The proposals for the 2016/17 precept; from Angus Macphearson, the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Minutes:
The Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson was in attendance to consult on the proposals for the increase to the precept for 2016/17. His proposal was an increase of just under 2%, which equated to £3.12 per household for the year.
This increase would enable him to protect Community Policing, which was greatly valued. Local Policing was key, and would continue as before.
Crime and Public Confidence
· Crime increased by 12% from December 2014 to November 2015
7th lowest crime rate nationally with 50.7 crimes per 1,000 population.
· Public confidence measured by the OPCC Survey in 2015 is 83.7%, and had been consistently high since 2012.
· Victim satisfaction to October 2015 is 84.3% which is around the national average.
A good HMIC Assessment of Wiltshire Police
· Performance was regularly assessed by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary.
· Overall Wiltshire Police were rated as “good”.
· Our constabulary remained one of the best in the country.
Questions and comments were then taken, these included:
· The Fire and Rescue Service (F&RS) came under the Home Office, there had been talk about the PCC taking over the responsibility of the F&RS. Cllr Edge asked Angus whether there had been discussions for this to happen in Wiltshire? Answer: It was a complex subject, the mechanism had been put in place for the PCC to take on the responsibility, if it was desired. There had been discussions with the Chief Fire Officer, however the elections for the next PCC would take place in May, so it was not known who would be taking over after then.
· What proportion of the Neighbourhood Policing budget went on the Police Pension Fund, and what was the impact of the National Insurance contribution? Answer: Angus agreed to find the answer and feedback to the Board.
· If you say you are £2.6m short, how much would a referendum cost? Answer: approximately £400,000. If we were to have a referendum, it would be better to do so in a year when there was already a Council election, so they could be done at the same day, as this would save unnecessary costs.
· The Police Constable for Tisbury was moved out of the area to cover another, which had left Tisbury feeling the loss. What was the plan for the future with neighbourhood policing in rural areas? Answer: Angus explained that he provided the budget to the Chief Constable and then Operational matters were covered by him. The local Inspector, would be attending the next meeting to provide a full update on operational matters.
· How many band D properties were there in the south west Wiltshire community areas? Answer: This information would be available from the Council, the CEM would find out and feedback.
The consultation ended that day, Angus would be meeting with the Police and crime Panel (PCP) to look at the responses from the consultation. He would feed back the response from the meeting, and asked those present to indicate whether they supported the raise or not. The majority of those at the meeting were in favour of the proposed raise.