To receive an update from Chief Constable Catherine Roper.
Minutes:
Chief Constable Catherine Roper updated the Panel about the findings of recent inspections into the performance of Wiltshire Police. She was pleased to report that the latest Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) report from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) had found that Wiltshire Police had made progress in all, bar two, areas. An in-depth analysis had been undertaken to understand why progress had not been made in the two areas that had been static and HMICFRS had been assured that the foundations had been put in place to enable progress in these areas in future.
The way that Wiltshire Police had been implementing Operation Soteria, the government's programme to improve the investigation of sexual offences, had also been inspected. Although the formal report had yet to be published, the Chief Constable noted that the force had received positive feedback, including about how it was tackling stalking. Furthermore, Wiltshire Police had undergone an inspection about how it was tackling serious and organised crime. The results of the inspection were expected to be published in the new year.
The Chief Constable explained that Wiltshire Police were keen to embed the progress that had been made. The force was due to hold a strategic summit the following week to review their three-year plan and financial position.
Members of the Panel praised an increase in the visibility of neighbourhood policing teams. The Chief Constable welcomed the feedback from the Panel and explained that she had reversed a change, introduced in 2014, that had merged neighbourhood and response teams. The new model was bearing fruit and empowered neighbourhood teams to carry out more proactive community policing.
The Panel noted that they would welcome further information about the powers that Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) had to tackle issues such as cycling on pavements.
In reply to concerns raised about the restructure of Wiltshire Police’s response teams, specifically, that the reallocation of officers from Warminster to Trowbridge was impacting response times in Mere, the Chief Constable explained that the aim of the new process was to create greater resilience. She highlighted that Wiltshire Police had its highest number of police officers in a decade, so had a relatively high proportion of new recruits. The response teams operated a spoke and hub approach where officers would gather and then cars would disperse throughout their areas of responsibility. The Chief Constable was optimistic that, as the level of experience grew within the force, the spoke and hub model could be relaxed so that the officers did not have to gather as frequently. She provided assurances that the model would be closely monitored and refined so that they could provide the best level of service. As it had been reported that a large number of vehicles from other police forces had attended an incident in Mere, she also noted that Wiltshire Police worked closely with neighbouring forces to ensure that cars could respond as quickly as possible in border areas.
The Panel stated that they would welcome greater continuity in staffing within neighbourhood police teams to ensure that local knowledge was retained. The Chief Constable agreed that continuity was important and stated that this was a focus of the force.
In response to a query about whether there was a target date for Wiltshire Police to be rated as outstanding, the Chief Constable explained that they had a focus on continual progress and that HMICFRS inspected Wiltshire Police every two years.
When asked about why only 70 percent of 999 calls were answered within the target of 10 seconds, the Chief Constable observed that the figures in the PEEL report dated from March, when Wiltshire was the worst performing of the 43 forces in England and Wales, when measured against that metric. However, she explained that Wiltshire had made significant recent progress, becoming the thirty third best performing force in September and rising to become the seventeenth best performing at the time of the meeting. She argued that the progress made evidenced a fundamental change in the way that the force was operating.
When asked about how the Chief Constable was ensuring that all staff bought into her vision to reform the service, the Chief Constable emphasised the importance of collaborative and reflective working. She acknowledged that people often found change hard but stated that officers were determined to provide a good service and were committed to continuing to improve. She highlighted the large number of volunteer special constables in Wiltshire as an example of the goodwill and passion for policing in the county. She also noted that over 100 Guides had completed the Girl Guide Policing Challenge and that a similar scheme was being replicated with the Scouts.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Saunders also took the opportunity to praise the work done by special constables in areas ranging from harm reduction to drone usage.