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 Panel considered a report updating them 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 Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Philip Wilkinson, OBE, MPhil explained that Wiltshire Police were making significant progress against the assessment criteria and he was optimistic that the force would be able to come out of the ENGAGE process following the conclusion of their forthcoming PEEL inspection. However, the PCC was keen to emphasise that there were a number of legacy challenges still to overcome and that progress had been faster in some areas than others.

During the discussion, points included:

·       The Panel thanked the PCC for the update and welcomed the progress made towards addressing the findings of the HMICFRS inspection.

·       The Deputy Chief Constable was leading an Evolve Team to look at innovation and improvement to achieve and surpass HMICFRS standards.

·       In response to a query about what the PCC and Chief Constable were doing to oversee the accountability of middle management, the PCC emphasised the importance of buying into cultural change and ensuring that officers were promoted in line with their attitude and ability. The PCC challenged a third of middle managers to go further in buying into the cultural change required.

·       The PCC informed the Panel that the motto of Wiltshire Police was Primus et Optimus (First and Best) and he always welcomed new recruits to come on a journey to improve the force. The PCC highlighted the importance of honesty and openness in addressing the challenges faced by Wiltshire Police.

·       It was noted that paragraph 5.2 of the report referenced positive anecdotal feedback from the public, but that this contrasted with evidence on page 37 of the agenda pack showing that dissatisfaction had gone up. The Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), Naji Darwish, clarified that figures on page 37 referred to the number of formal complaints regarding specific policing action, which had been increasing nationally since 2020 following the introduction of new legislation. Anecdotal evidence was in the form of more positive feedback from stakeholders and councillors regarding visibility and accessibility of local policing. This was an important element of triangulation, however, was not included in the Police and Crime Plan Highlight and Performance Report, which provided statistical information used to judge performance.  

·       Details were sought about the relative satisfaction rates in police performance between Swindon and the rest of Wiltshire, as well as the findings of the audit assessment of Swindon Community Police Team by Operation Evolve. The PCC reported that he had recently been to two parish council meetings in Swindon where he had received positive feedback. He stressed the need to translate improvements in performance into the public feeling safer. The Chief Constable would be able to provide further information about the audit assessment of Swindon Community Police Team.

·       When asked about Wiltshire Police’s abstraction policy and how it was being adhered to under the new Target Operating Model for response teams, the PCC highlighted that abstraction had historically led to a large overspend on overtime. However, under the new Target Operating Model abstraction was now actively managed. There were 214 more police officers in place than when he came to office.

·       Further information was requested about the challenges of implementing the Target Operating Model, including a new shift pattern. The PCC reported that the new system was delivering but was kept under constant review. The neighbourhood framework across the county had been reinforced and that specialist teams had become more centralised to improve their tasking. He noted that some response teams were having to travel further than he would like but that they were continuing to refine the system to optimise performance.

·       The PCC was asked how he would hold the Chief Constable to account and whether he had confidence that she could deliver the second phase of the Target Operating Model, given the challenges in middle management, high proportion of new recruits and staff in the Professionalising Investigations Programme.  The PCC emphasised that he had confidence in the Chief Constable as she had a considerable amount of leadership experience and capability. He also spoke about the importance of training and support to enable effective working.

·       When pressed on how he could better communicate the improvements in performance to the public, the PCC mentioned that the Chief Constable wrote him an open letter every fortnight. There was also more detailed information available to Area Boards about road safety. The Chairman suggested adding snippets of the Chief Constable’s letters to social media.

·       When asked about how to reassure communities, the PCC stressed the efforts that had been made to improve the continuity of staffing in neighbourhood teams so that they would have longer to build relationships with their communities. There had also been approximately a one third increase in the number of neighbourhood officers and the Chief Constable had published a series of community commitments.

·       The PCC would be informed about Wiltshire Police’s progress towards PEEL at the Police Performance and Oversight Group on 16 May and he would update the public about the findings as soon as he was allowed. 

·       The PCC noted that management processes had been reviewed to place greater emphasis on wellbeing and staff retention. In his view good leadership was fundamental. A chain of command had now been implemented to align, authority, accountability and responsibility, so that supernumerary measures should not be required. He explained that the Chief Constable was personable, but robust, in ensuring standards and performance was being focussed on within a strategic framework.

·       News that the staff retention rate in the 101-call centre had improved was welcomed by the Panel. When asked about specific targets for retention, the PCC stated that these were not currently set.

At the conclusion of the debate, on the proposal of Cllr Abdul Amin, seconded by Cllr Tony Pickernell, it was:

Resolved

To note the PCC’s report and assessment of the force’s progress.