Agenda item

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

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

·         A Member expressed concern about the increase in drug related offences and possession of weapons over the last few months and enquired whether this was a general trend or whether there were other reasons for the increase.  The PCC explained that some of the increase was due to increased police activity around county lines in addition to exposing the problem and it being more of a focus.  Going forward as more resources were put into the investigative teams, there would also be more investigative outcomes.

·         A question was asked about what the impact of the increased numbers of policing had been and it was suggested that better communication and feedback to communities would raise the confidence of the public in the Police.  The PCC acknowledged that the Force needed to be better at communication and he was holding the Chief Constable to account for this.

·         It was confirmed that the Home Secretary had engaged the independent experts from the policing sector to assist the Forces in in assessing and agreeing the costs of termination of the Strategic Alliance with Warwickshire and charging mechanisms for any ongoing collaborations. 

·         There were multiple entry routes for the recruitment of police officers including degree and degree level apprenticeships.

·         In response to a question about what a positive outcome would be for measuring the performance of West Mercia Police in complying with the best use of the Stop and Search Scheme, the Chief Constable advised that it would be finding something and detaining a perpetrator.

·         It was noted that theft of/from vehicles was reducing, but the PCC was concerned about the levels of reporting.

·         The long term trend for burglary was still up but was reducing year on year.

·         There were increased volumes of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), but numbers were low overall, the increases may be due to the various operations in progress.

·         It was noted that the Police Officer recruitment was going well but that 180 experienced officers were retiring.  The PCC was able reassure the Panel that he was confident in the skills mix of the Force to cope with the loss of the experienced officers.

·         Action Fraud - November 2019 was the 7th consecutive month that volumes had remained above the average and if this trend continued, the monthly average would increase.  The PCC suggested that this required a national response as Action Fraud was no longer fit for purpose.  He was lobbying government and working with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) on this.

·         Concern was expressed about the abandoned rate for 999 calls, which had increased for the quarter and the PCC was asked what measures were being taken to improve this.   The PCC advised that the performance had improved with 90% of call being answered in 10 seconds and was subject to weekly monitoring.

·         Shropshire were taking part in a NHSE Pilot in respect of mental health and if successful would be rolled out across West Mercia.

The Report was noted.