Agenda item

TRAFFIC INCIDENT ROAD CLOSURES AND 101 SERVICE - UPDATE FROM SHAUN SAWYER, CHIEF CONSTABLE

The panel will receive a more detailed response from the Chief Constable to questions raised on 11 July 2013.

Minutes:

In response to concerns raised by Members at the previous meeting, the Panel welcomed Chief Constable Sawyer and Inspector Richard Pryce, who were in attendance to discuss road closures following traffic incidents and the new 101 non-emergency telephone service.

 

With regard to road traffic accident (RTA) closures, Members received a presentation which –

 

·         put Devon and Cornwall Police’s Road Closure Policy for Collision Investigation into context, including that –

o   Devon and Cornwall Police was the largest geographic force in England;

o   the majority of the force boundary was coastal and there were only three strategic routes covering the region, namely M5, A38 and A30;

·         provided information relating to the number of people either killed or seriously injured on Devon and Cornwall’s roads over the last five years;

·         explained why due diligence was required by the Police during their investigation of RTAs and that they had a duty under the Human Rights Act to ensure as much evidence was secured as possible from the scene;

·         gave examples of incidents which had taken place, including press coverage;

·         acknowledged the financial impact not just to the region’s economy but nationally as a result of road closures;

·         detailed what was being done to minimise the impact of future incidents, such as investment in technology and movement of staff into specialist traffic units;

·         highlighted that a Ministerial Conference on road closures would be taking place on 16 October 2013.

 

In response to questions raised, Panel members were informed that –

 

(a)

 

when incidents occurred on multi-lane highways, the Police did try to keep as many lanes open as possible;

 

(b)

 

road closures were necessary to ensure that the Police complied with the law under the Human Rights Act which required, “when someone is denied their right to life, the relevant authorities to carry out an efficient and effective investigation into that person’s loss of life”.  As each RTA was a potential homicide scene it required a high quality criminal investigation in order that the coroner had as much information and evidence as possible in order to assist, should there be an inquest, in determining cause of death and provide answers for the loved ones of the deceased;

 

(c)

 

the Fire and Ambulance Services were both extremely well equipped and experienced in dealing with RTAs and the police worked very closely and quickly with its partner emergency services to get roads re-opened as soon as possible.  The Ministerial Conference taking place on 16 October would be looking at emergency services working relations as part of its debate;

 

(d)

 

the Highways Agency did have predetermined diversion routes should incidents occur and those diversion plans would be put into place once the Police were on scene.   When the Police did arrive their priority would be maintaining the integrity of the evidence.

 

With regard to the 101 non-emergency service number, the Panel was advised that –

 

·         the 101 non-emergency number had been introduced in order to ease pressure on 999;

·         it cost 15 pence to call, 91 per cent of calls were answered promptly, with 53 per cent being dealt with at the first point of enquiry resulting in a customer satisfaction rate of 84 per cent;

·         a number of calls were coming in that should be using the 999 emergency service;

·         call handlers were highly skilled and were able to signpost callers to other service providers / partner agencies where appropriate;

·         the service was still relatively new and it was acknowledged that there were areas for improvement.  In order to improve customer satisfaction a range of measures were being introduced such as –

o   new telephony software

o   recruitment of a dedicated performance manager

o   greater staff training, particularly around disability and dementia awareness

o   discussions with Local Authorities regarding joint call handling

o   better communication / publicity around which service callers should be using.

 

In response to questions raised, panel members heard further that –

 

(e)

 

a follow-up appointments system was still to be introduced and it was recognised that this had been causing frustration for people who had already been through the system to report an incident;

 

(f)

 

call handlers were well trained in signposting callers to relevant services such as flytipping and graffiti issues being referred to the appropriate Local Authority;

 

(g)

 

all calls were issued with a log number, referred to the nearest available unit and dealt with in order of priority;

 

(h)

 

one of the wider public interest issues was ensuring that there was follow-up with the person who has reported an incident as this was one of the Police’s initiatives around building public confidence;

 

(i)

 

IT infrastructure remained a weakness and whilst this was the case there was a reluctance to engage in the use of social media forums.

 

The Chair welcomed the update, particularly the possibility of joint collaboration on a super call centre, and thanked the Chief Constable and Inspector Pryce for their attendance.

 

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

Supporting documents: