Agenda and minutes

The Members had before them:

A.    The agenda papers (previously circulated)

B.    A copy of the presentation slides for Item 12 (circulated at the meeting)

C.   A copy of the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner's Community Engagement Strategy 2014-16 (circulated at the meeting)

D.   The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Panel

A copy of documents A - C will be attached to the signed minutes.

Cllr Middlebrough welcomed everyone to the meeting, in particular the new members of the Panel.  Agenda Item 6 would be taken before Item 4.

Cllr Hilda Rhodes for Cllr Rae Evans and Cllr Anne Hingley for Cllr Sally Chambers.

Apologies had been received from Cllr Keith Roberts (Shropshire) and Cllr Pauline Dee (Shropshire).

Colonel Ward declared an interest as a member of the Trust, Integrity and Ethics Committee, Mrs Barker declared an interest as a trustee of Youth Support Services (YSS) and Cllr Grove declared an interest as a retired police officer in receipt of a pension.

The Panel to co-opt 5 elected members nominated by their authorities.

The following elected members were unanimously co-opted on to the Panel: Cllr Michael Wood, Cllr Charlotte Barnes, Cllr Pauline Dee, Cllr Sebastian Bowen and Cllr Rae Evans.

Cllr Middlebrough was standing down following his term of office as Chairman.  Cllr Brian Wilcox was proposed and seconded as Chairman.  There were no other nominees. 

Cllr Brian Wilcox was duly elected Chairman of the Panel until July 2018 and took the chair.

There was now a vacancy for Vice-Chairman.  Cllr Tony Miller was proposed and seconded as Vice-Chairman. There were no other nominees.

Cllr Miller was appointed as Vice-Chairman until July 2018.

Members of the public wishing to take part (asking a question or making a statement) should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services 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 Monday, 20 July 2015).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number / email address listed below.

None.

To confirm the Minutes of the Panel meeting held on 2 February 2015.

Cllr Smith noted that she had given apologies to the last meeting which were not recorded.  With this change, the minutes of the Panel meeting held on 2 February 2015 were agreed as a true record.

To review the report and to make any recommendations to the Police and Crime Commissioner for consideration. 

The draft Annual Report for 2014/15 was presented for the Panel’s consideration. 

In accordance with the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, the Panel was required to review the Report and to make any recommendations to the Police and Crime Commissioner for consideration.  The Report provided a high-level overview of the PCC’s work over the last financial year and had been produced to be accessible and meaningful to a number of different audiences.

The Commissioner, in presenting the Annual Report, highlighted the following points to the Panel:

·         A constructive working relationship had developed between the Panel and the Commissioner and his office.  This open and honest relationship would enable progress to be made and helped the Commissioner carry out his role.  The Commissioner was proud of all the relationships that had been built up since his election and emphasised that his aim was to improve things for residents.

·         The Report demonstrated the scale of what had already been addressed to make West Mercia a safer place to live, although there was still more to be done; there were a number of new initiatives and commissioning would become increasingly important.

·         He noted the problems faced by the Prison Service.  Rehabilitation of offenders was costing £13bn p.a. nationally, almost 100% of under 18 year olds re-offended and there was a spiral of offending.  He had therefore built up relationships with the Prison Service, for example enabling the Mayor of Whitchurch to visit the prison.  He had also developed Inside Products – a company which sold products made within prison to bring in income for the prisons.  West Mercia was ahead of other areas with a lot going on.

·         The key was to prevent crime in the first place, to reduce the demand for police and justice services; he was therefore investing in prevention.

In the ensuing discussion the following main points were made:

·         There was concern about the rise in sexual offences, with a 75% increase in reported rapes.  There were three elements to this: a large percentage were historical crimes that were only now being reported due to the publicity created by the Savile case; victims of recent crimes were also becoming more confident in coming forward to report the crime; and there was likely to have also been an increase in sexual offences.  In addition, crime data was being tidied up following HMIC's review of the integrity of crime-recording, whereby crimes were being recoded this year which had occurred last year.  Sexual offences remained the Force's major concern as there had been a dramatic and troubling rise; investment was being made in this area.  The definition of rape had changed – it now included rape in marriage and male rape, though this would only be having a small impact on the overall figures.  There had been societal changes and there was much more internet enabled crime.

·         In relation to complaints against police officers, the Panel asked how many of those complaints were substantiated and what was the cost of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

To consider a proposed variation to the Police and Crime Plan.

The Panel considered a proposed variation to the Police and Crime Plan for West Mercia, in accordance with the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

The report set out the proposal to vary the plan to reflect changes to the Strategic Policing Requirement which now includes child sexual abuse as an additional national threat; and provide a more up to date picture of activity and actions required against each objective, in part to reflect changing policing demands.

In the ensuing discussion the following main points were made:

·         In relation to reducing the number of casualties on the roads – members welcomed the review of governance of the Safer Roads Partnerships as there was a perception that they were speed focussed and not genuine partnerships.  It was suggested that highway engineering was a missing element in the functions of the partnerships and that the police should have a chance to participate in highways issues, working with the highways authorities.

·         Members asked about the reduction in the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), when there had been a pledge to increase the number.  The Commissioner explained that the Police had originally wanted to cut the number of PCSOs by 100 and he had managed to keep 49 of these, rather than the aim being to increase the number.  Recruitment was ongoing to maintain a minimum of 235 PCSOs; the 233 figure in the Plan was an unexplained blip.

·         Members asked for more information on the number of PACTs that were operational. This would be circulated.

To receive an update on progress in delivering the Police and Crime Plan for West Mercia 1 April 2013 – 31 March 2017. 

The Panel considered a report which provided an update on progress in delivering the Police and Crime Plan for West Mercia 1 April 2013 – 31 March 2017 which covered the time period 1 October - 31 January 2015.  The report set out progress on the objectives, an update on performance by exception and a brief outline of the PCC’s key activity.

In the discussion the following main points were raised:

·         Members asked whether any profits from the scheme for prisons to produce and sell goods would be invested to reduce re-offending or to refurbish housing for prisoners once they were released.  It was clarified that this scheme was in its early days, though the potential was tremendous, and the company would have a Board which would determine how any income was spent

·         The Panel asked for a breakdown of the outcomes from the 550,000 recorded crimes in 2014/15 that had an outcome.  The definition of "positive" outcome was set by the Home Office.

·         The Panel asked what progress was being made on tackling drug and substance misuse and whether there were good outcomes from treatment.  The Commissioner was very concerned about this area, it was clear that many with mental health problems also had substance misuse problems and limited treatment services were available.  There was also a substance misuse problem within prisons and it was a very difficult and dangerous situation, with increasing amounts of dangerous drugs available.  The Commissioner had invested £265,000 in the last twelve months in treatment services – match funding local authorities - and was trying to achieve similar outcomes to council and NHS partners.  The PCC was keen to work more closely with partners and potentially pool budgets to achieve these outcomes. It was noted that education also had a big role to play.   The PCC was investing in testing people coming in to police custody and referred them to treatment services as appropriate, but there was some concern about the outcomes from those services which Worcestershire County Council was looking in to.  Members felt that this area needed a higher profile and was possibly something for the Panel to consider at a future meeting. The Commissioner was concerned there were too many people with substance misuse problems.  In relation to 'legal highs' the Government was intending to introduce legislation, which would help the Police and give them more tools to tackle this problem.

·         It was confirmed that Warwickshire Police did not subscribe to the Central Motorway Patrol Group.  A review was underway of strategic roads policing, outcomes would be reported to the Commissioner in six weeks or so.

·         The Force was monitored on its contribution to the Strategic Policing Requirement and was well placed in this. 

The Commissioner's Head of Communications will provide an oral report on the Engagement Strategy

The Panel received a presentation from Gareth Boulton, the Commissioner's Head of Communications, on the Commissioner's Community Engagement Strategy 2014-16, which had recently been revised following consultation and set out the Commissioner's statutory duties in this area. 

The presentation gave an overview of how the Commissioner was meeting his vision for a new community spirit via the Police and Crime Plan objective to provide a strong and powerful voice for people and victims of crime and highlighted developments made in:

·         the organisational structure to support engagement

·         how achievement against the strategy was monitored and scrutinised

·         communication with residents via correspondence, social media and public events

The presentation focused on the role of the Commissioner's Community Ambassadors.  There were five Ambassadors spread geographically around the area, with support from a co-ordinator and a communications officer.   They acted as the eyes and ears of the Commissioner, both feeding back issues to the Commissioner and finding out how strategies were working on the ground and monitoring the effectiveness and results of the grants the Commissioner was providing.  This was especially important in West Mercia which was geographically the fourth largest police force area.  The Ambassadors were: Gwyneth Gill, who covered Herefordshire; Mike Layton, North Worcestershire; Graham Oliver, Shropshire; Richard Morris, South Worcestershire; and Sajid Younis, Telford and Wrekin.

There had recently been a Showcase event in Shrewsbury, involving 60 partner organisations and focusing on crime prevention.  The event had been well attended and feedback was positive. 

The aim of the Commissioner's publicity was to engage the community and show the police in a positive light, which was different to the publicity the police carried out.

The Panel was impressed by the organisation of the Showcase and complimented the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner on the way they got out and about around the area.

·         20 October 2015

·         8 December 2015

·         2 February 2016

·         (16 February 2016 – to be used only if necessary)

The dates of future meetings were:

·         20 October 2015

·         8 December 2015

·         2 February 2016

·         (16 February 2016 – to be used only if necessary)

One member asked whether all meetings should be held in Worcester, but as the Panel had previously agreed to rotate around the area the Chairman proposed that this be discussed at a future meeting.  The next meeting would be in Shire Hall, Hereford.