Agenda item

The Panel was invited to consider the Police and Crime Plan Activity and Performance Monitoring Report for April-June 2019.

The PCC highlighted:

·         Criminal Justice Performance - for June 2019, the number of cases discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stood at 9.6%, the 29th best performance in the country. Although the biggest factor accounting for discontinuance was a victim failing to attend/refusing to give evidence, West Mercia still had one of the highest success rates (89%) of victim and witnesses attending court

·         Digital roll out for Special Constables –The PCC had invested £250,000 in smart phones and body worn video for the 300 or so Special Constables in West Mercia

·         Strategic Alliance update – Negotiations with Warwickshire regarding future arrangements were continuing. A variety of offers of collaboration had been made to Warwickshire, responding to their concerns and requests.  Warwickshire had decided that long term they wished to stand alone but had stated that they needed West Mercia’s assistance to move to that state.  Negotiations were therefore centring on fixed-term collaborations on functions that required longer for Warwickshire to transition to a stand-alone position, thereby reducing West Mercia’s cost contribution.  All other functions would be separated out from 9 October. West Mercia would be in a position to stand alone from 9 October in every area.  There were benefits to West Mercia to collaborate in relation to some functions for longer, for example IT.  However, there were also potential disadvantages, particularly the potential for confused governance, inability to reform and disproportionate financial contributions that caused West Mercia to serve notice in relation to the current arrangements.  These risks were being addressed through the negotiations.

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

·         In response to a question about the success of Operation Snap (a facility for the public to submit digital footage showing potential traffic offences).  The ACC advised that it was successful but that he would provide the Panel with KPI’s

·         It was confirmed that there would be some vacancies for Special Constables, but the recent focus had been of filling Police Officer vacancies

·         Modern day slavery – The PCC confirmed that this was a regional priority and an area that the CC was held to account for, in addition to awareness raising

·         It was questioned why confidence in Telford and Wrekin had noticeably reduced.  The PCC advised that that sometimes confidence was affected by external forces but overall, he expected to see a steady improvement

·         It was noted that for the 8^th consecutive month, Herefordshire’s child at risk performance volumes were above the monthly average. The monthly average had increased from 173 to 211 offences per month.  The PCC agreed to look into the reasons for this increase and report back to the Panel.

It was agreed that:

·         The Panel would be provided with performance information in respect of Operation Snap

·         The PCC would look at the reasons why for the 8th consecutive month, Herefordshire’s child at risk performance volumes were above the monthly average.