Minutes:
The Commissioner provided the Panel with an update on the Cheshire Constabulary’s response to the recent terrorist attacks. He noted that following the attack in Manchester on 22 May 2017 the national threat level had been raised to Critical for a short time; before returning to it current level of Severe.
In the days after the attack in Manchester there had been a number of high profile events in Cheshire, including a race meeting in Chester and a number of rugby matches. Additional resources had been deployed and feedback from the public was that they had been reassured by the higher profile Police presence. Assistance had also been provided to Greater Manchester Police and there had been a joint firearms response with the North Wales Police.
The Commissioner reassured the Panel that events across Cheshire over the summer would be risk assessed as necessary.
The Commissioner confirmed that a number of Decision Papers had been circulated following the last meeting of the Panel; these related to the appointment of a Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and the relocation of his office to Stockton Heath.
Councillor Steve Egdar sought clarification over how many staff from Winsford had been made redundant as a result of the move to the Commissioner’s Office to Stockton Heath. The Commissioner indicated that there had been no redundancies attributable to the office relocation.
Councillor Andrew Dawson asked the Commissioner if there were any additional papers related to either the appointment of the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner or the relocation of the Commissioner’s Office to Stockton Heath. The Commissioner indicated that the papers that he had circulated had been comprehensive and provided detailed business cases. He noted that the papers provided did make reference to other documents that were already in the public domain.
Councillor Dawson sought further clarification over the appointment of the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, asking that if the Commissioner had declared his long standing association with former Councillor Dirrir as part of the recruitment process, this information was not included in the Decision paper that had been circulated.
The Commissioner responded by saying that he had followed due process and had been full and open at all stages of the recruitment process for a Deputy Commissioner and had declared his long standing association with Ms Dirrir. He stated that in his opinion he had gone well beyond the legal requirements when appointing his Deputy. He informed the Panel that the Deputy Commissioner was now in post as was doing an excellent job, especially in areas such as diversity and working with volunteers. Councillor Dawson noted that his own definition of “full and open” appeared to be different to the Commissioner’s.
The Chairman invited the Commissioner to consider bringing important issues to the Panel in advance of decisions being taken, noting that this invitation had been made on a number of occasions in the past. The Commissioner noted that since the previous meeting of the Council he had improved communication with the Panel’s Secretariat and Chairman; and that he welcomed the advise and views of the Panel.
Mrs Sally Hardwick indicated that she was concerned that the paperwork provided in relation to the move to Stockton Heath did not; in her opinion constitute a full business case. The Commissioner stated that in his view the Decision Paper that he had circulated was comprehensive, noting that he had not been prepared to do nothing, as he had been, in his opinion, occupying far too much space at Constabulary Headquarters. His own office had been too large and that he could not justify the cost. He indicated that he had not been prepared to buy or rent accommodation, but had asked the Constabulary’s Estates team to look for alternative accommodation, with the proviso that any accommodation identified would not compromise operational policing. He explained that move would facilitate the joint Police and Fire Headquarters; a decision that had been taken before he had been elected as Commissioner. The Commissioner did indicate that wished he had consulted with the Panel at an earlier stage over the office relocation. The Chairman thanked the commissioner for his comprehensive response.
Councillor David Thompson asked the Commissioner how he was holding Government to account and challenging Government; areas that were included within the Police and Crime Plan.
The Commissioner responded by saying that since 2010 the Constabulary’s budget had been reduced by over £50m; by 2020 this would have increased to £60m. He outlined some consequences of these cuts on staff numbers; included firearms officers, which has reduced from 95 in 2010 to 48 in 2016. The Commissioner outlined the steps that he had taken to influence the Government, including work with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and a joint approach to Government by Commissioners from the North West, including the Rt Hon Andy Burnham, elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. He also outlined successful approaches for additional funding that had been made to the Home Office to enable the Constabulary to undertake work on cases of historic sexual abuse, including cases related to Crewe Alexandra Football Club. Further bids were being made though the Police Transformation Bids programme; including a bid for a multi agency funding to address stalking.
The Chairman commented on Police numbers and budgets, noting that the Panel (and before that the Police Authority) had always supported the Police precept. He also commented on the number of firearms officers, reflecting that the reduction of firearms officers over recent years had been a response to local circumstances; but noting that evens over recent months had in all likelihood changed what was needed across Cheshire. He asked the Commissioner if firearms crime and levels of overall crime had increased in Cheshire in the last two of three years. The Commissioner indicted that he would respond to the question on firearms crime in writing, but that overall crime rates had not decreased. The Commissioner was of the view that the only reason that firearm officer numbers had reduced were budgetary, the Chairman indicated that he recalled the former Chief Constable advising that fewer firearms officers were needed across the Constabulary.
Councillor Dawson asked the Commissioner how he scrutinised the Chief Constable over issues relating to data protection. The Commissioner responded by saying that the Chief Constable was responsible for data processed by the Constabulary and that the Deputy Chief Constable was the Senior Information Risk Officer (SIRO). He also highlighted the role of the Information Commissioner. The Commissioner explained that he received regular updates on data protection across the Constabulary.
Councillor Dawson asked for confirmation that Cheshire Police had all the necessary Data Sharing agreements in place with partner organisations. The Commissioner agreed to check on the situation and report back in writing, suggesting that the issue may be one that could be discussed in depth at an informal meeting.
Mrs Sally Hardwick asked the Commissioner for an update on the work that was being undertaken to review the collection and presentation of statistics across the Police, noting recent criticism by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMRC). The Commissioner informed the Panel that he was holding a special scrutiny meeting on 3 July 2017 on this issue. Panel members were asked to indicate if they had any questions they would like the Commissioner to ask the Chief Constable. The Deputy Chairman noted that legal definitions existed in relation to crime.
The Deputy Chairman asked for clarification over sickness information available on the Constabulary website, noting that it was very difficult to identify trends. The Commissioner indicated that he had already asked the Constabulary to make more information available.
The Chairman asked the Commissioner to provide written responses to Panel members who had submitted questions in advance, but due to time constraints had been unable to have them answered.
Councillor Dawson suggested that the Panel may wish to consider setting a maximum time for the Commissioner to answer questions. The Chairman indicated that this would require a change to the Panel’s Procedure Rules and asked Councillor Dawson to write to him on this issue, which could then be discussed at a future meeting.