Minutes:
1. The Commissioner explained the Governance Board, which was the formal procedure for holding the Chief Constable to account and there was a standing invitation to Panel members to attend. These were meetings open to the public with a standing item around performance. The Chief Constable was required to explain five things: what were the performance figures? how were they made up? what caused the dips and any improvements? if there were dips what the force was doing and what was the impact and expectations of future performance? The Chairman had requested that this item be placed on the agenda to give Members the opportunity to discuss and understand the recent coverage.
2. There had been an increase in recorded crime in Kent of 9% between April – October 2013, which the Commissioner said was in part due to more accurate crime recording, particularly since the publication of the HMIC report, the findings of which were now being applied to other Police Forces.
3. The Chairman asked how crime figures would be kept down bearing in mind the financial constraints facing the Force. The Commissioner explained that following the first budget reductions arising from the Comprehensive Spending review there had been significant officer and staff reductions within the Force. Further grant reductions were expected in 2015/16 and onwards and the Commissioner’s Office had recently held a partners conference to seek views on how further reductions could be managed. At the conference, community policing continued to be a priority to the people of Kent.
4. The Chairman explained that through the new ways of working programme the County Council was looking at every single service to determine how else they could be delivered; this included the possibility of outsourcing. He asked the Commissioner to consider outsourcing back office functions. The Commissioner stated that her views on privatisation and outsourcing remain the same as those expressed in previous discussions and that she did not support the privatisation of Kent Police. The Commissioner updated that an innovation day conference would be hosted, which aimed to harness the expertise of the private sector to enable staff to be more efficient and to support better use of technology. The Commissioner also confirmed that every budget heading and every way of working would be looked at but outsourcing and privatisation were an absolute last resort, along with losing Police Officers.
5. Another Member confirmed that there were efficiencies in outsourcing back office functions. In response to a question around public satisfaction the Commissioner explained that overall satisfaction rates had remained broadly stable, However victims of crime still felt that they were not being informed, so a new system had been set up to tackle this, ‘Track my Crime’. This was due to be launched in April 2014.
6. A member raised the use of the percept and government grants for the recruitment of police officers. The Commissioner raised that there may be flexibility on the precept, as at the moment there was a 2% cap but a decision was expected later in the month as to the cap level. It would be difficult to go over the cap, as there would have to be a referendum if it did. A referendum would cost about £2.5 m and it would need to be proposed in February but couldn’t be run until May. The Commissioner also commented that it would not be possible to canvass on why an increase in council tax was being proposed.
7. A Member queried the feasibility of charging late night establishments for a contribution to policing and should this be something that the district and boroughs should consider. The Commissioner explained that this was done in Newcastle, with 70% of the levy going to policing and a 30% to the local authority. The Commissioner said that for places like Newcastle, with a high concentration of establishments, it was easier. It would be difficult to apply a blanket approach to late night establishments but this was not within the Commissioner’s remit.
8. It was considered by members that there might be an under reporting of certain crimes such as cyber crimes, bullying and fraud. The Commissioner explained that there was a South East regional response team targeting specific crimes. The Commissioner referred to her Youth Commissioner, who, when appointed, would work with schools to help address some of these issues.
9. There was a discussion around increasing joint working. For example, a member suggested that local authorities employed enforcement officers and it was important to look at any opportunity for enhanced powers. The Commissioner explained that the Police Community Support Officer powers were reviewed on a regular basis by the Chief Constable, and a piece of work was underway between the Force and local authorities.
RESOLVED that Members note the comments made around the published crime data and future police funding and look forward to receiving the Police and Crime Plan during February 2014.