Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Russell Hawker and Cllr Julian Johnson.

Cllr Chris Caswill substituted for Cllr Russell Hawker

Cllr Sue Evans substituted for Cllr Julian Johnson

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2014.

Decision:

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2014 were agreed as a correct record with the following amendments:

Item 7 – Formal consideration of the PCC’s proposed precept for 2014-15

Paragraph 10 to read:

Clive Barker, Chief Finance Officer, confirmed that the 1.99% increase would generate £770,000 and explained that the strategy was to allow funding to be available in the future as there was no certainty on the future of the freeze grant, which was worth £435,000 in 2014/15 which would be forfeited if the 1.99% increase was implemented.

The final sentence of paragraph 11 to read:

The general reserve had been reviewed and would now hold a level of 3% rather than 4% of the spend.

The first sentence of paragraph 12 be amended to read:

Policing numbers would be maintained at a minimum of 1,000, however the management structure was being reduced and the Chief Constable’s operation review had not been finalised so this was a working assumption.

Item 8 – Police accountability Landscape review

The final sentence in paragraph 4 to read:

Contracts over £40,000 were dealt with regionally.

Item 10 - Volunteers and Specials scrutiny review update

The words ‘had been given access to’ be removed from the first bullet point.

No declarations of interest were received.

The Chairman announced that no paper copies of the agenda would be circulated to Panel members for future meetings.  Members would be alerted and directed to the publication of agenda papers via the usual electronic link via e-mail.

Thanks were provided to Malcolm Grubb, co-opted independent member of the Panel, for his valuable contribution noting that this would be his last meeting.  Malcolm Grubb was relocating to West Sussex and officers would be looking to appoint a replacement in due course.

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 28 February 2014. 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 was no public participation.

Angus Macpherson to present the PCC Diary report.

The PCC Diary Report, which provided a summary of the commitments undertaken by the Commissioner since the last meeting held on 6 February 2014, was presented to the Panel by Angus Macpherson where the following information was provided.

Operation Harness, the day of action organised to tackle drug gangs, included special constables. 

The work of the Safe Places Scheme in Salisbury was highlighted with a request for clarification on whether this would be rolled out across Wiltshire, particularly the supported expansion of the scheme in Warminster, Chippenham and Westbury.  Clarification was provided that funding given towards the Group was not specific for the Salisbury area.  The Salisbury and Devizes Groups were well established and the Commissioner was supportive of the roll out of further Groups across the county. 

The Commissioner continued to remind the force of the impact non-domestic burglary also had on the victim, reiterating that the work undertaken by the force should always be centric to the victim and not centric to the crime.

The Commissioner was due to meet shortly with the Chief Fire Officer where discussion would take place regarding the proposed merger of the Wiltshire and Dorset fire services.  Discussions were already underway with the Leaders of both Wiltshire and Swindon Councils to ensure the final arrangements were the right solution for the County.

Following concerns raised with how those with autism were dealt with by the force, clarification was provided that further details on the Force Champion were awaited but that it was recognised that strong communication was required to ensure all within the force were appropriately trained to give appropriate care.  Notices were also within custody suites as a reminder to officers.

The Commissioner was informed that the Chief Executive of the National Autism Society may be able to provide assistance in developing awareness and it was agreed that Cllr Andrew Bennett would endeavour to arrange a meeting.

In highlighting the success of the Bluez N Zuz discos the Commissioner confirmed that a meeting with Positive Futures (who were looking to run similar events) had taken place.  The force was looking to agree a new champion for these events noting that the founder of the Bluez  N Zuz, Superintendant Dawson, had now left.

The Chairman thanked the Commissioner for the report.

Angus Macpherson to present details of the PCC’s approach to the monitoring of performance of key staff.

A report outlining how the performance of the Constabulary was monitored was presented where the following information was provided.

Regular meetings with the Chief Executive and Business Manager of the OPCC took place as well as informal Performance Monitoring meetings.

Although the Terms of Reference for the Strategic Improvements Board (SIB) indicated that neither the Commissioner nor the Chief Executive were members, both were in regular attendance.

In seeking clarity on the different roles of the Commissioner’s Monitoring Board (CMB) and the SIB, the Commissioner confirmed that the CMB often identified areas that the SIB were then requested to consider.

The Risk Register was that of the OPCC and not the force’s and was therefore not operational based.  However, as a member of the SIB any issues identified from that Board (which held its own Register) if appropriate could be included within the OPCC Register.

In noting the suggestion for a member of the Panel to attend a meeting of both SID and CMB as an observer the Chief Executive confirmed that this would be discussed with the Chief Constable and a response provided.

The Chairman thanked the Chief Executive and Commissioner for the report presented.

The Chief Executive (OPCC) and Chief Finance Officer (OPCC) will present quarterly data and exception reports on:

·         Risk

·         Performance, including a report on PCC attendance at area boards and performance of the PCC’s Innovation Fund.

·         Complaints

·         Finance

Quarterly data and exception reports were presented by the Chief Executive and Commissioner.  Following questions received information was provided as detailed below.

The Risk Register was monitored every 2 weeks, the classifications given altered accordingly by the Commissioner and were subject to review by the Audit Committee.  Those categorised as ‘red’ were given priority consideration by the management team.  Apologies were provided that the key detailing the classification of the categories was not included for reference.

The Panel were informed that point 8 ‘Collaboration (Benefits)’ was given a ‘red’ rating due in part to the difficulties experienced in joined up working with neighbouring forces in some areas.  This had been explored in February and Commissioners had now been requested to put forward ideas on future working arrangements. 

The Commissioner had met with the Chief Finance Officer and was assured that the IT system was secure and was now working effectively. 

Details of the audit on equipment was still awaited but was expected to provide clarity on any missing equipment.

The classification of ‘red’ against ‘Whistle blowing’ raised concern.  It was understood that the constabulary policy had now been agreed and would be available on the Force website.  The OPCC policy which was being developed by Expolink Europe would need to be broader and therefore the policy was still in development.  The Chief Executive would circulate details of the OPCC Policy to Panel members once available.

The second stage transfer of a large number of operational staff was the main factor in the scoring given to ‘Maintenance of an Efficient and Effective Force’.

The fall in the number of special constables was thought to be a contributing factor in the performance of the reducing crime and anti-social behaviour. 

The Police and Crime Plan set a threshold of 24,700 in total crime figures in 2013/14 with a benchmark of no more than 30,000 by 2017 and the Chief Constable was reassured that the recording of these figures was in line with National Crime recording measures.

The recording of hours worked by Special Constables remained a challenge. This was in part due to the transfer to a new recording system which did not include backdated data.  The new system should provide more accurate data by the end of the financial year.

In the first 9 months of the year 603 offences were recorded as serious harm crime against a threshold of 542.  This was due to an increase in the number of serious sexual offences which made up 70% of this grouping.  This reflected national figures which had also increased.

The resolution of many crimes (44.4% against a threshold of 48.8%) were as a result of restorative justice in the form of community resolutions.  These had been piloted before any guidance published.

A range of measures had been used to ensure licensed premises were meeting their obligations.  Within a 9 month period there had been 46 interventions by licensing officers.  4,194 licensed premises checks had been carried out by police or licensing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Angus Macpherson will present a report on national, regional and local level procurement.

A report outlining procurement developments affecting the police service was presented. This included that local procurement services for Wiltshire Police were provided by the South West Police Procurement Department (SWPPD) which had resulted in cost savings for Wiltshire Police.  The SWPPD also provided services to Dorset, Gloucestershire and Devon and Cornwall with Avon and Somerset receiving procurement services from South West One.

Commissioners and Chief Constables recognised that further efficiency savings could be achieved.  Consultants would be appointed to explore this further across the region.

Reference was made to the National Police Procurement Hub and the work that it undertook at a national level, including the procurement of police vehicles as well as the procurement of uniforms.

The updated was noted and the Panel looked forward to receiving further details in due course.

The Task Group Chairman will provide an update on the task group’s work. The task group is scheduled to meet at 12.00pm on Thursday 6 March 2014 (before the meeting of the Panel).

Malcolm Grubb gave a verbal update on the work of the Volunteers and Special Constables Task Group noting that it had met immediately before the Panel meeting.

The Group looked forward to receiving details on the current status of the review being undertaken regarding special constables and also progress in relation to the volunteer strategy that was being led by the Chief Constable.

The Panel were invited to contact the OPCC to arrange a date when the Commissioner could present the report on special constables which would also be circulated to Panel members.  The volunteer strategy was expected to be received from the Chief Constable by the OPCC in June and would be made available accordingly.

Thanks were given to the Group and to Malcolm Grubb for his involvement in the work undertaken and the Panel looked forward to receiving the final report before it was presented to the Commissioner.  The Group hoped to deliver this around the end of March.

To note the forward work plan.

The Panel agreed to take this item was taken ahead of Item 11 (Potential Topics for Future Focus) to allow the Commissioner to leave the meeting if required.

In noting the Plan provided the following additions would be included:

·         Police and Crime Plan update to be considered in June, inclusive of the addendum relating to special constables as discussed earlier in the minutes.

·         Review of Restorative Justice, including Neighbourhood Justice Panels, to be added in November.

·         Complaints Procedures would be added to the Plan for June.

The Forward Plan would be revised and circulated to Panel members ahead of the next meeting.

Decision:

To amend the Forward Work Plan to include the topics as detailed above.

A report from Henry Powell, Senior Scrutiny Officer, on the panel’s approach to scrutiny and the prioritisation of topics.

A report prepared by the Senior Scrutiny Officer, Henry Powell, was presented for the Panels consideration.  This included proposals for potential topics that the Panel may wish to consider for review by way of dedicated Task Group.

The Chair proposed that whilst a scrutiny review was underway the Panel should establish the next topic for a task and finish group.

The Panel were asked for their suggestions which included an exercise on complaint handling and whistle blowing policy of the OPCC.  Reference was also made to the Joint Strategic Assessment (JSA) which was considered an appropriate source that highlighted areas of interest to the public.  This was likely to be available late spring and would be added to the Forward Work Plan (FWP) for consideration in June.

Licensing would also be added to the FWP to include consistency of approach and partnership arrangements.  This would be the next topic for review.

The following Panel members expressed an interest as members of the Task Group:

Amanda Newbury

Cllr Brian Ford

Cllr Chris Caswill

Cllr Linda Packard

Decision:

That the topics identified above be added to the Panel’s Forward Work Programme with Licensing identified as the next topic for review for a Task Group of the Panel.

To note the future meeting dates below:

11 June 2014, 2pm at Wessex Room, Corn Exchange, Market Place, Devizes SN10 1HS

4 September 2014, 2pm at Alamein Suite - City Hall, Malthouse Lane, Salisbury, SP2 7TU

19 November 2014, 10am at Committee Room VI, Civic Office Swindon.

The next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel would take place on 11 June 2014 in the Wessex Room, Corn Exchange, Market Place, Devizes SN10 1HS.

Future meeting dates were:

4 September 2014

19 November 2014