Agenda item

To consider a report on the progress made towards addressing the findings of a Police Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) through the ENGAGE Process.

The Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) introduced a report about the progress made towards addressing the findings of a Police Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) through the ENGAGE Process. The Chief Executive was pleased to report that three interconnected workstreams had been implemented and were delivering clear and measurable progress. The three workstreams were:

·       Innovation and Improvement

·       Target Operating Model

·       Audit and Assurance

Cllr George Jeans arrived at 10:49am.

During the discussion, the following points were made:

·       The Panel thanked the Chief Executive for the report.

·       An external organisation planning review had been completed in November, with changes being implemented to improve leadership and culture.

·       A new role of Chief of Corporate Services (CCS) had been created and would be advertised as a permanent position in the new year. The role was being filled on an interim basis by the OPCC’s former Head of Strategy, Performance and Oversight, John Derryman. 

·       The role of Deputy Chief Constable (Operations) was now focussed on operational policing and the CCS would be responsible for corporate services. This allowed a respective focus on both ‘halves’ of the organisation.

·       Both the new interim Chief of Corporate Services and Deputy Chief Constable were in their first week in their new roles. The Chief Executive explained that the relationship between the roles would be key and that both were keen to drive transformation and performance.

·       Due to the significant work required in 2024 to lead on the Public Inquiry into the Novichok poisonings, Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills would be solely focussed on this as well as the national police work on the inquiry.

·       Craig Dibdin had been appointed as the interim Deputy Chief Constable (Operations) with a permanent recruitment due to commence at the end of December 2023.

·       The Panel requested that they be sent an organogram showing the previous and updated force structures.

·       In response to a query about Wiltshire Police’s response to Clare’s Law, (Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme) which allows individuals to request information about their partner’s history of abusive behaviour, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Philip Wilkinson OBE MPhil, stated that he was deeply concerned. The Chief Executive explained that Wiltshire Police had made voluntarily referrals to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as required. The PCC reported that there was a large team looking into more than 3,500 historic applications to ensure that the information provided to applicants was correct.

·       The Panel stated that they were incredibly concerned about the issues relating to Clare’s Law and sought clarity about why this issue had not been identified earlier as part of the PEEL inspection. The PCC shared the frustration of the Panel that the issue was not identified at an earlier stage. He reported that this issue was partly identified from his office taking on responsibility for complaints and identifying service failures.

·       Work was also ongoing by the force to ensure that management structures were robust, with the Chief Constable and PCC jointly determined to make sure that any failures were not repeated. 

·       As the issue relating to Clare’s Law had not been picked up during the PEEL inspection, the Panel worried about what else may have been missed and asked what the next point of failure was likely to be. The PCC stated that the query about the unknown unknowns was a great strategic question and emphasised that he had confidence in HMICFRS. The Panel has been updated on the improvements to the force and the OPCC’s governance to ensure there are effective controls in place and management grip. The PCC also highlighted the role that locally elected officials had, underlining that oversight on a day-to-day basis by his office was vital to complement the force’s management and HMICFRS inspections.

·       The Panel welcomed the investigation into the historic cases relating to Clare’s Law and sought clarity about whether a similar audit was being conducted in relation to Sarah’s Law, a disclosure scheme allowing parents and guardians to ask the police whether an individual had a criminal record for child sexual offences. The Chief Executive reported that this was being considered as part of the disclosure of information to applicants and being included in the force’s review.

·       It was confirmed that additional resources had been put in place to ensure that other operational matters were unaffected by the investigations into Clare’s Law.

·       The PCC argued that the PCC model was the way forward for delivering accountability across South West England and believed law-enforcement was on the up. He commented that there were strong leaders in all five police force areas in the region, including PCCs with military and successful business backgrounds. He felt that transparency, experience and setting high standards were key to identifying issues and driving performance.

·       The PCC also stressed the importance of translating improved performance into making the public feel that they were safer. 

·       When asked about when Wiltshire Police would be high performing, the PCC stated that there had been improvement since the previous meeting, and this was demonstrated in the highlight report and force performance.

·       Details were sought about the input that the workforce had had on the external organisational planning review. In reply, the PCC praised the Chief Constable for her weekly communication with the force and her management of the process. He was confident that Wiltshire Police had a senior leadership team that listened and that they had achieved greater accountability by measuring it against a performance network.