Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting. He emphasised the importance of the relationship between the Police and Crime Panel and Police and Crime Commissioner. He highlighted the benefits of collaboration and mutual support to achieve the best possible outcomes for Warwickshire.

To receive any apologies from members of the Panel.

Apologies were received from Councillor Bhagwant Singh Pandher; Councillor Sue Markham was present as a substitute.

Apologies were also received from Councillor Ian Davison, Councillor Clare Golby, Councillor John Holland, and Councillor Ray Jarvis.

Members are required to register their disclosable pecuniary interests within 28 days of their election of appointment to the Council. ?Any changes to matters registered or new matters that require to be registered must be notified to the Monitoring Officer as soon as practicable after they arise.

A member attending a meeting where a matter arises in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest must (unless ?they have a dispensation):

•        Declare the interest if ?they have not already registered it

•        Not participate in any discussion or vote

•        Leave the meeting room until the matter has been dealt with

•        Give written notice of any unregistered interest to the Monitoring Officer within 28 days of the meeting

Non-pecuniary interests relevant to the agenda should be declared at the commencement of the meeting.

The public reports referred to are available on the Warwickshire Web https://democracy.warwickshire.gov.uk/uuCoverPage.aspx?bcr=1

There was none.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2023.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2023 be confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

There were no matters arising.

There was none.

The Report is attached for consideration and comment by the Panel.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) presented his report which provided an update on key activities since the meeting of the Panel in November 2023. He drew members’ attention to coverage in the report of holding to account arrangements, financial considerations, procurement of commissioned services, and progress towards finalisation of awards for grants.

Andrew Davies highlighted the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Force’s Operations Communications Centre at Stuart Ross House. He praised the work that had gone into establishing a modern call-handling facility and the benefits this had brought to Warwickshire. He highlighted the findings of the Baroness Casey Review and recent media coverage of serious shortcomings within the Metropolitan Police Service. He sought the Commissioner’s reassurance that work was being undertaken to secure high standards of policing conduct in Warwickshire.

The Commissioner referred to commentary within the report relating to the Casey Review, stating that reports of misconduct, racism, sexism, and homophobia within the Metropolitan Police Service had damaged public confidence in policing nationally. There was a need to reinforce trust in policing, particularly for victims of crime. In Warwickshire, the Chief Constable had instigated a programme of re-vetting across the organisation. To date, no serious concerns had emerged. The Professional Standards Department was primed to respond to any cases, should they arise.

The Commissioner stated that as the national lead for vetting, the Chief Constable was well placed to respond to the issues currently affecting policing. He emphasised that vetting provided a snapshot of the individual at the time of checks being completed. Other activities would be undertaken across the Force to promote high standards of conduct including a reinforced whistleblowing policy and training on police ethics and integrity. He reported that the measures proposed by the Chief Constable to respond to national concerns relating to standards in policing had been scrutinised and found to be sufficiently robust.

The Commissioner advised that Warwickshire Police continued to conduct face-to-face interviews of new recruits which was not a practice followed by all police forces. This provided a better means to assess the character of applicants.

Polly Reed (Chief Executive, OPCC) advised that the Force had established a Group to lead ‘Operation Amethyst’ which would oversee measures to reinforce standards of conduct. She would attend meetings of the Group on behalf of the OPCC. Operation Amethyst would also focus on organisational culture and internal measures to promote whistleblowing. She added that, in tandem with re-vetting across the Force, OPCC staff had recently been re-vetted; there were no concerns.

In response to Andrew Davies, the Commissioner advised that it would be possible to provide an update to the Panel once the re-vetting process had been completed. However, it would not be possible to share specific information should cases arise which required his independent adjudication. Therefore, a general overview would be given, providing an assessment of confidence.  

In response to Councillor Humphreys, Polly Reed advised that vetting of officers was carried out independently by each police force. The Police National Database  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

An update from the Chair of the Planning and Performance Working Group following the Group’s meeting on 9 March 2023.

The Chair of the Planning and Performance Working Group, Andy Davis, provided an update of the Group’s meeting on 9 March 2023. He advised that consideration had been given to:

·       The Force’s Vehicle Crime Strategy, to address a recent increase in vehicle crime.

·       Integrated Offender Management processes, including intervention programmes and funding arrangements.

·       Prevention initiatives within the Empower Programme.

·       Arrangements for Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs), including where there was scope for learning across CSP activities. It had been agreed that the OPCC would coordinate a meeting to explore this subject in more detail following the borough and district council elections on 4 May 2023. 

Andy Davis advised that there had been a specific focus on holding to account arrangements, including how the Commissioner’s activities were informed by statistical analysis. There had also been discussion of the ‘spotlight subjects’ covered at monthly Governance and Performance Board meetings between the Commissioner and Chief Constable.

Polly Reed (Chief Executive, OPCC) advised that the spotlight subjects provided a means to undertake detailed scrutiny of topical issues. However, she provided assurance that emerging issues, such as vetting, were also covered alongside regular scrutiny of staffing, budget, and financial matters.

An update on work undertaken by the Planning and Performance Working Group to recommend an approach to scrutiny of interventions by the PCC to address domestic abuse and violence in Warwickshire.

Andy Davis reported that the Group had also examined approaches to scrutiny of the PCC’s holding to account of the Force for delivery of measures to address domestic abuse and domestic violence. He commented that the complexity of the subject area was such that it would be impracticable to undertake a comprehensive survey of all interventions to address domestic abuse and violence. Instead, the Group had resolved that attention should be focused on specific areas. This could be informed by a desktop analysis of data, taking account of the effect of repeat victimisation on statistics. There was also a need to recognise that, as a ‘hidden crime’, increased reporting of domestic abuse and violence could be interpreted as a measure of success, demonstrating that more victims felt confident to come forward. Discussion at the meeting had highlighted the PCC’s role as a partnership facilitator, working across a range of agencies and boards to address domestic abuse and violence. The recommendation from the Group was to adopt a focused approach which would add value, support the PCC, and lead to practical positive outcomes.

The Commissioner stated that scrutiny by the Panel would be welcomed. He highlighted the harms caused by domestic abuse and violence, and the importance of providing support to victims. He outlined some of the measures in place, including funding of victims’ services as well as a recently commissioned service with the Warwickshire-based charity, Safeline. He suggested that the Working Group consider meeting with some of the organisations that received PCC funding and offered the support of his Office to make the necessary arrangements.

The College of Policing has contacted the Police and Crime Panel to invite members to participate in its consultation on a revised Code of Ethics for policing in England and Wales. 

Panel members are encouraged to participate in the consultation either by utilising the link circulated by email or sending responses to the Panel’s Support Officer to be collated as part of a collective response.

The consultation closes on 28 April 2023.

The Chair advised that the College of Policing had contacted the Police and Crime Panel to invite members to participate in its consultation on a revised Code of Ethics for Policing in England and Wales. He encouraged members to participate in the consultation either by utilising the link circulated by email or by sending responses to the Panel’s Support Officer to enable a group response to be made.

To consider any issues flagged by Community Safety Partnerships, providing a means for community concerns that have high-level, strategic implications to be raised at Panel meetings.

No issues were raised by the CSPs.

Councillor Humphreys stated that there had been a noticeable increase in the number of Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) officers in North Warwickshire. He praised the recent progress made to disrupt county lines activities, stating that increased visible policing provided reassurance to residents.

To consider and review the Panel’s Work Programme.

The Panel noted the Work Programme.

To note the arrangements for future meetings. All Police and Crime Panel meetings start at 2pm, unless specified otherwise.

The following meetings are scheduled to be held at Shire Hall, Warwick:

·       22 June 2023

·       21 September 2023

·       16 November 2023

·       5 February 2024

·       4 April 2024

The Panel noted the dates of future meetings.

As the meeting due to be held on Thursday 16 November 2023 clashed with the date for a national conference, it was resolved to reschedule the meeting to 10am on Wednesday 22 November 2023.

As the meeting on due to be held on 4 April 2024 was likely to fall within the pre-election period for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in early May 2024, it was proposed to also reschedule this meeting. The Panel’s Support Officer would contact attendees to arrange a suitable earlier date for the meeting.

At the discretion of the Chair, items may be raised which are considered urgent (please notify Democratic Services in advance of the meeting).

There was none.

To consider passing the following resolution:

‘That members of the public be excluded from the meeting for the items mentioned below on the grounds that their presence would involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.’

Resolved:

That members of the public be excluded from the meeting for the items mentioned below on the grounds that their presence would involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

To consider any complaints received and considered regarding the conduct of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

It was confirmed that no complaints had been received since the last meeting.