The Police and Crime Panel will review the Police and Crime Commissioner’s draft Police and Crime Plan.

The Chair asked the Police and Crime Commissioner to present his draft Police and Crime Plan.

 

The PCC gave a presentation to the Panel about the various elements contained within the draft Plan (attached to the agenda).  He commented that, this year due to the timing of the PCC elections in November 2012, the consultation period had been necessarily truncated.  The consultation resulted in around 140 responses being received.

 

He acknowledged that his relationship with the Panel would be critical and advised that he had fully consulted the Chief Constable about the Plan.  The delivery plans were being developed and, since being elected, he had appointed a senior adviser and was developing relationships with partners and an open and transparent governance structure.

 

He wanted to establish how he could contribute to a flourishing economy and the wellbeing of the people and the area.  To do this he would work with Local Enterprise Partnerships, Health and Wellbeing boards, the health sector, young people and business.  His team combined a balance of being strategic and offering a public face for people to turn to.  Particular issues were sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and drug and alcohol dependency.

 

He had been elected to give the public a greater say in policing priorities and there was a balance to be struck between this, professional policing, politics and balancing resources.  He had regard to the Community Safety Partnerships’ peninsula  strategic assessment, consultation responses and his own judgement.  He wondered whether the voluntary sector should have a greater contribution and would review this annually. He considered that people wanted to be reassured about the integrity of the police and to understand how they worked.  The sharing of resources between rural and urban areas would need to be balanced and value for money had to be demonstrated.

 

The PCC went through his plan in some detail and Mr Walton (Treasurer, Office of the PCC) highlighted some of the main financial aspects of the plan.

 

The Chair advised that this and the next agenda item could be considered together and members could ask questions about either.

 

Following the presentation, the PCC answered members questions:

 

Q    The Plan refers to importance of the strategic role and working together with partners – if the pain of budget reductions is spread too widely would this affect commissioning, budgets and the ability to target priority areas?

 

A    Only two months into the job, the PCC wanted to develop relations with all partners including Community Safety Partnerships, the local Criminal Justice Board, Health and Wellbeing boards and so on and had a matrix of all the areas in which he needed to work.  He would put politics aside and hoped to bring other options and solutions.  With regard to funding for external organisations to be provided by the Home Office to the Commissioner, it was expected that this would be cut by about 10%. He was minded to provide this funding, in 2013/14, to the organisations who were previous beneficiaries, minus the cut evenly spread. This would be reviewed during 2013/14 with the view to allocating such funds in 2014/15 to areas that promoted the Police and Crime Plan.

 

Q    With respect to the decrease in numbers of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and the increased use of special constables, how would this affect neighbourhood policing teams?

 

A    Reducing PCSOs to around 360 was the correct balance though this was a judgement for the Chief Constable.  If there was further pressure later, the balance might have to be re-examined.  PCSOs were not being replaced with special constables as they had different roles.

 

Q   When on the campaign trail you said you were minded to not increase the precept by accepting the ‘freeze grant’.  What has changed your mind?

 

A     The PCC did not recall taking a view on accepting the freeze grant.

 

Q    You mentioned equality when recruiting.  I have concerns about positive discrimination as it can become discrimination in its own right – what are your views?

 

A    There was an opportunity to do something positive though there were not many ways for the public sector equality duty to effect change.  It was a challenge that was being looked at. 

 

Q    There was reference to overtime levels in the presentation – was that a catch all that included getting rid of ‘Spanish practices’ and reducing sickness levels?

 

A    The Windsor Review was about terms and conditions and has affected us.  Surges in requirements, such as policing for the Olympics, need to be catered for.   Sickness was not part of the overtime figure and was budgeted for separately.  Performance review mechanisms were a mechanism to review sickness levels and the PCC had already asked for a report about the matter.

 

Q    With regard to domestic abuse/violence and the recording of such crimes - how do you ensure that statistics are meaningful for local people?

 

A    The accurate tracking of domestic and sexual violence was difficult and some background work was being undertaken in relation to safeguarding issues.  However, the PCC undertook to review this issue.

 

Q    With regard to domestic abuse/violence and partnership work – Operation Encompass was reported in the media today because procedures had not been correctly followed.  What knock on effect could this have?

 

A    There was an intention to roll the scheme out across all areas that wished to take part.  Six referrals out of 240 had been missed since September which, although a small percentage, was too many and improvements were being worked on.  A response would sent directly to Councillor Penberthy, who had asked the question.

 

Q.   Could there be something more proactive in the plan about responding to crimes of prejudice?  For example, Plymouth had concerns about homophobia and transphobia.

 

A    The intention of the Plan was not to limit the work of the police in this area.  The first step was to understand the matter (as highlighted in the strategic assessment).  It was also important to demonstrate zero tolerance and lead by example.  There would be specific targets, particularly around street violence. 

 

Q   Why has no provision been made in the budget for redundancy costs?

 

A    Redundancy costs had been taken into account in the revenue budgets.

 

Q    Could reported crime statistics be consistent year on year?

 

A    The PCC agreed that clarity was important when presenting figures.  A key element of the PCC’s remit was to explain the information to the public. 

 

Q    If you had accepted the two year ‘freeze’ grant, could it be built into the base budget for next year?

 

A    It was a choice whether to accept the freeze grant or not.  However, to take the freeze grant would result in losses over a period of four years.     

 

Q    If we support the plan were we being locked into a 2 year freeze?

 

A    The precept would be agreed for one financial year only but certain forward planning assumptions, in order to achieve a sustainable budget in future years, had been built into the budget. 

 

Q    Could there be something more supportive/positive in the plan about PCSOs?

 

A    The work of the PCSOs should be celebrated.  However, if there were further budget reductions, the balance between special constables and PCSOs would need to be addressed.

 

Q    Concerning the increase in road traffic accidents, particularly in Torridge and North Devon, could there more emphasis in the Plan? Will there be a delivery plan at some stage?

 

A   Road safety issues were included in the Plan as a result of consultation responses.  There was an initiative to enable armed response vehicles, whose operatives were traffic trained, to undertake traffic work when they were not being used elsewhere (120 officers).  The PCC recognised that there were local issues in parts of Devon.  There were delivery plans but the PCC wasn’t sure that the Panel would want to see this level of detail as the PCC was responsible for strategy, not operational policy.

 

Q   Was information about the PCC’s office staff included in the Plan? There would be savings because the PCC did not have 19 police authority members and no committee meetings.  Would he share resources with other PCCs’ offices?

 

A    The police authority had a budget of around £1.67million and the PCC’s office cost less.  During the first year of operation, it wasn’t clear how the staffing structure would develop.  Responsibility for victim services was now a responsibility and he was re-examining all the job roles.  Different expertise and advisers may be required and the PCC undertook to keep the Panel advised of his intentions.  He would generate value for money and was accountable to the public.

 

Q    With reference to investing in the police for the future, was there still an issue where the government was holding back £4.6 to £5m under ‘damping’?

 

A    The PCC advised that £3.5million of the force’s funding was protected and the government didn’t owe any money.

 

Q    The number of special constables should be increased however it was understood that they didn’t always respond to an incident – was the balance between PCSOs and special constables correct?

 

A    If local communities became more involved in community policing this would augment the neighbourhood teams, which could make the community feel safer.

 

Q    What did he propose to do about the democratic deficit?

 

A    In terms of transparency, the PCC advised that he had every intention of webcasting meetings.  Governance issues would be given further consideration during 2014.  He intended to be at least as open and transparent as the police authority.

 

Q    What was the effect of damping?

 

A    The Department of Communities and Local Government had not yet published any detail behind future funding arrangements.  There was no cash effect.

 

Q    Has the balance of priorities between urban, rural and coastal areas changed? If so, how?

 

A    There was already a summer policing plan mainly for the coastal areas, whilst the majority of crime took place in urban areas.  Next week rural crime was going to be highlighted.  However, the priority was to reduce crime across the peninsula by the use of an integrated policing model.  The focus on safeguarding remained important.

 

Q    The Brixham Coastguard Station was going to close in 2015, what impact would this have?

 

A    We’re responsible for 12 miles out from the coast and have 500 miles of coastline.  This issue was currently in the political arena.

 

Q    The terrorism threat had a national dimension and there were military bases in the area – was the PCC satisfied with the response capacity of the police force?

 

A    There was a strategic policing requirement, which was a risk based system.  The priorities of prevent, protect, prepare and pursue remained in force.  There was government funding for these elements, although it was reducing.

 

Q   What was the intention with regard to funding other organisations since the youth justice grant had been redirected towards the police?

 

A    There was expected to be an overall reduction in funding of 10% which would be spread across all areas of funding.

 

Q    The overall number of staff had been reduced but the number of special constables would be increased.  How many would there be in future?

 

A    The overall number of police would increase.  The plan was to have 600 special constables.

 

Q   What aren’t priorities?

 

A    The PCC advised that this had been discussed at the previous meeting.

 

Q    How many surgeries had the PCC held to-date?

 

A    Not many to-date but there was a plan in place and many meetings with organisations had already been held.  Social media would be used.  The PCC undertook to provide information about surgeries at a later date to Councillor Paynter who had asked the question

 

Q    Was there any information you came across that you could not mention in the Plan?  What kind of information would you like to have had?

 

A    The PCC would have preferred a longer period for consultation and the consultation methods could be improved.  A concern was that many people and elements of the voluntary sector had not been at all involved in the process and this could be improved.

 

Q    How would the PCC measure social impact and take this into account in his commissioning decisions?

 

A    The PCC would try to make it part of his commissioning strategy and would locate the necessary expertise and skills in order to improve partnership working. 

 

Q    Was a revenue reserve of £23.61m more than adequate?

 

A    The reserves were earmarked for specific projects mentioned in the Plan, which would help to achieve the targets set out in the Plan, but would not all be spent in the next financial year.  Some were for longer term projects.. 

 

Q    Was the service provision for the helicopter meeting the force’s needs?

 

A    The helicopter was not ideal for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in particular.  A fixed wing option may be more suitable. 

 

Q    Are you or the public satisfied with the way in which the 101 non-emergency number works?

 

A    The PCC advised that the initial response was usually satisfactory but it was the follow up timescale that caused concerns.  Customer service was also an issue which was connected to the closure of police stations.  However, only 30% of calls related to policing issues.  Should there be more cooperation between partners – a multi-agency approach?  There were 700,000 calls a year and 93% of calls were answered within 20 seconds.

 

Q    You mentioned co-location with the fire authority, don’t forget local authorities.

 

A    The PCC agreed that it was important to work in partnership wherever possible.

 

Q    How many responses did you receive to your consultation and how will you improve future consultations?

 

A    The PCC advised that there had been 140 responses and a good spread of comments.  The PCC’s Communications Manager briefed the Panel about the communication strategy and the recent consultation.  The draft Plan and questionnaire had been on the PCC’s website and provided in three different formats though it was recognised that 20% of people did not have access to a computer.  It had been circulated to more than 7,500 people together with pre-paid envelopes.  Many people passed the Plan to others and it was estimated that more than 10,000 people had read the draft Plan.  The Plan had been sent to all members of the Independent Advisory Group.  It had been promoted on   facebook and Twitter.  There had also been considerable engagement with the local media.  The success of the PCC’s role depended on community engagement. 

 

Q    Surely a helicopter would be more effective – a fixed wing aircraft has not been able to land at Land’s End for eight weeks. 

 

A    A helicopter could reach its destination more quickly though there were issues in terms of hover noise.  However, the service requirement and the funding were being reassessed. 

 

Q    Could you lease a helicopter or have a second helicopter?

 

A    There was a national reserve facility which allowed another helicopter to be available when the force’s machine was out of commission.

 

Q    A lot of people would prefer that PCSOs did not attend parish council meetings but were available elsewhere.

 

A    They would need to be selective about attending.

 

Q    How do elderly people without a computer access the Plan?  Was it available in libraries?

 

A   The PCC was conscious of the need for hard copies of the Plan to be available.  The Plan will have a phone number on it and we’ll try and find an inexpensive way of distributing them.

 

Q    The issue of damping was not understood – how would the budget be affected

 

A    The damping was applied to all police organisations – out of that 1% of grant had been lost   The PCC would send further information to Councillor Greenslade who had asked the question.

 

Q    There had previously been different levels in the percentage increase of Council Tax raised by local government and the police.  Did the police have the same restrictions in terms of a referendum?

 

A   The percentage increase at which the police and local government would have to hold a referendum was the same – 2%

 

Q  Was there still a budget smoothing fund?

 

A    Yes, it would be used over the four year period in order to smooth budget fluctuations and was part of the general reserves.

 

AGREED that:

 

(a)  the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel approve the Police and Crime Plan subject to the comments made to the Police and Crime Commissioner by members of the Panel and recorded on the webcast and in the minutes; and

 

(b)  the Police and Crime Commissioner IS requested to submit a final copy of the Plan to members of the Police and Crime Panel prior to its publication.