Agenda item

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

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

·         £341,363.39 emergency COVID money had been received from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)  to support victims of sexual abuse and violence and domestic abuse

·         £550,000  had been secured from the MoJ Safer Streets fund, which was launched as part of a commitment to invest into towns and cities and ensure they were as safe as possible for residents.  The area of Brookside, in Telford, was put forward after suffering from burglary and thefts for a number of years

·         As mentioned in the previous discussion, the PCC had allocated £280,000 to the Safer Roads fund for initiatives which aimed to improve road safety.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the PCC established a Coronavirus response fund.  In total £47,279.94 of the £50,000 earmarked was given out to community groups, charities and organisations allowing groups at the heart of the pandemic to purchase essential items such as face masks, gloves and hand sanitiser, as well as printing supplies and envelopes, enabling the most vulnerable and at risk to be supported throughout.

The PCC’s Chief Executive explained that the Home Office had reformed the way reviews of police complaints were dealt with. From February this year, PCCs had taken on extra responsibilities for reviewing how complaints were dealt with where the complainant was not happy with the outcome if a case had been investigated by West Mercia Police’s Professional Standards Department.  This had resulted in a large number of people contacting the PCC’s office seeking a review of often very complex and challenging cases.  An independent and qualified external body had been appointed to assess reviews on the PCCs behalf, although the final decision on the outcome remained with the PCC.

During the discussion, the following main points were discussed:

·         In March, HMICFRS advised all PCC’s and Chief Constables that the inspectorate would be suspending its inspection programme in response to Coronavirus. This was followed by a further update in July that the HMICFRS inspection programme would commence in October, with a focus on the COVID-19 response and the force had been informed that it would be one of the forces inspected at part of this.

·         In response to a  question about whether the PCC was minded to submit another business case for fire governance at the appropriate time, the PCC advised that he still believed that it was the right thing to do but was awaiting the outcome of the White Paper before making further decisions

·         The PCC was commended on the Scheme whereby he had donated eight bicycles to a Worcestershire based educational centre that aimed to develop positive attitude and skills, for future employment, in young people. It was agreed that further details of the Scheme would be sent to the Panel for information

·         It was noted that the performance information relating to Safer Roads stated that of the 56 KSI casualties in Q1 20/21, 19 were pedal cyclists and 14 motorcyclists. Further information around the context of the 19 pedal cycle casualties and comparative information for the previous year was requested

·         Previously, the types of issues the Safer Roads Fund was used metal police officers and village gates

·         A Member expressed concern about the effect that the Coronavirus pandemic was having on the wider criminal justice system and on the resources of the Force.  No trials were heard in any of the Crown Courts across West Mercia between March and July and there remained a significant backlog in cases at both the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts.  Given the capacity constraint of the Courts and the number of cases backing up, West Mercia Police Witness Care Units were now supporting over 21,000 victims and witnesses, an increase of 36% since March 2020, which had placed additional demands against police resources

·         In response to the question as to the reason why drug offences and Cybercrime were rated red (above the upper control limit), the PCC advised that crime was more visible during the COVID pandemic but it was difficult to say whether the crimes were really increasing until there was a return to normality.  The PCC would continue to hold the Chief Constable to account to ensure that the right level of support and resources were in place

·         It was confirmed that the metal policemen were used on a rotational basis in liaison with school management teams to tackle parking ad speeding issues in the vicinity of school premises

·         Reference was made to the Augustthematic holding to account session on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion  and one of the key findings that sexual harassment was expressed as an area of concern; the Force was working with the women’s network to assess the extent of sexual harassment.  The PCC confirmed that that he was confident that the appropriate processes were in place but an area of focus would be around having the confidence to report

·         The PCC advised that he was not assured in respect of Outcome 16 (Victim does not support action) and was concerned that victims could be let down. This would continue to be a focus of the holding to account sessions with Chief Constable.

The Panel’s attention was drawn to the new format of the Report and Members were invited to send comments to the Chairman which could then be forwarded to the PCC for consideration.