Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

To receive any apologies from members of the Panel.

Apologies were received from Warwickshire County Councillor Bhagwant Singh Pandher and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Councillor, Tim Jenkins.

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 were none.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on 21 November and 16 December 2024.

The minutes of the meetings held on 21 November and 16 December 2024 were agreed with a minor amendment to Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Emma Daniell’s job title.

The Chair advised that a request had been received from Mr Cunningham for questions to be read out in his absence.  Following consideration, it had been decided that the questions related to operational policing and were, therefore, not appropriate for the Commissioner to respond to.

Mr Cunningham had been advised of the decision and signposted to the correct route for raising these queries.

To review and make any recommendations to the Police and Crime Commissioner regarding his proposed Police and Crime Plan.

The Commissioner introduced the report which outlined the draft Warwickshire Police and Crime Plan for 2025/26.  He explained that the Plan outlined the objectives for Warwickshire and provided a guide for the Chief Constable as to how residents felt the County should be policed.  It also laid out how these objectives would be reported on and how the Force’s progress would be measured.

The Commissioner reminded the Panel of the level of consultation carried out along with the use of independent consultants, TONIC.  Communications had covered a wide geographical base along with a varied age range, which officers felt was a good representation of Warwickshire residents.

The Planning and Performance Working Group had considered an initial draft of the Plan at their meeting in September 2024.  The Commissioner advised that this version included an enhanced focus on crime prevention and the Chief Constable’s support for the plan.

The Chair thanked the Commissioner for his introduction and opened the floor to questions from the Panel.

Councillor Fradgley referred to the grid of statistics on page 27 of the pack and asked if figures could be added to enable the public to draw a comparison on performance compared to last year.  It was agreed that these could be provided to the Panel and would be a useful discussion area for the Planning and Performance Working Group, however, the grid had been included as a snapshot of a typical day in the Force.  The Panel noted that this grid would evolve into an infographic description in the final version.

Councillor Dave Humphreys queried the statistics relating to 101 calls as he felt there were still improvements that could be made.  He asked for clarification on the figures relating to the reporting of crimes via the internet.  In response, the Commissioner explained how the triage system offered the option of completing an online form. The Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (DPCC), Emma Daniell, referred to the broadening range of options available to people contacting the Force, including the digital services online desk and new policing initiatives underneath ‘Operation Invicto’ which offered more ways to access virtual contact with officers if that was required.

Further discussions took place relating to 101 call response times along with clarification on when the timings for answering calls were taken from, e.g. as the call is answered, or once it had been triaged to another area.  The Commissioner advised on historical and current call answering times and reiterated the importance of dialling 999 in any emergency issue, as the aim of the 101 service was to report ongoing issues.  The DPCC gave an update on ongoing and future works which would continue to interrogate the system to monitor effectiveness.

The Chief Executive, Polly Reed, reminded the Panel that the Chief Constable was willing to look into individual call handling experiences as a learning tool of case studies.

It was agreed that a breakdown on answering times and triage processes could be added to the next agenda for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

To receive and note the findings of the Independent Review into the Policing of the Warwickshire Hunt.

The report related to the Independent Review, commissioned by the Commissioner, in response to public and stakeholder concerns regarding Warwickshire Police’s handling of road safety concerns surrounding the activities of the Warwickshire Hunt.  A copy of the reviewer’s report was attached at Appendix A.

The Commissioner introduced the report, referring to the review undertaken by David Peet, which had now completed and the findings published to the public.  He advised that the review had been undertaken in accordance with the Terms of Reference and had resulted in a number of learnings and recommendations for the Chief Constable, Warwickshire Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.  The Panel were advised that the Chief Constable had accepted the recommendations, some of which were already in place but it was highlighted there was more to do.

The Commissioner reiterated that the reviewer had been not been under any restrictions in relation to timings or participants of the review and had been provided with access to all documentation requested.  Mr Peet had spoken to a number of parties including those who had previously addressed Members at Police and Crime Panel meetings.  In conclusion, he felt that the review had been thorough, independent and well researched and would result in improving road safety matters around trail and drag hunting.

Councillor Gist referred to paragraph 2.7 on page 105 of the pack, which made reference to “…this relatively minor issue….”.  She felt strongly that when residents were directly affected by anti-social behaviour, it was not fair to describe it as minor.  The Commissioner agreed that this was an important issue, whilst acknowledging the competing demands the Police had to manage. 

The Chair asked for clarification on how the recommendations would be acted upon, noting that eleven of them applied to the Force and eight applied to the OPCC.  The Commissioner advised that the Chief Constable and he would be implementing the recommendations themselves and suggested that the Panel may consider monitoring progress.  It was noted that a lot of the proposals had already been actioned or were in progress.  Polly Reed advised that the recommendations had been converted into an action plan, with all ACC’s having input as to the activity to be taken forwards.  In addition, the work would feature on the holding to account schedule and would continue to be monitored.

Councillor Sinnott welcomed the ability to keep track of the recommendations and to be able to see tangible improvements.  He recognised that this was a serious issue and hoped feedback on the recommendations would be welcomed.

Councillor Edwards queried the language used, which she felt could have been stronger.  She also asked for clarification on Recommendation C which proposed that “The Force consider reviewing and updating its published list of Business Interests”. 

Polly Reed explained that with regard to the language used, the reviewer was not in a position to compel the force, only advise.  It was then the Commissioner’s choice to state their expectations and hold the Force to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To consider and review the Panel’s Work Programme.

It was agreed that the following items be added to the work programme:

1)    an annual review of the Police and Crime Plan;

2)    an update on the Independent Review recommendations for continued monitoring, first report planned for June 2025.

Councillor Jenny Fradgley requested an update on the progress of policing 20mph speed limits.  The Commissioner advised that he was still waiting for an answer from the Speed Watch Team and would update the Panel as soon as possible.

To note the arrangements for future meetings scheduled at Shire Hall, Warwick:

Monday 3 February 2025 – 2pm

(Reserve date – Wednesday 19 February 2025 – 2pm)

Thursday 13 March 2025

The dates of future meetings were noted and the Panel would be contacted with potential dates for Planning and Performance Working Groups in March and June 2025.

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

There were 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 Schedule 12A of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972’.

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

The Chief Executive advised that there were no complaints to update the Panel on.