Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Chris Caswill. Cllr Jeff Osborn attended the meeting as substitute for Cllr Caswill.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 2 December 2015 and Wednesday 13 January 2016.

Decision:

·       The minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 2 December 2015 and Wednesday 13 January 2016 were signed as the correct records.

There were no declarations of interest.

That the Panel would take agenda item No.12 - Review of PCP Good Practice as a separate item of business after the meeting had closed.

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 Friday 29 January 2016. 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.

For the Police and Crime Panel to receive formally and vote on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed Council Tax precept for the year 2016-17.

The Commissioner gave the Panel a brief update on his precept consultation. The Panel were then given the opportunity to vote on the Commissioner’s proposed Council Tax precept for the year 2016-17.

Points made by the Commissioner included:

·   That in January 2016 the Panel received a paper which disclosed the thinking surrounding the 2016-17 budget.  This paper, which also included a copy of his Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), reported that the Commissioner was minded to increase the Police part of the Band D Precept by 1.9% to £167.10, a £3.12 increase from the 2015-16 Police part of the Council Tax of £163.98.

·   At the January meeting the Panel was also informed of a presentation that the Commissioner and representatives of the OPCC would be giving to area boards and locality meetings, which would be part of the  consultation strategy.  This disclosed that initially savings of between £2m and £3m would still be required in 2016-17 with the increase.  

Consultation

The profile of the decision was raised by having a consultation strategy. The strategy was to involve as much of the community as possible.  The strategy included;

·   Press releases identifying the proposal and highlighting to the public how they can make their views heard via the PCC’s website.

·   Contacting Councillors and MP’s asking for their views on behalf of the people they serve.

·   Writing to the Business Community, via a number of forums, to obtain views.

·   Presenting the proposal to Area Boards and Locality meetings.

Recommendation

After carrying out the necessary consultation the Commissioner was minded to set a precept of £41.160m.  This would require council tax to be set on all property bands based on £167.10 for a Band D property.  This represents a £3.12 (1.9%) increase on the 2015-16 level. 

Questions raised included:

Had the Commissioner had any discussions with Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council members about the proposed precept increase?

a.Yes, at both Area Board and Locality meetings.

Had the Commissioner had any discussions with interested parties in the voluntary sector?

a.Yes, many discussions had taken place.

Decision

·   That the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel agrees that the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner sets a precept of £41.160m. 

·   That this would require council tax to be set on all property bands based on £167.10 for a Band D property. 

·   That this represents a £3.12 (1.9%) increase on the 2015-16 level. 

The Chairman thanked the Commissioner for his presentation and report.

A briefing on current statistics of hate crime in Swindon & Wiltshire.

Kieran Kilgallen outlined a report which sought to provide the Police and Crime Panel with insight into the 47% increase in racially/religiously aggravated offences that were reported in the quarter two performance report. 

The report looked to address whether the increase is a concern and if so what action was being take to address it and secondly, was there a specific issue in respect of Islamophobia. 

Points made included:

·       The increase in the volume of racially/religiously aggravated offences was statistically significant and the causation factor behind this is the improvement in recording processes.

·       As the parent groups of VAP and Public Order increase, in the proportions of which are racially/religiously aggravated had increased with the same proportion.

·       The increase was predominantly driven by an increase in occurrences of public fear, alarm and distress, which accounts for two thirds of this crime group and is in line with the overall increase seen in Public Order offences.

·       Harassment had a lesser part to play in the increase and was reflective of increases seen in harassment which sat within the violence without injury crime group; however volumes for this crime type are small (13 offences between Oct 14 and Sept 15).

·       Racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage offences had increased from 22 to 46; however this was attributed to a series of graffiti tagging in one sector area which solely accounts for this increase.

Islamophobia

·       The number of incidences reported to police across England and Wales had increased by nearly a fifth. There were 52,528 such offences in 2014/15 – an increase of 18% compared with the previous year.

·       More than 80% were classed as race hate crimes.

·       Analysis of the Crime survey indicated that Muslims were more likely than people from other faith groups to be targeted in religiously motivated crime.

·       There was a spike in Islamophobic hate crime following the terrorist attack in Paris in November.

·       Most victims of the UK hate crimes were Muslim girls and women aged from 14 to 45 in traditional Islamic dress (tell mama helpline).

·       Government had promised more would be done to tackle Islamophobic crime, announcing in the autumn that such crimes were to be recorded as a separate category for the first time.

·        The force records 11 racially/religiously aggravated offences per week on average. The volume of islamophobia offences reported in the last year was minimal.

·        There have been no spikes following the events in Paris on 13^th November 2015.

·        That Wiltshire Police takes the issues of Hate Crime and Islamophobia very seriously.

·        The need to make the point to the Muslim community that the Police are on their side.

The Chairman thanked Kieran Kilgallen for the report.

An update to the Panel on the Horizon Victim Support Service.

Pam Gough - Policy & Community Area/Locality Lead, OPCC gave an update on Horizon, the Police-led victim and witness care unit.

The Horizon Victim and Witness Care unit was jointly funded by the PCC and Wiltshire Police.  Horizon supports the local delivery of the National Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (VCOP) which was updated in November 2015.

Points made by Pam Gough included:

·       Referrals into Horizon from May – October 2015 were 1053.  This equates to an average of 175 each month.  During the same time period there were 13,161 personal crimes recorded in Wiltshire.  This equates to 8% of personal crime referred to Horizon.  This is considerably lower than the estimated 25%-30% projection during the planning phase.

·       One of the reasons for the lower numbers is because it was decided that Horizon would not initially contact victims of domestic abuse because of the complex risk factors involved in those cases.  This has now been reviewed.

·       Team members have found that the majority of victims appreciate being contacted by the team and need no additional support beyond the first or a follow up ‘phone call. 

·       In the 6 month period, Horizon referred 186 victims to Victim Support, equating to approximately 5-8 referrals per week.  Victim Support can provide practical and emotional support to victims, and visit them at home if necessary.  Victim support staff sit within the Horizon unit on a rota basis to enable closer working relationships.

·       Horizon also works alongside officers to keep victims updated on the progress of their case, and can task neighbourhood policing teams to re-visit vulnerable victims.

·       Horizon coordinate victims and witnesses on approximately 850-900 court cases at all times. This involved between 9000-10000 non-civilian/civilian victims and witnesses.

·       Support for victims and witnesses was essential in helping individuals to cope with, and recover from the impact of crime, and in helping them to take part in criminal justice processes.

·       Horizon was currently funded by both the OPCC and Wiltshire Police. The Police Witness Care budget was retained within the unit.  Additional cost is met by the Police £100k and the OPCC £125k per year.

·       A workshop led by Business Improvement was held in December to identify the performance reports required to evidence what the team is achieving.

·       The process for referring victims of sexual offences to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) has improved.    Prior to Horizon, not all sexual offence victims were informed and given the opportunity of support from the SARC.

·       Horizon now ensures every victim of any sexual offence was given the opportunity to be referred to the SARC.  This was one of the most significant impacts Horizon had made on the quality of service provided to victims.

Next Steps

·       Continue to provide the new Horizon staff with experience on the coordination and needs of court victims and witnesses, especially on large/complex cases, and align expertise with former WCU colleagues.

·       Report on the number of referrals from Horizon to SARC.  There appears to be peaks/troughs in cases.

·       Continue to research  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

A verbal update on the progress of the Strategic Alliance.

Kieran Kilgallen gave a brief verbal update on progress made since the previous PCP meeting on the 13 January 2016.

Points made included:

·       That there had been little movement to report due to the Christmas and New Year break.

·       That a date had now been set for the Panel to start discussions with Julian Moss.

·       That the Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police would be attending the 3 March 2016 PCP meeting.

The Chairman thanked Kieran Kilgallen for his update.

·       PCC Commissioning Strategy Task Group

·       Strategic Alliance Task Group

i.Strategic Alliance Task Group

·       Formed in June, a suggested meeting date had now been received for the task group’s first meeting with programme lead, Temporary ACC Julian Moss, and would confirm with task group members shortly.

ii.PCC Commissioning Task Group

·       The group had held its first meeting and was joined by Naji Darwish from the OPCC’s office.

 Key discussion points included:

Intentions of the Strategy:

·       Some levers exist within the current arrangements to direct spend towards PC Plan priorities and hold deliverers to account, but the PCC would like more to be embedded in the new Commissioning Strategy.

·       The Strategy was also intended as a tool through which the Commissioner could demonstrate the rationale applied to his commissioning decisions. It would also provide a framework against which such decisions should be taken.

·       The Strategy was about making direct link with the Plan, providing performance monitoring arrangements and sanctions should objectives not be delivered.

·       The Strategy potentially also forms part of a gradual, national shift towards Chief Constables being accountable democratically (via the Commissioner).

·       VCS need a clear sense of the strategic direction locally, which involves the PCC, so they can direct their efforts appropriately.

·       There was a PCC ambition to move away from grant funding everything and also annual funding/planning of initiatives to a more long-term approach.

Members’ comments:

·       Members suggested the Commissioning Strategy needs to:

-        capture the PCC’s commissioning role in non-operational policing

-        help the shift towards the Commissioner  commissioning the Chief Constable’s policing service in a more itemised way.

·       Question of whether the Strategy could effectively encompass the four different service areas outlined in the diagram (i.e. Efficient and effective police service for Wiltshire, Regional Collaborations, PCC Commissioning services, Support Services).

·       Question of whether community policing should be commissioned entirely separately from the remainder of the Police Service, or merely itemised within the PCC’s commissioning of the main Policing Service.

·       Question of whether the Strategy would be of use to the Commissioner when deciding whether to sign up to regional collaborations.

·       Potential characteristics of a Commissioning Strategy:

-        How does the service commissioned link to the PC Plan?

-        Can we set meaningful targets and monitor the delivery of that service?

-        Are there sanctions through which the deliverer can be held to account?

·       Conclusion: The Strategy would include principles that initially would apply much more to things directly commissioned by the PCC alone, but may increasingly apply to other areas such as the Police Service.

Next steps:

·       Naji Darwish would prepare a draft Strategy for circulation to the task group by email and discussion at a second meeting scheduled for 2 March.

The Commissioner to present the PCC Diary report.

The PCC Diary report was noted.

To note the forward work plan.

The Forward Work Plan was noted.

To note the future meeting dates below:

·       Thursday 3 March 2016 – Corn Exchange, Devizes

·       Thursday 16 June 2016 - Corn Exchange, Devizes

·       Thursday 1 September 2016 – City Hall, Salisbury

Future meeting dates:

·       Thursday 3 March 2016 – Corn Exchange, Devizes.

·       Thursday 16 June 2016 - Corn Exchange, Devizes.

·       Thursday 1 September 2016 – City Hall, Salisbury.

On the rising of the meeting the Panel considered a report from Emily Higson - Corporate Support Manager, Wiltshire Council.

This report set out a Review of Best Practice for Police and Crime Panels – a summary of recent research, consultation and publications.

That Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) had now been in existence for 3 years, since the creation of directly-elected Police and Crime Commissioners.

In that time, a reasonable body of evidence had built up, enabling an objective analysis of the new model for police accountability and how well the system was working.

There had been three reports published recently, which reviewed the current police accountability arrangements –

·        In 2014, the Centre for Public scrutiny published its report:  “Police & Crime Panels, the first year”

·        The LGA published an updated Good practice guide for Police and Crime Panels on 2^nd June 2015.

·        The Committee on Standards in Public Life published its report– “Tone from the top” on June 29^th 2015, following an extensive consultation and research exercise. (A sub-group of the Wiltshire PCP responded to the consultation in late 2014).

Between them, the publications made a number of recommendations for police and crime panels, to enable them to be as effective as possible in supporting and scrutinising the PCC.

The report presented to the Panel sought to summarise these collective findings and research, and to bring them together into one set of recommendations for the Wiltshire police and Crime Panel to consider.

Recommendations

That the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel consider:

1.     Carrying out a review of the PCP/PCC joint working protocol, with the option of including guidelines on sharing information with the media.

2.     Developing its public engagement in the following ways:

2.1.  To refresh the Wiltshire PCP web pages to be more user-friendly and include information on the work of the panel such as task group reports. Hampshire PCP provides a good example of something that could be achieved simply and quickly.

2.2.  Carrying out regular opinion surveys or research/consultation – providing evidence to support anecdotes.

2.3.  Inviting the public to be involved in task group work (as witnesses), where relevant.

3.     Whether there are any areas of skills or knowledge that members feel they could benefit from developing, for example through a panel development session.

4.     Whether its members would benefit from regional networking opportunities to discuss common issues and best practice.

5.     Agreeing more formalised engagement with Wiltshire and Swindon’s Community Safety Partnerships, and identifying any other partners who may add value to the work of the PCP.

6.     In considering these recommendations, Panel members are asked to note the Home Office grant of £65,000 per year which is intended to be used to support panel activity. In addition to officer support time and logistics (venues, refreshments etc) the grant can be used to support the implementation of some of the above recommendations.

Points made by the panel members:

That Street Pastors and other interested voluntary organisations could be included in the makeup  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.