An adjustment agreed to move the Commissioner’s Update Report to this point on the meeting agenda.

Alison Hernandez (Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner) provided an update on the following matter which had occurred after the report publication for the agenda for the meeting:

a)    On 26^th July 2023 she had made the decision to suspend Will Kerr (Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police) pursuant to section 38-2 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 following allegations of misconduct and the matter had been referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), who had confirmed an investigation would be carried out;

b)    She made no judgement based on the fact she had suspended Chief Constable Will Kerr based on the allegations against him.

In response to questions it was further explained:

c)    The Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner had not been aware of the allegations during the shortlisting process for the role;

d)    She had been made aware of the allegations on 23 March 2023 by the Police service of Northern Ireland and she had made a referral the same day to the Independent Office of Police Conduct who had later determined did not have jurisdiction over the issue;

e)    She had considered suspension at that point and concluded it was appropriate at the time with the information she had;

f)     Further information had come to light on 17 July 2023 from the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland, who had taken over the investigation, and following this a further request was submitted to the IOPC who then agreed to open an investigation;

g)    Acting Chief Constable, Jim Colwell would be in place at least until the conclusion of the investigation.

The Commissioner introduced the remainder of the report and highlighted;

h)    How sad she had been to learn of the passing of former Councillor Vivien Pengelly who had been a huge champion of policing and had supported the Commissioner from the beginning of her career and had spent many years scrutinising and supporting the police force;

i)     There had been recognition of local officers at the Police Bravery Awards: PC Darren Brimacombe and PC Tim Willett had been recognised for their bravery during a frenzied knife attack on Dartmoor when they were responding to a high-risk missing person;

j)     She would be visiting some of the front desks that would be reopening and would be promoting them and invite panel members to the reopenings;

k)    There had been excellent attendance at a Councillor Advocates seminar on road safety and there was now an improved understanding of the tasking process in policing and of the investments that had been made through vision zero, particularly in relation to motorcyclist safety.

In response to questions it was explained:

l)      A conversation on the level of impact could be had with users of motorcycles and customised cars through existing channels but conversations were being had around motorcyclist safety through other channels as well;

m)  A Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) rapid response police car, in place in Torquay, had not yet been evaluated, but could be considered for other areas in the future;

n)    The Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner was expected to receive around £1 million for Safer Streets 5 and welcomed panel members making representations;

o)    There was a gap in funding to support domestic abuse perpetrators to not re-offend, and a bid for a second round of funding from government had been unsuccessful, but some reserve funding had been used to continue work;

p)    It was important to get Police front desks open to give people the choice of how they reported a crime, particularly for those who were victims of crime, as they might feel safer speaking to someone;

q)    She would speak to the Chief Constable about plans to have a mini op Loki teams that could be moved around to free up neighbourhood police officers;

r)    Performance information would be available to be brought to the next meeting, and it showed that Devon and Cornwall was the lowest crime rate area in the country;

s)     The Panel, led by Councillor Roger Croad, expressed their sadness at the passing of Councillor Vivien Pengelly.

The Committee agreed to note the report.