Agenda item

The Commissioner to present his Annual Report for 2018-19.

The Chairman welcomed the Commissioner to the meeting.

The Commissioner introduced his draft annual report for the 2018/19 municipal year. He noted that the report could not include everything that he and his office had done during the year. In introducing the report, he noted that 80 percent of it covered the four main priorities that had been included in the Policing Plan and which had been subject to public consultation.

Councillor Andrew Dawson expressed surprise that issues such as the suspension of the former Chief Constable and the recruitment case that had resulted in an adverse ruling by an Employment Tribunal had not featured in the draft report. The Commissioner indicated that the issue with the previous Chief Constable had commenced during 2017/18 and had received a considerable amount of publicity and media attention. With reference to the Employment Tribunal case he noted that he would, very shortly be publishing the minutes of the Scrutiny meeting that had reviewed this issue in considerable detail. A number of Panel members had been at the meeting.

Councillor Paul Findlow asked the Commissioner about delays in response times when members of the public contacted the Constabulary using the 101 phone number. The Commissioner noted that the operation of the 101 system was an operational issue, but that he had raised this with the Chief Constable. He understood that in the summer of 2018 there had been a range of issues which had contributed to delays with the service. The situation had subsequently improved. He hoped that the introduction of “single, on-line home”, a new web based system,  would increase the number of ways in which the public could contact the Police, this was likely to decrease demand for contact via the 101 number. Mr Evan Morris asked the Commissioner whether there was a Performance Indicator relating to the answering of 101 calls. The Commissioner indicated that there was.

Councillor Dave Thompson complimented the Commissioner on the draft report, but asked if it would be possible to have more information relating to individual Council areas. The Commissioner indicated that he would review how information was presented in documents such as the Annual Report, but stressed that his whole ethos for Policing was that it should be about localities and local communities.

Mr Evan Morris highlighted an issue in relation to priorities contained within the Police and Crime Plan and the need for the Plan to be intelligence based and produced in cooperation with the Police and Crime Panel. Referring specifically to the pan Cheshire Community Safety Strategic Needs Assessment, last published in 2015/16, he stressed the need for an updated plan to be commissioned and available for any incoming Police Crime Commissioner in May 2020. The Commissioner stressed that he was always listening and learning and that he always welcomed the views of others, but added that there were limits to what could be produced using collaboration and coproduction. Mr Morris referred to the way in which other Panels operated and the Cheshire Panel’s forthcoming visit to Essex, to which the Commissioner and / or a member of his team was very welcome to attend.

In conclusion the Commissioner commented that he remained committed to local policing. Mr Evan Morris noted that the model of local policing adopted in Cheshire would not be possible without co-operation from a wide range of partner organisations, the Commissioner echoed these comments.

The Commissioner invited the Panel to join with him in thinking about the long-term future of policing of Cheshire.