Agenda item

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 (PND) had been utilised to provide each police force with an indication of the number of records it could expect to receive. This gave an idea of the scale of the task for re-vetting. Warwickshire Police had been advised to expect approximately 10,000 records, requiring two members of staff to undertake the required work for a period of approximately six weeks. She expressed confidence that the Force was adequately resourced to complete this work.

In response to Andy Davis, the Commissioner stated that it was right to focus on the organisational culture of the Force. However, wider cultural and societal factors were also influential. Much depended on leadership, with senior officers setting the right example and communicating a clear message that misconduct would be dealt with seriously. He expressed confidence in the leadership culture of Warwickshire Police.

Polly Reed advised that customer service training would be provided to all outward-facing officers and staff. The training would include a focus on standards of behaviour which would contribute to securing the right organisational culture. She added that OPCC staff regularly visited different departments within the Force to observe and pick up information which could be used to support holding to account activities.

Andy Davis highlighted the importance of ensuring transparency in holding to account activities. This would provide reassurance to the public that action was being taken to uphold high standards of conduct alongside wider scrutiny of the Force by the Commissioner.

The Commissioner advised that the minutes of the weekly and monthly meetings held with the Chief Constable were available (in redacted form) on the PCC website. He re-emphasised his commitment to secure the best possible standards of behaviour within Warwickshire Police. Should racist, misogynistic, or homophobic behaviours be detected, swift action would be taken. 

In response to the Chair, the Commissioner advised that the terms of the recently introduced ‘Serious Violence Duty’ placed an oversight role on PCCs to support local implementation of the duty to prevent and reduce serious violence. In Warwickshire, he would work closely with partnership organisations to achieve the best possible outcome. A Partnership Board had been established with the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner as vice-chair. The Commissioner and his office would seek to ensure that robust measures were in place and that funding was utilised effectively.

In response to the Chair, the Commissioner advised that the savings requirement of £1m for 2023/24 could be achieved by optimising recent investment in ICT systems without the need for staff redundancies. An annual saving of £1m was also targeted for 2024/25 and 2025/26; the Commissioner advised that the Chief Constable had been asked to demonstrate how these savings could be achieved. He emphasised that it was not intended to deprive the Force of resources but rather to instil a focus on cost-effectiveness, resulting in a leaner organisation that maximised frontline operations. 

The Commissioner announced that representations from borough and district councils had shown the financial burden associated with provision of CCTV. In response, he had determined to allocate funding of £10,000 to each borough and district council to secure improvements to CCTV systems. He highlighted the benefits of CCTV to the police, not only in detecting crime but also to provide evidence in court. 

Members of the Panel expressed support for this initiative but highlighted the high costs associated with CCTV.

The Commissioner advised that the decision to allocate funding had been prompted in part by concerns that CCTV systems in some areas of the county were aging and required maintenance. He stated that PCCs did not have a statutory duty to fund CCTV; however, it was right to offer support, recognising the value of CCTV to policing in Warwickshire.

In response to Councillor Humphreys, the Commissioner acknowledged the benefits of off-road motorcycles to address anti-social behaviour. He advised that, within the Fleet Programme, priority was given to cars and other vehicles ahead of motorcycles. However, the importance of motorcycles had not been overlooked. Where it was possible, riders were deployed crack down on illegal off-roading. He agreed to explore the possibility of increasing the number of motorcycles available to officers.

In response to the Chair, the Commissioner advised that the new operating model for the Force (under the ‘People’ strand of the Empower Programme) would be implemented on 24 April 2023. As part of this process, the Rural Crime Team would be upgraded to its full staffing level of eight officers plus a sergeant and inspector.

Andy Davis stated that it was positive that the Force had achieved the uplift target of 1100 officers ahead of the 31 March 2023 deadline. Attention would be turned to recruitment of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). Recognising the current pressures affecting the labour market, he asked how this process could be supported to attract the best quality candidates.

The Commissioner advised that vetting checks would be undertaken for prospective PCSOs. He advised that there would be a continued focus on officer recruitment as well as PCSOs. Recruitment of an additional 100 officers was targeted in the next 12 months to ensure that the Force remained ahead of the required 1100 headcount. However, recruitment courses for PCSOs had also been scheduled. He provided an outline of the PCSO role which included a focus on problem solving in communities. Attention would be given to strategies to highlight the importance of the role of PCSOs in communities through engagement across local organisations, schools, parish councils, and online. He commented that most people who joined the Force were motivated by a desire to make a difference; this was highly relevant to PCSOs.

Polly Reed advised that, in common with police forces elsewhere, Warwickshire Police had commissioned an external company to promote opportunities to join the Force. There was scope to undertake some additional promotional work targeted at PCSO recruitment. The Commissioner had sought a commitment from the Chief Constable to significantly raise the number of PCSOs. However, many PCSOs had made use of opportunities to progress to become police officers. There was now a national shortage of PCSOs.

In response to the Chair, the Commissioner stated that there was an awareness within Warwickshire Police of the challenges associated with modern slavery and human trafficking. Officers were trained to spot the signs of modern slavery, such as coercive behaviour. The Force worked closely with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) to address criminality in these areas. Additionally, the Commissioner reported that he had recently commissioned the new ‘Independent Modern Slavery Advocate Service’ (IMSA) which would focus on identifying and preventing modern slavery and human trafficking. Following a detailed tendering exercise, it had been resolved to work jointly with the West Midlands Anti-Slavery Network. He emphasised the importance of vigilance to ensure that opportunities to detect and prevent modern slavery were not missed.

The Commissioner provided an update on work being undertaken to improve the environmental sustainability of Warwickshire Police. This included:

·       Installation of solar panels.

·       Ordering of electric vehicle (EV) charging points – initially for Stuart Ross House in Warwick with the intention to install charging points more widely across the police estate.

·       Replacement of boilers to improve energy efficiency.

·       Installation of double-glazed windows at Police Headquarters, Leek Wootton.

·       Roof insulation across the police estate to reduce energy consumption.

·       Utilisation of building energy monitoring systems to reduce energy consumption.

·       A working from home programme for staff to reduce journeys to and from the workplace.

·       A pilot scheme to trial electric vehicles – however, there was an awareness that in some circumstances EVs were not yet suitable (i.e., for patrol officers).

·       Waste recycling.

·       Uniform recycling.

In response to Councillor Fradgley, the Commissioner advised that there was evidence of a reduction in electricity usage by the Force, demonstrating that the measures introduced to improve sustainability were effective. He added that the electricity used by the Force was derived from solely renewable sources.

There was discussion of approaches to measuring the carbon footprint of an organisation, and where there was scope to share knowledge, drawing on the progress made by local authorities to respond to climate change.