Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Cllr Chris Caswill.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 18 June 2015.

Decision:

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2015 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman will the following amendment:

Declarations of Interest

Cllr Trevor Carbin declared none pecuniary interests in matters relating to Custody Visits, Community Speedwatch and Licensing.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

The Chairman apologised for moving the start time of the meeting in order to accommodate council business at County Hall.

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 officer listed above no later than 5.00 pm on 27 August 2015. 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 none.

To consider the draft Police and Crime Plan 2015-2017.

The Commissioner introduced the new Police and Crime Plan 2015-2017.

The Commissioner explained that the plan had now been through its consultation stage and that various changes had been made to the draft version.

It was agreed that the Panel liked the appearance and content of the new plan.

Points made by the Panel included:

·       Concerns re the possible closure of Chippenham Courts.

a.That it was hoped that the Chippenham Courts would remain open, and that there would be proper investment in the Swindon Courts, which were now showing their age.

·       Could the level of Local Policing Teams be maintained?

a.Yes.

·       Concerns re Officers covering rural and edge of town areas.

a.Mobile/remote technology was being rolled out which meant that Officers could be deployed where they were most needed and not tethered to an office desk.

·       That the Plan made no specific mention of Army Rebasing, which would have a huge impact on certain communities within the county.

Decision

·       That the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel endorses the Police and Crime Plan 2015-2017.

The Chairman thanked the Commissioner for his presentation of the plan.

To receive a presentation from Kieran Kilgallen, Chief Executive, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Panel was given a presentation that outlined the Wiltshire Police STOP trial, a pilot that would see the Trowbridge and Warminster community areas brought under the control of one Inspector. The exercise would see all service areas of Wiltshire Police being deployed at these two areas, rather than brought in when needed.

It was hoped that the exercise would demonstrate if successful, that this leaner way of working could be rolled out across other community areas across Wiltshire.

Questions raised included:

Would more staff be based in Trowbridge and Warminster locations?

a.Yes, more back office staff. 101/999 calls would still be covered by the Devizes control centre.

Why six months?

a.This would give a full rotation of shift patterns during this six month period. Trowbridge and Warminster residents would be contacted during the trial to get their feedback on whether they have noticed any changes in policing during the six month period.

Would parish level policing carry on during the six month period.

a.Yes.

Would Swindon be considered for a similar trial?

a.Yes, Swindon could be considered. It had its own local challenges, so would perhaps need a slightly different approach than Trowbridge/Warminster.

It was agreed that the Stop trial would be put on the panel’s forward work plan and re-visited in around six month to receive feedback on the trial.

a)  Introduction of a new performance report format

In 2014 the Panel established a working group to engage with Wiltshire Police’s internal review of its performance culture and to help develop a new format for the performance reports brought to the Panel by the OPCC. The Panel agreed that the new format should emphasise contributing to a culture of achieving positive outcomes, rather than a culture of perverse incentives. Regular updates have been provided on the working  group’s work and the new performance report template is now attached.

A representative of the working group will provide a verbal update on the work undertaken and key issues addressed. The Panel is then invited to provide initial feedback on the new report format.

b)  Quarterly Data (Q1)- Risk / Performance / Finance / Complaints

To provide the panel with quarterly performance data (OPCC).

The Commissioner introduced a report setting out his quarterly performance data – Quarter One 2014-15 (1April to 30 June 2015).

Cindy Creasy – Co-opted Independent member - gave a short overview of the recent work of the Police Performance Review Working Group.

Points made included:

·       The working group was formed in 2014 with two main purposes:

a)     To learn about, monitor and provide constructive feedback on Wiltshire Police’s internal review of its performance culture, and

b)     To work with the Commissioner and his team to agree a performance reporting mechanism that enables the Panel to effectively monitor delivery of the Police and Crime Plan. (The Panel agreed that this mechanism should emphasise contributing to a culture of achieving positive outcomes, rather than a culture of target-chasing leading to perverse incentives).

·       Interim report had been brought to the PCP, March 2015.

·       A collaborative approach.

The Commissioner was thanked for inviting the working group to contribute to the performance review, and to Chris McMullin and his team for engaging with the working group. Chris McMullin thanked the working group and Henry Powell for their hard work.

The Chairman then outlined the report.

1.Prevent Crime and ASB

·       Some increase in recorded crime.

2.Protect the most vulnerable in society

3.Put victims and witnesses at the heart of everything we do

·       Outcome Rates – why below the required position?

a.When compared to other forces within the region, the outcome rate has a much closer distribution. Wiltshire Police outcomes are dealt with properly, victim satisfaction very important.

4.Secure, high quality, efficient and trusted services

·       85% Response rate?

a.Causes can be linked to busy Summer periods, no immediate units available to get to an incident, and high turnover of call centre staff, taking slightly longer to dispatch units to incidents.

The Panel felt that the Wiltshire Police internal newsletter “Transforming Times” was a welcome and useful addition to the agenda pack.

Complaints Review – August 2015 to July 2015

The Panel queried the spike in the figures (June 2014), Percentage of complaint cases recorded within 10 working days.

Prof Johns advised that this could be down to some catching up of the data.

Resolved:

·       That the Panel receives and notes the contents of the Commissioner’s report setting out his quarterly performance data for the first  quarter of 2015.

·       Following discussion of the new report format it was agreed that the Panel would review it again after having the benefit of seeing a second quarter.

The Chairman thanked the Commissioner for his report.

To receive the annual report on the monitoring of professional standards.

Prof Allan John outlined the report which covered the period April 2014-March 2015.  He advised that there remains some uncertainty as to when the IPCC would publish information for all Police Forces and was therefore unable to produce fully comprehensive information on where Wiltshire Police stood nationally.

Decision

·       That the Panel receives and notes the report.

The Chairman thanked Prof Johns for his report.

To receive a verbal update on the Strategic Alliance between Wiltshire and Avon and Somerset Police constabularies.

The Panel is reminded that in June it established the Strategic Alliance Task Group, with the following members volunteering to take part:

Cllr Glenis Ansell

Cllr Richard Britton

Mr Chris Henwood

Cllr Julian Johnson

The task group’s first meeting is to be arranged.

Kieran Kilgallen – Chief Executive, OPCC gave a short verbal update.

Points made included:

·       That Julian Moss had been appointed as the programme lead.

·       First Programme Board meeting slated for September 2015.

·       The importance of getting the culture right during the early work being carried out between the two forces.

·       That the process was aimed at bringing about an alliance, and not a merger.

The Chairman made the point of the importance of the Wiltshire voice being properly heard during negotiations with the Avon & Somerset force.

It was agreed that the Panel members were frustrated by the perceived lack of progress shown so far with the Alliance.

Decision

·       That the Panel requests from the OPCC a written update at the December 2015 PCP meeting, with a report containing defined project areas.

The Chairman thanked Kieran Kilgallen for his update.

Police Performance Review Working Group

Please see agenda item 10.

Strategic Alliance Task Group

Please see agenda item 12.

·       Police Performance Review Working Group – Noted under agenda Item No.9

·       Strategic Alliance Task Group – Noted under agenda item No.11

To receive the attached report.

Produced by Community First

The report was noted.

To receive the report of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The report included in the agenda pack was noted.

To note the forward work plan.

The Forward Work Plan was noted.

To note the future meeting dates below:

·       Wednesday 2 December 2015 – 10.30 am start – Swindon Borough Council Offices.

The next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will be on Wednesday 2 December 2015 at the Swindon Borough Council Offices.