Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Meeting and explained that it was being held online to comply with regulations issued for the coronavirus pandemic which enabled Panel meetings to take place, visible to the public, whilst they could not take place at a specific place such as County Hall.

Councillor Julian Grubb was substitute for Councillor Nyear Nazir (Redditch).

Apologies were received from Cllrs Durkin and Nazir and also from Mrs Clive (Co-opted Independent Lay Member).

Declarations of interest were made by:

·       Cllr Mackay as he was a retired Police Officer in receipt of a Police Pension (not West Mercia Police); and

·       Cllr Julian Grubb as he was a retired Police Officer in receipt of a Police Pension (not West Mercia Police).

Members of the public wishing to take part (asking a question or making a statement) should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by email indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 26 November 2020).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number / email address listed below.

None.

To confirm the Minutes of the Panel meeting held on 21 September 2020.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2020 were agreed as a correct record and would be signed by the Chairman.

The Panel was provided with overview of the impact COVID-19 on policing in West Mercia.  The report set out how West Mercia Police had responded to the pandemic and used its resources to address the demands it had faced including strategic planning, partnership working, the impact of COVID-19 on the nature and scale of crime and incidents and the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC’s) governance and oversight of the Force response.

During the introduction to the Report, the PCC highlighted that:

·           COVID was the second major incident of the year, flooding being the first

·           to fulfil its duties in light of the pandemic, West Mercia Police had adopted a gold, silver and bronze command response

·           overall, although not perfect the PCC was pleased with the how the COVID situation had been handled and how the community had been supported by the Police. The PCC thanked all staff for their hard work and dedication during the pandemic

·           some of the costs around COVID were yet to be quantified and some funding had been provided by Government

·           he was continuing to hold the Chef Constable to account (as appropriate).

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

·           A Member reported that the new format of the Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) Reports provided to Parish Councils were not detailing the Parish areas.  Parish Council’s had reported that it was helpful if the relevant parishes were detailed in the report. The PCC agreed to look into the matter and report back.

·           In response to a question about how employees’ mental health was being supported, the Chief Constable advised that the health and well-being of staff was at the forefront of the organisational leadership. Initially, at the start of COVID staff were anxious about the sufficiency of personal protective equipment (PPE), but this had now lessened as supplies became more readily available.  It had been noted that during the first wave of COVID, staff attendance was higher and they had felt that there was a greater appreciation of the of role of the Police and generally felt more valued.

·         The PCC’s November holding to account session with the Chief Constable had taken place on 25 November and notes from this were available from the PCC’s website.  Public involvement and engagement in this process was more difficult but moving forward, the PCC was planning a more interactive approach to engagement, which would hopefully achieve a stronger public voice.

·           It was noted that £466,243 had been received from Government to support more visible policing in West Mercia around coronavirus.  Approximately £300k of this was supporting overtime allocations for staff and the remaining funding was being put toward messaging communities and the demand coming into the organisation to ensure that the COVID response wasn’t overwhelming the emergency response. There were a number of pressures arising, which would need to be reviewed as part of the budget setting process.

·           The PCC confirmed that the recruitment of new Police Officers was going well and in addition, the recruitment of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 361.

The Panel considered the Police & Crime Plan Activity and Performance Monitoring Report (July – September 2020).

The PCC highlighted some examples of recent activity in support of the Safer West Mercia Plan’s four key objectives:

·         In 20/21 so far, the PCC had been successful in securing over £1.5m of additional funding from a variety of sources to support victims of domestic abuse and reduce criminality in West Mercia.  Over £0.5m was given earlier in the year to support services that worked with victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.  The remainder of the fund was recently awarded to Brookside, Telford, to improve the lives of its residents and make sure the area was as safe as possible. This included funding a number of crime prevention measures and building up the community cohesion.  Funding had also been awarded for the DRIVE Programme in Herefordshire.

·         The PCC was disappointed about virtual remand hearings and had written to both the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Justice to voice his concerns about the current situation around court backlogs and the video remand hearings that had been introduced. He sought support for the system to be made better for victims and for it to not affect policing. 

·         The Courts Service had agreed to enable a live link between the Telford Court building and Kidderminster Magistrates Court so that remand hearings could be heard remotely. This removed the need for detainees to be transported from Shropshire to Kidderminster.  While this was only a temporary arrangement, it was a welcome development.

·         Preparations were underway for the withdrawal of the PCC from Place Partnership Limited for the delivery of property management services. This would take effect from 31 March 2021.

·         In October 2020, the PCC launched a public consultation seeking views on priorities. The survey had revealed that there was good support from the Public, their priorities were roughly in line with those of the PCC and that they would like to see a focus on some of the lower harm issues.

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

·         The bids received for the Safer Roads Grant were currently being assessed and following the allocations would be reviewed to see if any further funding would be made available

·         A number of members expressed concerns that speeding was a key issue for communities.  This issue was discussed at length and the points made included:

Ø  The suggestion that data led policing could assist with reducing speeding

Ø  The need for education campaigns to make speeding socially unacceptable in conjunction with speed enforcement in a similar way to the campaigns around drink driving

Ø  Lobbying of ministers to ensure a national focus

Ø  The need for Councils to consider road safety implications when approving planning applications.

·         The PCC explained that he held the Force to account for appropriate use of resources and was assured that there was an appropriate focus on speeding.  It was however a responsibility of all partners not just the Police.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 362.

The Panel considered the Work Programme, which was agreed subject to the following additions:

·       Victim Witnesses Strategy

·       Annual Report of PCC (before the May elections)

·       The contribution of the Police in planning applications in respect of road safety

·       Panel to visit the Operation and Communication Centre.

The Chairman also agreed to discuss the format of the Police & Crime Plan Activity and Performance Monitoring Report with the PCC.