Questions for the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Minutes:
The Deputy Chairman welcomed the Commissioner to the meeting. The Commissioner congratulated the two newly appointed members on their joining the Panel.
The Commissioner updated the Panel on a range of issues, including Coronavirus, the commitment made by members of the Special Constabulary, regular Officers and Police staff in working through difficult times and the community projects that he was supporting through his Safer Communities fund. He outlined the progress made with the rollout of named Police Officers, Police Community Support Officers and community Police bases for each of the 122 communities across Cheshire, these broadly equated to local authority Wards. He welcomed the Panel’s support for his anti-bullying strategy. The Commissioner also provided the Panel with details of improvements made to the Cheshire Constabulary Occupational Health Service, noting the increased focus on mental health. He also updated the Panel on his activities on White Ribbon Day and his work more generally to combat domestic abuse. Concluding his introductory comments, he noted the forthcoming spending review and that he would shortly be commencing consultation on the Police precept for 2021/22.
Members of the Police and Crime Panel questioned the Commissioner on a wide range of issues, including:
Councillor Laura Jeuda:
· Domestic violence and in particular the number of women murdered by men who were known to them.
· The number of women who suffered abuse in Cheshire who were already known to the Police. The Commissioner committed to providing the Panel with more detailed information on this issue.
· In the context of the overall recruitment of new Officers, clarification on whether Special Constables counted towards the overall increase in the establishment. The Commissioner confirmed that they did not.
Councillor Martyn Delaney:
· The time the Chief Constable took to providing information requested by the Commissioner at his scrutiny meetings. The Commissioner noted that a detailed action log was kept and that normally information was provided within a month.
Councillor Peter Walker:
· Ongoing Constabulary policy in relation to those Police Community Support Officers who were funded by Parish Councils. The Commissioner responded by saying that he would not wish to return to an arrangement where Parish Councils part funded PCSOs, noting that his current policy did not preclude one or more Parish Councils fully funding the cost of a PCSO. The Commissioner indicated that he would welcome feedback from Parish Councils over how his newly introduced community policing arrangements were working.
Mr Bob Fousert:
· The timetable for the rollout of the outstanding strands of the Commissioner’s anti-bullying strategy. These related to the workplace and the elderly. The Commissioner indicated that the workplace phase would start in the near future. Work on the strand relating to the elderly was likely to commence in 2022.
Councillor Dave Thompson
· The importance of innovation to the work of the Constabulary, congratulating them on their proposed use of a “therapy dog” in an attempt to help engage with difficult to communicate to groups, including people with mental health problems. The Commissioner thanked Councillor Thompson for his comments.
Councillor Paul Findlow
· The issue of crime data accuracy, which he recognised went back a long way to the days when he had served on the former Police Authority. He also noted the significant staffing requirements necessary for this work to be undertaken correctly. The Commissioner indicated that a considerable amount of work had been undertaken on this over recent years and that this had been validated by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services. The Commissioner told the Panel that this was an issue which was constantly on his scrutiny agenda. He was confident that in the context of data accuracy the Constabulary had the appropriate levels of staff.
· The issues covered in Part II (with press and public excluded) at his scrutiny meetings with the Chief Constable. The Commissioner committed to sharing confidential issues with the Panel, so long as confidentiality was observed; he saw his informal meetings with the Panel as a useful vehicle for sharing such information.
· Progress with the next tranche of recruitment of new Police Officers. The Commissioner updated the Panel on progress, noting that nationally things were not moving as quickly as he would have hoped.
Mrs Sally Hardwick
· The need for the Panel to come to a view on the future of Fire Authorities.