Agenda item

The PCC explained that the summary of the delivery plan was in the agenda. He was confident that the various methods of oversight would hold the police to account and would also assist the PCP in hold him to account.

During the ensuing discussion Panel members welcomed the report and the PCC's commitment to change. The following points were raised:

·         The PCC agreed that the gender balance of Special Constables did not yet reflect the balance of the population. However the situation was improving with regard to the black and ethnic minority and gender spread. There was now more flexibility for Special Constables regarding the number of hours they worked and their areas of work; this was leading to people wanting to work for more hours and staying in the position for longer

·         When asked about the personnel who would be dealing with cyber-crime, the PCC responded it was for the Chief Constable to decide how to deal with the operational issue, while it was his role to hold the Chief Constable to account to ensure it was dealt with

·         When asked for his plan on how to reach his recruitment aspiration the PCC responded that there were no targets and the numbers of officers were not increasing. There was an annual turnover of around 120 and strategies were in place to achieve diversity among officers and staff

·         The number of speedwatch kits distributed to communities had doubled and the PCC worked with highways colleagues; who could provide engineering solutions; to change motorists' behaviour rather than just catching those who speed.  It would be possible for communities to have permanent speedwatch signs if it was felt that these were effective

·         Panel members were worried about the large number of boards/meetings that were listed as part of the oversight mechanisms and wondered if rationalisation was needed. The PCC felt that at present the structure was necessary and some meetings were statutory. He conceded that in future if he judged certain meetings to be unnecessary then changes would be made

·         The performance framework was still being finalised and more information would be available in the Spring

·         Following a query about young drivers being able to drive at Throckmorton the PCC explained that individuals paid £170 for the course but the courses were underwritten by the PCC

·         The new equipment being brought in to aid the police, such as body cameras, had all been tested and proven in other forces, so West Mercia was catching up with technology rather than introducing bespoke solutions 

·         It was clarified that Neighbourhood watch was a national project which West Mercia supported. Stourport Neighbourhood Watch was praised by a panel member for having a thriving on-line presence. The Community messaging system was mentioned as being useful in some areas but patchy in others. The PCC replied that the messaging system would be monitored

·         In the Wyre Forest area the local Councillor was impressed with the neighbourhood policing as a police representative attended Parish Council meetings and spoke about Smart-Water. The PCC confirmed that he believed in prevention and could provide some resources for the Smart-Water scheme  but he needed communities themselves to contribute to and support the scheme

·         The funding of community safety partnerships would be reviewed and more details would be available in the Spring,

·         There was an action plan to deal with the backlog in gun licences and the PCC was receiving monthly updates of the progress,

·         In response to a query regarding policing in different areas, the PCC replied that it was the nature of having many communities within one force area that there would be differences in the way local policing was managed. The Command Teams along with the PCC and Chief Constable ensured that any variances were questioned. However recording of crime was now more accurate and was showing a steady rise,

·         The Chief Constable was disappointed that one of the Councillors in Shropshire was getting no communication from the police. He reassured the Panel that this would be sorted by the new Superintendent in the area

·         The PCC assured the Panel that it was his responsibility to ensure that the right resources were available to meet the changing challenges of policing such as cyber-crime and sex offences. Multi agency safeguarding hubs (MASH) were part of the strategy for dealing with such crimes,

·         Cyber-crime was not always recorded as a separate category – for example the crime may be recorded as 'theft' but with a cyber-crime element,

·         The PCC promised to provide the number of outstanding complaints.