Agenda item

The Chair welcomed Andrew White, Chief Executive of the Devon and Cornwall PCC, to the meeting

Details of the draft Police and Crime Panel Plan 2014-17 were circulated.

Mr White set out the following six priority areas of the Police and Crime Plan:-

·         to make our area safer;

·         a focus on cutting alcohol-related harm;

·         a renewed drive for efficiency and reducing cost;

·         a more effective criminal justice system;

·         establishing new victim support services; and

·         to enable citizens to play their part in community safety.

His presentation also covered the new approach of the PCC to performance measurement, CSP funding, use of the small grants fund, the four year funding allocation, Force resource allocation and the officer and staff profile.

He responded as follows to Members’ queries:-

·         the number of police officers on the beat had remained at a consistent level and he suggested that there was only a perception of reduced numbers. Special Constables continued to be recruited and use was increasingly being made of their specialist skills in respect of areas such as cyber related crime;

·         the wider population had an important role to play in crime prevention through, for example, Neighbourhood Watch and participation in general volunteering in the community such as youth groups, sports clubs etc. However, it was recognised that the Force could benefit from a greater willingness to embrace the public desire to become involved;

·         there was a greater emphasis in encouraging the reporting of domestic violence and abuse but this impacted on overall crime figures. The PCC was keen not to discourage reporting and therefore disaggregated the reported figures from overall crime statistics. It was currently assessing Minister of Justice guidance on re-direction of funding to ensure that there would be minimal impact on the three existing refuges in Devon;

·         the PCC would assume responsibility for Victim Services from April 2015 with the management of this role currently being determined;

·         there was no intention of re-allocating police resources on the basis of comparative crime levels between Exeter and other parts of Devon;

·         volunteers were a valuable resource and, because of rigorous assessment and an emphasis on confidentiality, access to data was not an issue. They offered excellent support and were utilised, for example, in areas such as review of CCTV evidence;

·         information on the use of private companies by the Force and details of officers on restricted duties would be circulated separately to Members;

·         826 individuals had been detained in 2013 under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act, largely for their own safety. It was recognised that, given the absence of properly trained medical staff, the current system was not fit for purpose and the PCC was in dialogue with all CCG’s to review this system and to ensure that the Mental Health concordat was being honoured. Ian Ansell, the Criminal Justice, Partnership and Commissioning Manager was attending a conference at St. Mellon on this topic shortly;

·         the PCC was collating all community safety initiatives across the City, the results to be released within the next six months;

·         he acknowledged Members’ confirmation that there was little consistency at Councillor briefings because of the frequent changes in personnel at Inspector level and above. He would take this concern back;

·         although alcohol related violence and crime was a priority there was equal emphasis on drug related problems. Legal highs were now also a concern and this situation was being monitored closely. The dangers of legal and illegal drugs were explained in school visits;

·         although the small grant fund had been utilised in the past to support CCTV provision, the overwhelming number of requests had led to all support for these facilities being withdrawn as it was not possible to fund one request over another; and

·         changes in the Probation Service were being closely monitored. Ian Ansell served on the Minister of Justice Committee which was tasked with monitoring roll out across the country.

The Chair thanked Mr White for his presentation.