Hampshire County Council Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Panel (Statutory Joint Committee) Meeting

Apologies were received from:

• Councillor Martin Pepper (Gosport Borough Council)
• Councillor Karen Lucioni (Isle of Wight Council)
• Councillor Tony Jones (Additional Local Authority Co-opted Member)

Cllr Ian Ward was in attendance as Deputy for the Isle of Wight Council.

Members were able to disclose to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest they may have in any matter on the agenda for the meeting, where that interest is not already entered in their appointing authority’s register of interests, and any other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in any such matter that Members may wish to disclose.

Shirley Young declared an interest in the item regarding recruitment of Independent Co-opted Members as a current Independent Co-opted Member.

The Minutes from the 21 July 2023 meeting were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

No questions or deputations were received by the Panel on this occasion.

The Chairman thanked the Chief Constable for attending the meeting in relation to item 7 regarding the Police and Crime Plan performance and effective and efficient policing update.

The Chairman reported that one of the Independent Co-opted Members on the Panel, Dave Stewart, tendered his resignation from the position in August. An item had been included on the agenda to initiate the process to seek a replacement. On behalf of the Panel the Chairman recorded thanks to Dave Stewart for his contribution to the work of the Panel over the years.

It was noted that a training session for Panel Members had been held on 16 October, aimed in particular as an induction for new Members who joined the Panel in July. The Chairman thanked the Police and Crime Commissioner and her Office for supporting the event and briefing Members. Members that attended found the session beneficial and the presentation slides had been circulated to all Panel Members for their information. It was highlighted that an item on the agenda at the meeting proposed a continuation of a briefing programme for the whole Panel, to cover a wider range of relevant topics across the year.

The Chairman invited announcements from the Commissioner, who gave an overview of activity undertaken by her and her office during the previous quarter (it was noted that a written form of the announcements had been circulated to Panel members) Highlights included:

·         Approval of funding by the Commissioner for the roll out of Drug Testing on Arrest

·         The success of the Safer Streets Round 4 Projects in Southampton and the Isle of Wight, using funding secured by the Commissioners Office to support collaboration on community safety initiatives

·         The launch of the police estate plan to open 10 more police stations to the public over the next 18 months, of which the first in Cowes was due to open by the end of 2023

·         Committing funding for an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor service to provide victim support from 1 October 2023 to 31 March 2029

·         Ensuring faith leaders and other community leaders were aware of the support available following the conflict in the Middle East

·         The PCC hosted a Cybersecurity and Fraud Summit with business leaders in partnership with the Constabulary, the National Crime Agency and the South East Cyber Resilience Unit in October

The Commissioner also referenced activity she had undertaken in her role as Chairman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.

The Chairman welcomed the Chief Constable Scott Chilton to provide an update alongside the Police and Crime Commissioner, combining Effective and Efficient Policing and an update on Police and Crime Plan Performance (see Item 7 in the Minute Book).

In response to questions, the Panel heard:

·         A national response had been initiated to the local affects of the conflict in the Middle East. This included engagement with local faith leaders and an accelerated response to reports of hate crimes. It was noted that good partnership working with Local Authorities in the area supported this work.

·         The topic focus for the performance update at this meeting was the target to improve police visibility and the target to make reporting through 101 easier.

·         It was noted that the Panel Chairman had written to the Commissioner to request that the update cover certain information linked to the pledges made in the Commissioners Police and Crime Plan. These questions were referenced in the presentation slides provided.

·         It was reported that a new Victim Update Portal would be going live soon which would enable improved updates to victims about the progress of reported crimes and include the capability for two way messaging.

·         85% of what had been set out in the Plan had been achieved and it was aimed that delivery would be complete by the end of the Commissioners term of office

·         The new operational policing model represented the biggest organisational change in twenty years.

·         The Deputy Chief Constable had been tasked with tackling the contact issues in 101.

·         It was highlighted that of the 58,000 contacts to the Police in September 2023, 40% were not issues suitable for a police response.

·         There had been recruitment challenges at the contact centre in the past. Vacancies had reduced from 85 to 40 and consideration was being given to how to retain staff once recruited.

·         It was now possible to get advice from an officer via a video call without a police car needing to attend, which was more efficient.

·         The Panel Chairman requested that performance of the 101 service continue to be monitored closely and a further update be provided to the Panel at a future meeting.

·         Panel Members commented that they were aware businesses were not always reporting shoplifting to 101 as they had lost confidence in the service.

·         It was noted that there had been an overall increase in call volumes to 101. The Commissioner suggested this could in part be due to Local Authorities becoming less accessible to report issues to due to funding reductions.

·         It was discussed that while it was positive that 600 extra police had been recruited, expectations of the public should be managed as they would need to be accompanied by experienced officers for some time, so the impact on police capacity would take time to take effect.

·         Panel Members requested further information on ‘local bobbies’ and their ‘beats’ when it was available.

RESOLVED:

That the update on the delivery of effective and efficient policing for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and delivery of the Police and Crime Plan was noted.

Members received a draft copy of the Commissioners Annual report for 2023 (see Item 8 in the Minute Book). The Chairman invited the Commissioner to introduce the report, after which Members were invited to raise comments and recommendations in accordance with Section 28(4) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act.

In response to Members questions it was heard that:

·         The Commissioner had introduced a ‘surgery’ approach for constituents to bring issues to her attention that she could help resolve. The majority involved people unhappy with their experience of the police or criminal justice.

·         Regarding anti-social behaviour it was noted that levels had spiked during the covid pandemic and had since returned to ‘normal’ levels. It was acknowledged levels now had probably not reduced compared to pre-pandemic levels. This reflected a national trend.

·         The Commissioner had introduced a community grants process to support projects in the community aimed at crime prevention. The Panel noted the importance of this type of funding due to the pressures elsewhere in the public sector. The Commissioner offered to provide further information at a future training session.

·         Panel Members questioned how the success of funded projects was measured in terms of achieving the intended outcomes. It was responded that feedback was sought to ensure the funded events took place, and future grants would not be given if there was any concern about an organisations ability to deliver.

·         Panel Members were impressed with the report and felt it included good examples of what the Commissioner had achieved over the past year.

·         The Panel recommended that the section on looking to the future be brought forward to after the Foreword, to show that the Commissioner was looking forwards as well as back.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Panel received the draft Annual Report of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

·         That delegated authority be given to the Democratic Services Officer to the Panel, in consultation with the Chairman of the Panel, to submit a report to the Commissioner setting out the Panel’s review of and recommendations on the draft annual report, in line with Section 28(4) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act.

Members received a report from the Democratic Services Officer to the Panel outlining proposals to remove the Policy and Performance Working Group and Precept 2024/25 Task and Finish Group, which operate under the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Panel (PCP) to be replaced with a programme of training and briefing events for all Members of the Panel (see Item 9 in the Minute Book).

Members commented that opportunities for discussion outside of the Panel meetings that were held in public were to be welcomed. However, there was some concern that briefings for the whole Panel would not enable going in to the level of detail that had been possible in the Working Groups.

There was discussion of how best to enable good attendance including the opportunity to attend over Teams and the timing of the sessions.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Panel agrees to remove the Policy and Performance Working Group and the Precept 2024/25 Task and Finish Group.

·         That the Panel notes that a programme of training and briefing events, available to all Members of the Panel will be scheduled during 2023-24.

·         That delegated authority be given to the Democratic Services Officer, in consultation with the Chairman of the Panel, to submit a letter to the Commissioner in advance of each full meeting of the Panel outlining the information required from the Commissioner for the forthcoming meeting.

·         That the new approach be reviewed at the end of the municipal year to inform the approach for 2024/25.

The Panel received a report from the Democratic Services Officer regarding the Co-opted Member vacancy on the Panel (see Item 10 in the Minute Book). It was proposed to recruit to the second Independent Co-opted Member position at the same time, as that would need to be re-appointed to at the AGM in 2024 for the next term of office.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Panel agrees that, as a result of the resignation of one of the Panel’s two Independent Co-opted Members, a recruitment process be undertaken to appoint two Independent Co-opted Members, one from January 2024 and the other from the date of the Panel’s AGM in 2024, until the date of the Panel’s AGM in 2028.

·         That the Panel agrees to appoint a cross-party Recruitment Task and Finish Group, in accordance with the Terms of Reference set out in appendix one of this report.

·         That the Panel agrees the membership of the Recruitment Task and Finish Group as Councillor Woodward, Councillor Achwal and Councillor Renyard.

·         That nominations for appointment to the role of Independent Co-opted Member be recommended by the Recruitment Task and Finish Group to the meeting of the Panel in January 2024.

Members received a report from the Democratic Services Officer to the Panel regarding the legal support arrangements to the Panel (see Item 11 in the Minute Book).

RESOLVED:

·         That the Panel notes the review of legal support arrangements, which will be led by the Democratic Services Officer.

·         That the Panel appoints the Chairman, Councillor Woodward, as the representative of the Panel, who will support key stages of the procurement process as required.

·         That a report be brought back to the next meeting of the Panel confirming the outcome of the procurement process.

Members received a report from the Democratic Services Officer setting out the proposed work programme for the Panel (see Item 12 in the Minute Book).

Cllr Renyard requested consideration be given to seeking good practice from the Association for Police and Crime Panels. The Chairman agreed to consider this, most likely for the future training/briefing programme for the Panel.

RESOLVED:

That the work programme was agreed.