Performance and Accountability Board

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PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD

Meeting date: 30 April 2015, 14.00, at Council House, Plymouth

OPCC:Tony Hogg, Andrew White, Jan Stanhope, Karen Mellowdew,

David Eaton.

Constabulary:Shaun Sawyer, Bill Skelly, Andy Boulting, Richard Bullock.

Open for the purposes of FOI

• The Commissioner welcomed members of the public and those watching on the webcast.
• The meeting was reminded that the pre-election period of purdah imposed certain limitations on members’ freedom to comment and ask questions, but that this did not need to restrict debate unduly.
• It was expected that following the General Election there would be greater clarity over the future direction of policing and funding.
• The Commissioner welcomed the latest crime figures which showed a year on year improvement and reflected the positive response from the Force over the last 12 months.

• There were no declarations of interest.

• The minutes of the last board meeting had been circulated separately. The Commissioner provided an update on the actions from the last meeting.

• The Chief Constable assured PAB that the police had effective relationships with door staff and that their training was appropriate. If necessary officers will report unacceptable conduct to employers and the licensing authorities.

• The Chief Constable informed the board that Devon and Cornwall police had accepted the new definition of business crime proposed by ACPO and would be beginning to collect more data. This would benefit from the improved logging of business crime which was being introduced.

• More vulnerable businesses were being identified and the police were working with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in the south west.
• On 18 June 2015 a “Preventing Crime Against Business Seminar 2015”, for all businesses from across Devon and Cornwall, had been organised by the Federation of Small Businesses Devon and Cornwall, and Devon & Cornwall Police. This had provided an opportunity for the FSB to raise specific concerns on behalf of its members and businesses from across Devon and Cornwall.

• The Chief Constable outlined the extensive regulatory regime which applies to the treatment of detainees in custody, including HMIC carrying out unannounced spot-checks, CCTV dip-sampling, and the role of Independent Custody Visitors.

• The police worked with individuals and organisations to assess needs and to ensure that their response reflected this. The Chief Constable highlighted several methods of contact which were available.

• Although the focus of the criminal justice system was on victims, the police accepted that both victims and offenders could be seen as vulnerable and did seek to find appropriate ways of supporting both. The role of solicitors in supporting offenders was also emphasised.

• The board was informed that in the Plymouth area:

• It was still not clear whether the increase in the number of incidents which were reported reflected greater reporting or an increase in the actual number of incidents.
• The Chief Superintendant believed that the 9% rise in reported hate crime continued to under-represent the number of cases, possibly because hate crime was tolerated more than other crime types or because victims did not yet have sufficient confidence in the police and other agencies.
• The Chief Executive of the OPCC highlighted the need for a better understanding of the offending groups who were responsible for committing hate crimes.
• The board was informed that violence remained a key issue, but that the severity of the violence involved had been reducing, and that there was no evidence that alcohol was a significant factor.
• Emerging issues included modern slavery, child sexual exploitation, cyber crime, domestic abuse and sexual offences, hate crime and radicalisation.

• The Chief Constable drew attention to the “Statements about demand on policing” slide which provided a breakdown of a typical policing day in Devon and Cornwall, set against the ongoing demands of safeguarding.

• The Commissioner welcomed the continuing downward trend in victim based crime and highlighted the importance of the activity which had been focused on this area over the last 12 months.
• The Chief Constable informed PAB that following the success of last year’s summer policing plan, the successful initiatives would be repeated. In addition, it was hoped that the roll-out of the Breathalyser campaign in the night time economy would help to ensure a further successful summer campaign this year.

• The Chief Constable emphasised the importance of maintaining and improving service levels in relation to these crime types. Previously HMIC had reported positively on the performance of Devon and Cornwall Police in relation to the most serious incidents, but that there was room for improvement regarding how incidents below this level were dealt with.
• The Chief Executive requested further information on the tactics and strategies which were used to target repeat offenders.
• A change of approach had resulted in the police no longer treating reported incidents as individual events but focusing on the broader pattern of behaviour of the offender.
• There was now a closer working relationship with Independent Domestic Violence Advocates. The police also recognised that many victims were also the victims of other offenders.

• The Chief Executive drew attention to the significant rise in the 12 month trend.
• The Chief Constable suggested that a number of factors may be responsible for the rise, including:

• Rape and other sexual offenses remained a priority for the police, but this was an area where significant progress required a significant involvement by partners, other agencies and society more widely.

• It was accepted that this was a crime area which was under-reported. Although the numbers of reported incidents were low, there were some areas, including Plymouth and Torbay, where the numbers were significant.
• A report was nearing completion and this would be shared with the OPCC, including information on how complaints were dealt with.

• The rolling trend for this crime type had been rising for 2 years and there was still a requirement for a transformation in performance to be achieved.
• The Chief Constable drew attention to the significant reduction in the number of incidents involving the most serious violence, as a result of police activity and new initiatives in this area over a period of time.
• Intervention in violence without injury incidents was more difficult for the police to initiate, and was at the “First Steps” stage.

• The Commissioner questioned why this had apparently moved into a period of decline.
• The Chief Constable suggested that the following factors may play a part in determining the level of public confidence in the police:

• The Commissioner highlighted the apparent anomaly of an increase in the number of Specials whilst the number of hours contributed by Specials was falling. It was suggested that this was a consequence of more experienced Specials who contributed a significant number of hours, being recruited into the police.

• At the last meeting PAB was informed that a report on Hate Crime was being prepared and that the conclusions/recommendations would be reported back to PAB. This report has now been received by the OPCC and is being used to inform the scrutiny of Hate Crime at PAB.