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Agenda item

Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel Update

To consider an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the meeting held on 6 November 2020.  

Minutes:

41.1          The Council’s representative on the Police and Crime Panel presented a feedback report, circulated with the Agenda at Pages No.78-79, on the meeting of the Panel which had taken place on 6 November 2020. The representative explained that the meeting had once again been conducted under COVID Regulations and had taken place via Zoom.

41.2          The matters covered by the meeting had included an update from the Police and Crime Commissioner; the COVID-19 Enforcement Plan; the Police and Crime Plan Refresh; the Criminal Justice Update; the opening of the Sabrina Centre; and the report from the Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. In terms of the update from the Police and Crime Commissioner, it had been advised that Police Officer numbers had been increasing as planned and had risen from 1,168 to 1,194 since the end of September. COVID had not delayed plans but had actually helped, as there had been fewer retirees than anticipated. The Gloucestershire Rural Crime Week, which ran from 23 October, had a number of areas of focus including hare coursing, rural criminals, illegal angling and dog theft. The use of 4x4s and drones had been publicised and, whilst nationally the Rural Crime Week was cancelled, the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable had decided that, given the nature of the County, it should proceed in Gloucestershire. The Bamfurlong Motor Patrol Centre at the junction of the A40 and M5 had been emptied of Police assets due to roadworks that had adversely affected response times, and in particular as they related to Gloucester, and Officers had been relocated to various locations to provide cover. A planning application had been submitted for an upgrade to the site and demolition of the existing site would commence in January 2021. Additional costs identified as occurring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic amounted to £1.3 million so far, £1 million of which had been covered from reserves and the rest from central government grants. Crime had dropped by 6% as a result of COVID restrictions but this was less than the national average which was 20%. The Police and Crime Commissioner had suggested this was largely explained by the higher number of crimes being booked as a result of the recent negative conclusion of the review into the Force’s activities, which was a practice consistent with the “every crime matters” focus in the Police Plan.

41.3          Referring to the COVID-19 Enforcement Plan, the approach in Gloucestershire had been to follow the four Es: Engage, Explain, Encourage and Enforce. The focus was now on enforcement and flagrant breaches of the regulations would attract fines. The Police and Crime Commissioner had emphasised the wide range of views amongst the public and the need to make sure that enforcement was seen to be proportionate, being sensitive to different communities and age groups. In this regard the new second national lockdown had actually made life easier as the rules were simpler to interpret.

41.4          The Police and Crime Plan covering the period 2020-2022 had been reviewed and the Police and Crime Panel had approved its themes. The areas of focus were: every crime matters, including improved recording of crimes; safer days and nights; young people becoming adults, particularly being a ‘child friendly’ county; older but not overlooked, considering the impact on mental health and the rise in dementia etc. which absorbed a lot of Police time looking for people who were missing; safe and social driving; and a green and pleasant county, including plans to make the force carbon neutral.

41.5          In terms of the criminal justice update, it was pointed out that the condition of the Courts was not directly an issue for the Police and Crime Commissioner or the Police as they had no jurisdiction there however, the continued failure to address the condition and accessibility of the Courts was something that COVID had worsened and this had consequences for the ability of the Police to deliver justice in a timely manner. Local politicians had been encouraged to bring the poor state of Gloucestershire’s Courts to the attention of the government.

41.6          The new Sabrina Police Training Centre had now opened. As there were a number of new Police Officers coming onstream, the new facility was expected to yield benefits going forward in terms of the speed they could be brought through the system.

41.7          Members were advised that the next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel was scheduled to take place on 9 February 2021. The Chair asked that the representative find out how Gloucestershire ran its recruitment as a recent experience had shown it to be relatively slow when compared to other forces. Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED           That the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel Update be NOTED.

Supporting documents: