 

(c)

 

as a result of the exercise, a number of recommendations had been put to the OPCC to help improve the process.  Those recommendations were set out within the report.

 

The panel welcomed the report and noted is content.

27.

FUTURE MEETING DATES

The following are the scheduled dates for the Panel –

 

·         18 December 2015

·         5 February 2016

·         19 February 2016 (provisional)

·         15 April 2016

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair announced that due to the close proximity of the next meeting to Christmas he had asked the Democratic Support Officer to look at the possibility of bringing the meeting forward one week to 11 December.  Members were advised that of the responses received the majority had been in favour of moving the meeting.

 

Future meeting dates were, therefore, confirmed as –

 

·         30 October 2015 (Extraordinary Meeting)

·         11 December 2015 (moved from 18 December)

·         5 February 2016 (Precept)

·         19 February 2016 (If Precept Veto’d)

·         15 April 2016

 

Councillor Sanders objected to the date of the December meeting changing and asked that his objection be recorded.