Agenda item

To receive the Highlight and Performance Report.

The PCC gave a summary of the progress made towards the delivery of the four key priorities in his Police and Crime Plan, including proposals for improvements to the police estate.

The PCC was pleased to report that Calne Police Station would be refurbished to become the home of the Rural Crime Team and a base for the local neighbourhood team. He explained that discussions were ongoing about purchasing six acres of land near Old Sarum and Salisbury Park and Ride to set up a base in the south of the county. The PCC stressed that purchase of the land was not yet complete and that and proposals would be subject to planning. However, he was optimistic that he would be able to make an announcement in the coming weeks. He also noted that it might be possible to open a custody suite at the Salisbury site but that would be dependent on the operational requirements identified by the Chief Constable.

During the discussion, points included:

·       The Panel thanked the PCC for the update and praised the honesty in the report.

·       In response to a question about why 28 of the 66 performance measures were listed as declining, the PCC clarified that a measure would not be listed as improving unless there had been three consecutive months of improvement. He also stressed that he had seen improvements in leadership and morale.

·       The Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer of the OPCC, Naji Darwish, explained that delivering sustainable improvement in service performance went beyond meeting the specific requirements of the PEEL process. He stressed that improvements needed to be done in a holistic fashion so that they were linked to the PEEL improvements and met the goals of the Police and Crime Plan. He emphasised that many improvements would take time to implement so, whilst it was important to track progress month on month, it was also key to look at the longer-term direction of travel.  

·       The OPCC’s Strategic Planning and Performance Officer noted that the report was widely shared within the force to ensure transparency.

·       When asked about the decline in the volume of community intelligence, the PCC stated that he felt that a higher proportion of intelligence officers should be deployed on the frontline rather than at headquarters at this would help to build community engagement.

·       The Vice-Chairman suggested that sending officers to attend parish surgeries would be a good way to build up the intelligence picture.

·       The PCC highlighted that he made regular visits to Area Boards and that the Chief Constable was also keen to visit Area Boards when possible. Chief Constable Roper and the PCC had visited Calne Area Board on 7 March.

·       The Panel stated that they would welcome the Chief Constable should she wish to attend one of their forthcoming meetings.

·       It was reported by the PCC that tackling drug related knife crime would be a priority.

·       The PCC was pleased to state that rural crime had reduced. The size of the Rural Crime Team had doubled and there was lots of engagement with the farming community.

·       The OPCC was working closely with local councils on the Safety at Night Charter and in tackling issues such as speeding.

·       In answer to a query about why the number of victims supporting prosecution was below the national average, the PCC reported that court time programming was an issue. The Chief Executive of the OPCC added that waiting times had returned to pre-pandemic levels but there were issues with the number of magistrates and the courtroom infrastructure in Swindon.

On the proposal of Cllr Cave, seconded by Cllr Dr Mathew, it was resolved:

Decision

To note the Police and Crime Plan Highlight and Performance Report.