Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the 2013/14 municipal year.

Nominations were sought for the position of Chairman for the municipal year 2013/14.

Decision

·       Councillor Cllr Richard Britton was elected Chairman of the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel for the 2013/14 municipal year.

Councillor Richard Britton in the Chair

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the 2013/14 municipal year.

The Chairman sought nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman of the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel for the 2013/14 municipal year.

Decision

·       Councillor Brian Ford was elected Vice-Chairman of the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel for the 2013/14 municipal year.

There were no apologies.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2013.

Decision:

·       The minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2013 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillor Peter Hutton declared a non-pecuniary interest as he was the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection at Wiltshire Council.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the Panel since the local elections.

Introductions were given by all in attendance.

The Chairman raised the question as to who were the Swindon BC substitutes, it was agreed that this was still being resolved, but should be sorted out within the next couple of weeks.

The Panel welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you wish to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the first page of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

Members of the public are able to ask questions in relation to the responsibilities and functions of the Panel at each meeting. Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the Head of Democratic Services at Wiltshire Council no later than 5.00 pm on Thursday 6 June 2013. Please contact the officer named on the first page of the agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

There were no questions asked or statements given.

A diary report from the Commissioner is attached.

The Panel noted the diary report attached.

In response to questions the Commissioner confirmed the need for a consistent and joined up CCTV provision with the right protocols of retention. Governance arrangements were discussed at the Commissioner’s meeting with Avon and Somerset on 9 June 2013 together with the opportunity to mould and engage in regional debate. The Commissioner expressed his keenness to have a framework agreement which brought the region together both strategically and operationally.

To receive the annual report from Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Commissioner presented the Annual Report 2012/13.

The Panel noted the Annual Report attached.

Questions and points raised from the report included:

·       The Chairman advised that the Panel would have liked to have viewed a draft of the Annual report.

Anti-social Behaviour

·       Will you continue to try and improve anti-social behaviour (ASB) figures?

a.     Yes, ASB is one of the core themes in the Crime Plan.

·       Strategic Priority Balance Scorecard for the year show a downturn to the half year – why?

a.     A written response will be provided to this question

·       How can the figures contained in the annual report for ASB be improved?

a.     We all have a part to play in tackling ASB, communities need to be innovative in their approach, if we are to move forward. Partnership working is very important if we are to make positive steps in this area. The key is engagement, not enforcement.

·       The importance of community funding for the victims of ASB, and not just the perpetrators of it.

·       The Importance of good dialogue with local communities.

a.     Area Boards have a big role to play in this.

·       There is a worry that going to high level commissioning will lose the synergy that the CSP produced at grass roots level with others

a.     We are currently looking at one pot of money for Wiltshire and Swindon, and to commission jointly for services needed

The Chairman requested a summary of the outcome of this line of development.

·       The Panel showed concern over the expectation that the leaders of both Wiltshire and Swindon will know about all local issues and hoped that the PCC engage with the local force and Area Boards / Localities when looking at funding for ASB

Unlocking Resources

·       Can the Panel be re-assured that the Police will be able to spend more time on the beat, rather than dealing with paper work etc?

a.     The Chief Constable is confident that this can be achieved.

Performance Level Tables

·       Why are these tables not in the annual report?

a.     Data is currently shown in the old Wiltshire Police Authority format, the OPCC would ensure that future data would be provided as requested to the Panel.

Policing Levels

·       The Panel requested the data for Policing levels during the previous year.

a.     Agreed that the OPCC would provide the Panel with this data.

Trafficking of Controlled Drugs

·       Is there a strategy level in place?

a.     Yes, a strategy level is in place. The Force is looking to improve on its arrest/conviction rates.

Neighbourhood Watch

·       The importance of working with these groups was noted. A strong Neighbourhood Watch partnership was vital, as was the need to feed into the process.

The Chairman thanked the Commissioner for the report.

To receive a report on the risk register, deferred from the last meeting.

The Commissioner outlined the OPCC Risk Register and advised that it was very much a work in progress. He welcomed the help and support of the Panel in finalising the structure of it.

Decision

·       That a Task & Finish Group consisting of Cllrs Ansell, Bennett, Britton and Ford with Malcolm Grubb and relevant OPCC staff would be set up to look at the Risk Register structure.

·       That at the request of the PCC, this item would be taken at the start of future meetings.

The Commissioner advised that he was looking to pull together good working practices, with the OPCC still in its infancy it was vital that both good and bad practices were scrutinised.

The Panel felt that it was vital that they were working with the OPCC.

It was agreed that the OPCC would keep the PCP informed of progress/developments with the protocol.

To receive an update from the working group on the performance reporting framework.

Amanda Newbery outlined the Performance Framework document that was tabled at the meeting.

Decision

·       That the OPCC would produce a template which could be “married up” to include comments from a PCP working group and sent to the PCP on a quarterly basis for completion.

To note the complaints report from the Monitoring Officer at Wiltshire Council.

A report, “Complaint Investigations, Appeal Determinations and Monitoring of Wiltshire Police Professional Standards by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner”, drafted by Allan T Johns – Independent Adjudicator and Complaints Investigator was tabled at the meeting.

The report is attached to these minutes.

Questions and points made included:

·       That complaints should dealt with in a more timely manner.

a.     The time that it takes for Wiltshire Police to deal with its complaints does stack up when viewed against other forces.

·       Is the Police complaints handling system aligned with the various Ombudsman scheme?

a.     It draws in various Parliamentary and Health ombudsman legislation.

·       It was requested that future reports are submitted as part of the quarterly report process in tablet format.

To note the forward work plan.

The Panel noted the forward work plan.

·       The Chairman requested that the MEL survey data be made available to the Panel at the September meeting.

To review the times / venues of meetings, and to note the future meeting dates below:

16 September 2013

26 November 2013

Decision

·       It was agreed that future Panel meetings would take place at venues around throughout the County.

The next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will be on Monday at 16 September 2013.

Future meeting dates were:

26 November 2013.