Venue: Committee Room 2, Shire Hall. View directions
Contact: Amy Bridgewater-Carnall Senior Democratic Services Officer
No. | Item |
---|---|
General Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting |
|
Apologies To receive any apologies from members of the Panel. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Warwickshire County Councillor, Barbara Brown, Warwick District Councillor, Jim Sinnott and Polly Reed, Chief Executive OPCC. |
|
Disclosures of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests 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
Additional documents: Minutes: There were none. |
|
Minutes of the Previous Meetings To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on 20 June and 24 June 2024. Additional documents:
Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 20 June and 24 June 2024 were agreed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.
The Chair, Mr Andy Davis, referred to page 5 of the 20 June minutes which detailed the public speaker’s questions raised in relation to the Warwickshire Hunt. He asked the Commissioner if there was any update on the upcoming Independent Review. The Commissioner advised that an Independent Reviewer had been appointed and was currently reviewing the Terms of Reference. He provided some background on the reviewer’s previous employment history and experience undertaking similar reviews. In addition, the Commissioner advised that the individual had passed the police vetting process that day and it was hoped to start the review imminently. It was agreed that a copy of the Terms of Reference would be shared with the Panel Members.
The Chair welcomed the opportunity to view the Terms of Reference and extended the Panel’s offer of help should the reviewer wish to speak to them. It was noted that the outcome of the review would be reported to the Panel prior to it being made publicly available. |
|
Public Speaking Additional documents: Minutes: There had been no requests for public speaking at this meeting. |
|
Police and Crime Commissioner's Report The Report is attached for consideration and comment by the Panel. Additional documents: Minutes: The Panel received a report updating them on key activities since the last meeting on 20 June 2024. Activities of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (DPCC) and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) were included.
The Commissioner addressed the meeting and highlighted the following areas of work:
· Volunteers for independent custody visitors, numbers were gradually building with more in Leamington than in the north of the County – the volunteers’ objective was to ensure that detainees were being treated properly; · Operation Resolve was underway to deal with Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), with funding from the Home Office totalling £1 million. The Force had taken on most of the work with Warwick District amongst the areas being given focus. Officers were working alongside Town Centre Wardens and Rangers and the Safer Neighbourhood Teams; · The Operation Resolve funding was one of a number of grants that the Commissioner recognised may come to an end in March 2025, with Forces across the country waiting for the Autumn budget announcements.
In relation to Criminal Justice, the Commissioner referred to the backlog of cases in the crown court and recent meetings to discuss the potential release of early prisoners due to overcrowding. Warwickshire had released fifteen prisoners, which was likely to rise to mid-twenties the following month. The Commissioner was mindful that this process would impact on victims and others who were concerned about safety measures.
The Joint Audit and Standards Committee held recently had been well attended and the Force were close to signing off their 2023/24 accounts.
The Commissioner also updated the meeting on the recent pay award, noting that information relating to staff pay was still awaited. He assured that funds were available in the pay reserve to meet the shortfall.
Finally, the Commissioner referred to the performance data looked at by the Policy and Performance working group the previous week. He assured the meeting that he was holding the Chief Constable to account in those areas where improvement was needed and was challenging performance robustly.
In relation to the overcrowding issue, Councillor Derek Poole asked if the Commissioner knew of any instructions from a higher authority, asking officers not to arrest for certain crimes. The Commissioner advised that he was not aware of any such direction.
Mr Andrew Davies thanked the Commissioner for his update and referred to recent media reports that some prisoners had been released in error or without electronic tags. He asked if there was any information on similar cases in Warwickshire and what measures were being taken to ensure these incidents did not happen again.
The Commissioner advised that were few residents affected in Warwickshire and he was not aware of any such incidents occurring at Rugby or Redditch facilities. He advised that he met with Warwickshire Probation Service regularly.
In response to a question asking for his top concerns, the Commissioner felt that, in terms of the criminal justice system, the backlog of cases was having a ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |
|
Appointments to the Planning and Performance Working Group To note the membership of the Planning and Performance Working Group for 2024/25. Additional documents: Minutes: The Panel received a report advising them of the appointments made to the Planning and Performance Working Group. Membership for 2024/25 was confirmed as:
· Councillor Barbara Brown, Warwickshire County Council · Mr Andrew Davies, Independent Member · Councillor David Humphreys, Warwickshire County Council · Councillor Jim Sinnott, Warwick District Council
The report was noted. |
|
Report of the Planning and Performance Working Group To receive details of the meetings of the Working Group held on 9 July and 19 September 2024.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Panel received a report detailing the items covered by the Planning and Performance Working Group meeting held on 9 July 2024. Councillor Dave Humphreys provided a verbal update on the most recent meeting held on 19 September 2024.
Councillor Humphreys provided further detail on the groups’ discussions relating to Performance, PCC Commissioned Services – Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence support services and the Police & Crime Plan Consultation.
Councillor Humphreys also queried if it was possible to be provided with further breakdown details in relation to 999 and 101 calls. He advised that the working group had recognised the improvements in the service but were disappointed that data seem to show that response times had dipped. Claire Morris asked for clarification on what information the group wanted as a different request had been made at the working group meeting. Councillor Humphreys confirmed that he would like to see more detail on the breakdown of 101 & 99 calls as well as response times.
The Commissioner reiterated the importance of emergency call handling as the ‘front door’ of the organisation. He gave an overview of the recent improvements made to training, the call back facility and the triage system. In addition, he expanded on the training provided to officers responding to domestic abuse incidents. The Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner, supported this statement and gave assurance that this area of work was monitored regularly to try and continue to bolster trust and confidence. It was agreed that a visit to the control room would be beneficial for newer Panel members.
Claire Morris advised that the Chief Constable had chosen to put victim satisfaction rates and targets in for the organisation, which covered five category areas. This included domestic abuse victim satisfaction and the August data pack had demonstrated that the satisfaction rate had exceeded the target at 82%. This was as a result of the improvements at the OCC in relation to fielding and managing calls.
Councillor Natalie Gist advised that feedback from residents in her area suggested that 101 callers were experiencing 30 to 40 minutes on hold. Claire Morris advised that Warwickshire’s figures did not reflect that and showed that the response times for calls were one of the best in the country. However, she encouraged Panel members to provide further detail where possible as experiences of long hold times were looked into as individual cases. Claire Morris went on to explain that the 101 service averaged 1500 calls a month and an increase in numbers of the summer months was expected. The average median call time was recorded at 15 minutes.
The Panel went on to look at the progress of consultation on the Police and Crime Plan for 2024/25. The Chair queried how representative the consultation was. Neil Tipton, Head of Media and Communications OPCC, outlined the process from engaging TONIC, a leading research agency, with experience of working in Warwickshire over 17 years. He detailed the strong links across the County, with Local Authorities and service providers which it ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
|
Warwickshire Police and Crime Panel Annual Report 2023/24 The updated Annual Report is attached for consideration and comment by the Panel. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Panel received an annual report outlining the Police and Crime Panel’s work throughout 2023/24.
The report was noted. |
|
Issues Raised by Community Safety Partnerships To consider any issues flagged by Community Safety Partnerships, providing a means for community concerns that have high-level, strategic implications to be discussed by the Panel and Commissioner (only if required). Additional documents: Minutes: There were none raised by the Community Safety Partnerships prior to the agenda being published. |
|
To consider and review the Panel’s Work Programme. Additional documents: Minutes: The Panel received the work programmed and noted the future discussion items.
It was agreed that the Support Officer would liaise with OPCC officers to monitor progress with the Independent Review of the Warwickshire Hunt. It was recognised that the reviewer would have a better idea of timescales and the ability to report any findings back within the next few weeks. |
|
Dates of Meetings To note the arrangements for future meetings.
Meetings will start at 2pm, unless specified otherwise. The following meetings are scheduled to be held at Shire Hall, Warwick:
· 21 November 2024 · 3 February 2025 · 13 March 2025 Additional documents: Minutes: The dates of future meetings were noted and Members were reminded that a budget briefing would be programmed in for January 2025, ahead of the February Budget meeting. |
|
Any Urgent Items At the discretion of the Chair, items may be raised which are considered urgent (please notify Democratic Services in advance of the meeting). Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Jenkins raised the issue of Road Safety which was a priority under the current Police and Crime Plan, with many residents stating that speeding was problematic in many areas. He noted that Coventry City Council had a number of average speed check areas and queried if Warwickshire could look at similar schemes. In response, the Commissioner agreed that road safety was a high priority in Warwickshire and advised that there were four pilots being rolled out shortly. The first pilot to be started would be located at Bassett’s Pole, however, there were challenges with National Grid powering the necessary equipment. If the pilots proved successful, further cameras may be distributed around the County. The Commissioner reminded the Panel of the recent purchase of three speed vans with the latest technology onboard to capture high quality images.
The use of Safer Neighbourhood Teams to monitor speeding was also discussed with Councillor Jenkins querying if there were any statistics available from Community Speedwatch Teams (CST) showing that there was a reduction in speeding and showing the effectiveness of CST’s. He felt it would be useful for them to be able to issue fines rather than just issuing letters.
Neil Tipton advised that at a recent event held with CST’s volunteers in September, a senior lecturer in Policing at Staffordshire University had undertaken research which had shown the effectiveness of CST’s with 72% of drivers sent letters by Community teams had agreed that this had made them want to change their behaviours. This had also resulted in 70% of drivers saying they would drive more slowly in future.
In Warwickshire, between the beginning of January and end of July this year, volunteers had carried out 345 hours of Community Speed Watches, resulting in speeds of with 83,000 vehicles being monitored and 2,500 drivers receiving education about their driving.
The Chair took this opportunity to thank the outgoing Support Officer, John Cole, for his hard work, dedication and support to the Panel over the past years and welcomed Senior Democratic Services Officer, Amy Bridgewater- Carnall to the Panel. |
|
Reports Containing Confidential or Exempt Information 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’. Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved
That members of the public be excluded from the meeting for the item 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. |
|
Complaints To consider any complaints received and considered regarding the conduct of the Police and Crime Commissioner. Minutes: It was confirmed that no complaints had been received since the last meeting requiring the Panel’s attention. |