Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from:

·       Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson, OBE, MPhil

·       Cllr George Jeans

·       Louise Williams (Co-Opted Member)

Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel gave consideration to the provisions under paragraph 3.14 of their Panel Arrangements, stipulating the attendance requirements for Co-Opted Members, and confirmed that they were happy for Ms Williams to continue her membership.

The Vice-Chairman arrived at 1:33pm.

The Chairman took the opportunity to thank Cllr Dr Brian Mathew MP, who had been replaced on the Panel by Cllr Ian Thorn, for his help in supporting its work. He also welcomed Cllr Thorn and said that he looked forward to working with him.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2024 as a true and correct record.

On the proposal of Cllr Abdul Amin, seconded by Cllr Vijay Manro, it was resolved to make the:

Decision:

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 27 June, as a true and correct record.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive announcements through the Chairman.

The Chairman reminded the Panel that Home Office had sought interest from Panels’ lead authorities to host a Support Hub, as recommended by the Police and Crime Commissioner Review (part one). He explained that there had been a delay in progressing the initiative and the Home Office were awaiting further direction from the new Minister, The Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE, on how, or if, to continue with the Support Hub.

The Panel welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like 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. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public received in accordance with the Panel’s constitution.

Please note that questions must relate to the responsibilities and functions of the Panel and must not relate directly to operational policing matters.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Thursday 19 September 2024 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response, questions must be submitted no later than 5pm onMonday 23 September 2024. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on Wiltshire Council’s website.

Mr Paul Summers, Chair of Wiltshire Neighbourhood Watch Association, made a statement about the impact that graffiti had on intimidating communities and damaging infrastructure. He sought assurances that the Panel shared his concerns about the issue.

The Chairman noted that the Panel did share Mr Summers’ concerns and members of the Panel spoke about the varying levels of graffiti that took place in their local areas. It was reported that areas such as Marlborough and Chippenham had relatively low levels of graffiti whereas it was a more common issue in other areas, particularly on underpasses.

The Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, (‘the Chief Executive’) Naji Darwish, reiterated that graffiti was criminal damage and that he recognised the distress that it caused to communities. He emphasised that a multi-agency approach was used to tackle antisocial behaviour and highlighted the importance of the strong links between communities and their Neighbourhood Police Teams in confronting the issue.

During a discussion, points included:

·       It was possible to purchase very expensive anti-graffiti paint.

·       Some perpetrators of graffiti used paint that was very hard to remove which incurred particularly high removal costs.

·       Graffiti was generally treated as a low-level offence unless it contained offensive content, such as religious hatred.

·       There were a number of deterrent measures that could be used, including designated graffiti walls, such as a community art project in Calne.

·       CCTV could be an effective preventative measure in built up areas. 

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson, OBE to provide an update on issues including the PEEL inspection.

The Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), Naji Darwish, compared the findings of the 2024 Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspection to the previous inspection in 2021 and outlined ways in which the OPCC was supporting Wiltshire Police to make further improvements. Points included:

·       His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) monitored 10 different areas of service across the 43 police forces in England and Wales. The PEEL process, their regular inspection of forces, was a vital part of governance and oversight.

·       A HMICFRS liaison officer monitored Wiltshire Police between inspections and regularly attended meetings. During the recent inspection, HMICFRS interviewed officers of all ranks and dip sampled cases.

·       The 2021 inspection has identified several serious issues and had put Wiltshire Police into the ENGAGE process, which they came out of in June 2024.

·       It was pleasing to note that Wiltshire Police had been rated as good at preventing crime and managing offenders in the 2024 inspection.

·       It was important to identify areas in which Wiltshire Police had done really well. The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) had attended the first graduation ceremony of the We Rise Programme in September, a leadership programme aimed at investing in underrepresented groups within Wiltshire Police. Many of the new graduates were able to share their experiences at the event.

·       Although the innovative practice implemented since 2021 had been praised, and Wiltshire Police was found to have improved in all areas, the PCC believed that there was still much work to do.

·       The 2024 HMICFRS inspection identified that further action was required in a number of areas, most of which related to data quality and the timeliness of the recording of crime in line with Home Office requirements.

·       Other areas identified for improvement included, giving more confidence to officers in using stop and search powers, speeding up response times to calls and improving the oversight of investigations.

·       The OPCC and Chief Constable Catherine Roper accepted the findings of the HMICFRS PEEL report. They were pleased that the fundamental elements of policing, such as direction and leadership, had improved since 2021 but were keen to achieve greater consistency of delivery.

·       All of the findings from the 2024 inspection would be incorporated into governance and monitoring processes by Wiltshire Police and the OPCC.

·       HMICFRS welcomed the transparency from Wiltshire Police about the areas in which they needed to improve. The Chief Executive was pleased that HMICFRS had not found any areas in need of improvement that had not already been identified by Wiltshire Police, as he saw it as an indication of the improved leadership throughout the force.

·       There were still a number of long-term challenges, such as improving the use of data, the response times from the Crime and Communications Centre (CCC) and ensuring that victims were kept updated about the progress of their investigations. Continued improvement in culture and behaviour would be key to continue improvements throughout the force.

During  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

To receive the Highlight and Performance Report.

The Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), Naji Darwish, gave an update about the progress that had been made towards the goals in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC’s) Crime Plan between July and September 2024. He also reported about the work that was being carried out on the PCC’s emerging Crime Plan for 2024-2029 and provided information on the recent national prisoner release scheme. Points included:

·       The PCC had completed his first consultation about the emerging Crime Plan with stakeholders and would bring an update to the Panel’s November meeting.

·       The OPCC had produced its delivery plan for 2024/25 laying out how it was going to meet the objectives of the PCC’s Crime Plan.

·       Work was ongoing ahead of the launch of a new Youth Commission, in April 2025, to get the views of young people about how policing could be improved.

·       The OPCC was continuing to coordinate the Serious Violence Reduction Partnership, work on the Safety at Night Charter and focus on knife crime.

·       There was an emphasis on intelligence led policing to tackle rural crime and a number of significant arrests had recently taken place.

·       Swindon Borough Council were working alongside the OPCC on procurement for the Swindon Domestic Abuse Service.

·       There had been around 6,500 enforcement offences for road safety in Wiltshire so far in 2024. 

·       Multiple agencies were working together to deliver projects to improve community safety and to spend grant funding from central government effectively.

·       The (Horizon) Victim and Witness Care Hub was celebrating its tenth anniversary, so this represented a good opportunity to review whether it was still delivering services in the most effective way.

·       It was noted that early SDS40 National Prisoner Release Scheme, to release pressures on prison capacity, was being run though the Ministry of Justice. At a local level, Wiltshire Police were working closely with probation services and other agencies to ensure that those released had appropriate accommodation and were being monitored. It was not possible to disclose the numbers being released locally but they were not a significant number for the system to cope with. There had been positive feedback from partners and the Chief Executive felt that the challenge presented had been used to help strengthen normal release procedures.

·       It was highlighted that the availability of suitable accommodation for those released from prison was an ongoing national challenge for the Probation Service. However, the Probation Service worked closely with both local authorities in the police force area to provide the best available solution.

During the discussion, points included:

·       The Panel thanked the Chief Executive for his update.

·       In response to queries about whether the prisoner release scheme was expected to lead to an increase in reoffending and how it was being monitored in Wiltshire, the Chief Executive noted that there was a national reoffending performance measure. He explained that the national reporting mechanism had at least a year’s lag in recording time, so reassured that Panel that Wiltshire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

To provide comment and recommendations on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Annual Report.

The Chairman reminded the Panel that they were required by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to provide a report or recommendations on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC’s) Annual Report.

The Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), Naji Darwish, thanked his team for drafting the engaging and well-designed report. He confirmed that it contained all the required statutory information about performance against the targets in the PCC’s Crime Plan, before inviting comments from the Panel.

During the discussion, the Panel thanked the OPCC for producing the report. They noted that they would welcome a greater emphasis about the level of confidence and trust in the police. The Chief Executive explained that information about the level of engagement with the police, including how they had tried to make the police more visible in the community, was included on page 41 of the agenda pack, under the first priority of the PCC’s Crime Plan. However, he would try to make the information about public confidence clearer in the report. He also confirmed that the OPCC were planning to undertake a comprehensive public confidence survey ahead of developing their budget proposals for the forthcoming financial year. 

The Panel also asked whether it would be possible to include more detail in the report about the Estates Strategy, specifically about the options being considered for a new hub in the south of the county. The Chief Executive explained that the OPCC were constantly reviewing sites of the appropriate size and location for a southern hub that were available. He then gave further information about two sites that were under active consideration, one at Old Sarum, near Salisbury, and one at High Post, on an industrial park development site between Salisbury and Amesbury. Investigations about services and utilities were ongoing at the Old Sarum site. A planning application at High Post had been refused and consideration was being given to a future planning application. The Chief Executive emphasised that the OPCC had a rigorous duty of due diligence before purchasing a site and progressing the scheme. A comprehensive review of the available options would be presented to the PCC and Chief Constable in November.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Panel confirmed that they were happy for the two recommendations, to include more information about public trust and options being considered for a new southern policing hub, to be included in the report.

The Chairman challenged Wiltshire Police to add trust pilot reviews with QR codes on all their emails.  

To receive an update about efforts to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Representatives from Wiltshire Police, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council gave a presentation about the multi-agency work that was being undertaken to combat antisocial behaviour (ASB).

Jen Liabach, Strategic Lead for Community Safety and Youth at the OPCC, gave an overview of the responsibilities of different agencies in dealing with varying types of ASB. Points included:

·       ASB was categorised in three different ways, as personal, nuisance and environmental. 

·       Personal ASB, around 30 percent of all ASB reported to the police, was purposefully directed towards individuals.

·       Nuisance ASB, around 62 percent of ASB reported to the police, was not intentional, but a result of a lack of consideration to others. Common examples included noise pollution and inconsiderate driving.

·       Environmental ASB tended to be acts which had an impact on the appearance and wellbeing of a community, such as fly tipping, graffiti and littering. 

·       Although the agencies worked together closely, Wiltshire Police was normally the lead agency in dealing with Personal ASB, whereas efforts to tackle Nuisance and Environmental ASB were usually led by the two local authorities, or by housing providers.

Sam Knight, Strategic Community Safety Manager at Swindon Borough Council, then gave examples of how ASB could be reported and listed the powers available to different agencies under the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2014, such as civil injunctions, dispersal and closure powers.

Information about Public Space Protection Orders, one of the powers allowed by the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2014, was given by Sam Townley, Community Safety Officer at Wiltshire Council. The Community Safety Officer explained that a Public Space Protection Order had been implemented in areas of Salisbury to tackle street drinking and to outlaw the possession of a catapult, slingshot or similar item. There was also a Public Space Protection Order in Downton and Redlynch, with further orders planned for Wiltshire Council’s authority area. A recent consultation about implementing a Public Space Protection Order in Devizes had received 824 responses, with 90 percent in favour. In addition, conversations were being held about consulting on similar schemes in Chippenham and Trowbridge.

The Strategic Lead for Community Safety and Youth at the OPCC, provided detail about the governance structures in place to ensure best practice. She emphasised the importance of ensuring that local policies aligned with regional and national objectives, as well as the need to avoid overlap, or duplication, between agencies. She reported that a Community Safety Partnership review had been undertaken and a Community Safety and ASB Transformation Lead had been appointed to ensure that practice was aligned between different agencies.

Examples of multiagency work were then provided by the Community Safety Officer at Wiltshire Council, who chaired two ASB Risk Assessment Conferences (ASBRACs). These groups contained representatives from partner agencies to review the progress towards resolving underlying issues and consider the victim’s best interests. It was also possible for victims to request case reviews so that agencies worked together to develop an action plan. There was a focus  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

To note the forward work plan.

The Chairman reminded the Panel that Chief Constable Catherine Roper would be attending their next meeting. They would also be reviewing the Police and Crime Commissioner’s emerging Crime Plan and receiving a presentation about reducing reoffending.  

To receive an update on how the Police and Crime Panel can improve its communications with the wider public.

The Chairman gave a breakdown of the viewing figures of their recent meetings and was pleased to report that there had been a general upward trend in the number of views. He caveated the lower viewing figures in February 2024 by reminding the Panel that the meeting was recorded using and experimental camera and was not broadcast live. The Panel’s last meeting, held in Salisbury, was not broadcast. The latest viewing figures were:

·       14 December 2023 – 75 views

·       18 January 2024 – 89 views

·       8 February 2024 – 21 views

·       7 March 2024 - 119 views

An opportunity for Members to raise any other matters, or questions for the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Panel asked for an update about their request to shadow police teams for a day. The Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Naji Darwish, reported that he had spoken to an area commander about the request on Tuesday and that the Panel would be emailed shortly.

The Chief Executive also suggested that members of the Panel might also like to be involved in Wiltshire Police’s scrutiny groups, as it would give them a valuable insight into some of the challenges that the police faced, such as when to use stop and search powers or PARVA spray.

Cllr Vijay Manro highlighted that car meets on private land could lead to extra costs for local authorities, as traffic issues impacted the wider road network.

To note the future meeting dates below:

·       Thursday 14 November 2024, 10:30am

·       Thursday 16 January 2025, 10:30am

·       Wednesday 5 February 2025, 10:30am

·       Wednesday 26 March 2025, 10:30am

The next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel will be on Thursday 14 November at 10:30am.

Future meeting dates were:

Thursday 16 January 2025, 10:30am – Kennet Room, County Hall

Wednesday 5 February 2025, 10:30am

Wednesday 26 March 2025, 10:30am

Thursday 26 June 2025, 10:30am

Thursday 11 September 2025, 10:30am

Tuesday 25 November 2025, 10:30am

Thursday 15 January 2026, 10:30am

Wednesday 4 February 2026, 10:30am

Thursday 12 March 2026, 10:30am