Agenda item

To receive a performance summary from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) about commissioning, grants and partnership work in 2023/24. To also receive a budget overview for these items for 2024/25.

The Director of Operations at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), Rob Llewellyn, gave an overview of commissioning plans for non-policing services for financial year 2024/25, as well as the progress that had been made in 2023/24. He was pleased to report that over £5.2 million in 2024/25, including the addition of the Serious Violence Duty Grant and Safer Streets Fund from the Home Office. They were also awaiting confirmation of an additional £1 million of additional money for anti-social behaviour hot-spot policing as well as £500,000 for immediate justice, a project of restorative justice for relatively low level offenders.

The Director of Operations noted that their focus in the forthcoming year would be embedding the systems that they had implemented and ensuing that they worked effectively across the whole system. There would be an emphasis on performance management and improving outcomes. He noted that the key risk to the programme was uncertainty about funding beyond March 2025, given the likely election later in 2024. However, overall, the Director of Operations was very positive about the commissioning programme and outlined the achievements across the three core portfolios of their work:

A.    Victims and vulnerability

B.    Criminal justice and reoffending

C.   Community safety and youth

During the discussion, the following points were made:

·       The Panel thanked the Director of Operations for his report.

·       In response to a question about whether Wiltshire Police planned to introduce the role of Deaf Champion to help people with a hearing impairment, the Chief Executive of the OPCC, Naji Darwish, noted that the force were reviewing their equality and diversity strategy to make it as inclusive as possible. A new Director of People would start their role in April to review the plans.

·       Further details were sought about the initial resourcing challenges that had occurred under the new provider responsible for custody healthcare provision. The Director of Operations said that the relationship with their provider had matured well, and the terms and conditions had been improved to attract healthcare professionals. 

·       The Panel sought the Director of Operations’ view on the relative merits of face-to-face and online interventions. The Director noted that there was a mixed picture, but they monitored the effectiveness of both closely. He noted that online meetings tended to be used more for lower-level interventions. Those for the more serious crimes had significant face-to-face engagement.

·       When asked about offender management and reoffending, the Director of Operations stressed the complementary skills of the private and public sectors in addressing this challenge. He noted that the OPCC would hold discussions with businesses later in the year to discuss opportunities for those coming out of the criminal justice system. They would also discuss how they could provide early intervention to stop people entering the criminal justice system.  

·       The PCC confirmed that the public consultation on where the public would like to see further investment, did help to set his priorities. He emphasised the importance of those coming out of the criminal justice system not being separated from the wider community. He highlighted that PCCs in the South West of England had all invested in the Prisoners Building Homes programme to build modular homes for vulnerable people in the community.

·       The Panel said they would welcome further information on how the United Kingdom’s reoffending rate compared with other countries.

At the conclusion of the discussion, on the proposal of Cllr Ross Henning, seconded by the Vice-Chairman, it was:

Resolved

To note the report.