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Agenda item

Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel Update

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting (3 November 2021). 

Minutes:

60.1          Attention was drawn to the report from the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel, circulated at Pages No. 21-23, which gave an update on matters discussed at the last meeting of the Panel held on 3 November 2021.

60.2          The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel advised that the entire meeting had focused on the recently issued PEEL (Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy) report of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services on the performance of Gloucestershire Constabulary.  The report had been prepared based on a review undertaken prior to the appointment of the new Police and Crime Commissioner in May 2021 and assessed the Constabulary in 13 areas of policing, of those, four had been graded ‘good’, one ‘adequate’, six ‘inadequate’ and the remaining two were ungraded. It had been noted that Gloucestershire had been subject to a new form of review which was a more granular system than the previous one which had consequences for how matters were recorded and reported – in a previous report, Gloucestershire had been found to be adequate across all of the four categories it had been assessed upon and there had actually been little change in performance since then.  One issue was around IT as the system for recording reported incidents was at the end of its life and a proposal for its replacement would be forthcoming.  This was an area the Police had been focused on before the report came out with the number of Officers working with crime data having doubled to try to improve the issue.  It was noted that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate had now suspended using the new system which supported the view that the findings did not necessarily reflect a dip in performance.

60.3           At the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Members had raised two queries which the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel had followed up with the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Chief Constable and his staff.  In relation to the amount of time which the Police horses were in active use, it was noted that they were used six days per week for policing specific events and in community patrols.  Whilst the Police believed they did have a positive impact on the community, there was an ongoing review into their value for money and the outcome of that was awaited.  In terms of instilling confidence of women in the Police following the Sarah Everard case, the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable had assured him very confidently that Gloucestershire did not have that culture within the Constabulary and there were rigorous arrangements in place to monitor recruitment and behaviour, including whistleblowing procedures.  Despite that confidence, additional training had been rolled-out to all Officers in light of the case and the issues it had raised.  A Member queried whether the Council’s representative had felt that the responses from the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable had been genuine, and whether any evidence had been provided as to why they did not feel Gloucestershire had that culture within the force.  In response, the Council’s representative expressed the view that it had been a very positive conversation and the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable had been open about the issues raised by the case and the importance of addressing them.  It was clear their response was not ad hoc so consideration had clearly already been given to the matter; nevertheless, there was always a possibility of people slipping through any system and they were emphatic that any concerns would be looked into.

60.4           A Member indicated that it would be helpful if the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable could provide initial acknowledgement when constituents made complaints or raised concerns and to break down detailed response rates by districts and urban/rural split as this was an issue he and other Borough Councillors had come across.  The Council’s representative advised that the Police had developed a package of statistics which measured a range of performance metrics that were broken down geographically.  The Home Office required a plethora of information to be collected and analysed in order to identify and address any failures and that had been shared with the Police and Crime Panel at its previous meeting.  The new Police and Crime Commissioner had focused on the importance of addressing rural crime so additional measures had been implemented around that although it was noted that the Police and Crime Panel did not receive information on specific cases.  Another Member questioned what the response would be in terms of actions to be taken as a result of the PEEL report and when the force would be re-inspected.  In response, the Council’s representative indicated that he was unsure how frequently inspections took place but he did not believe it was that that often.  The results had been acknowledged and the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable would now look for opportunities to ensure a more positive set of results next time; this included increasing resources and it was noted that additional Officers were being recruited so there would hopefully be a stronger Police Force over the next couple of years.

60.5           A Member asked whether there was an action plan arising from the lessons learnt during the pandemic which would ensure the Police were better placed for another wave so that the impact would be less significant, for example, in terms of equipment, shift patterns etc.  The Council’s representative undertook to ask that question at the next Police and Crime Panel meeting.  He indicated that the problem with the COVID-19 pandemic was that it was completely unexpected, therefore, the contingency plans which were in place did not set out how the Police should respond if there was an issue for the entire country – rather they were designed to reflect how Gloucestershire should support another Force in an emergency situation.  The Member indicated that he assumed there would be simple changes which would make a big difference such as reducing contact between Officers to limit the potential spread.

60.6           The Chair thanked the Council’s representative for his update and it was subsequently

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

Supporting documents: