Agenda item

(1)  The Commissioner introduced her Annual Report for 2015/16. She explained that there was a statutory duty on Commissioners to provide an Annual Report and that it documented progress made between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2016 in meeting the objectives within the Police and Crime Plan. The Commissioner offered her thanks to her officers, in particular to her Head of Policy Co-ordination and Research for their help in producing the document.  

(2)  The Commissioner set out the key highlights of the report, including the amazing work of the Special Constabulary. Special Constables in Kent had provided over 100,000 hours of policing during the year. There had been significant investment in training for Special Constables and they provided an extremely valuable service to the residents of Kent.

(3)  In terms of putting victims and witnesses at the heart of policing, highlights had included the opening of Compass House in Ashford, the centre for care and advice for victims and witnesses of crime in Kent; and Beech House, Kent’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre through which 500 victims had received help and support.

(4)  The Commissioner also referred Members to the annual HMIC PEEL Assessment. Based on this annual assessment, HMIC had judged Kent Police to be one of the top performing forces in the country. The Commissioner offered her thanks to her Chief Finance Officer for his contribution to the positive assessment of financial management. In response to a question about future work on reducing Domestic Abuse (DA) and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) the Commissioner explained that in relation to CSE she had given £200,000 funding each year for three years to support a multi-agency team including Kent County Council, Medway Council, Education and Health. In relation to DA, areas for improvement identified within HMIC’s vulnerability assessment had now been delivered. There had also been an increase in first time reporting of DA incidents which the Commissioner said was positive as it demonstrated that victims had confidence in reporting to the police and receiving the help they required.

(5)  In response to a question the Commissioner confirmed that her biggest regret of 2015 was the refusal of the Home Office to reimburse the money spent on Operation Stack. However the Commissioner also confirmed that Home Office officials had undertaken to work with the Office of the Commissioner to look at potential alternative funding streams to cover future Operation Stack costs.

(6)  A Member referred to the threat from terrorism and the increase in firearms capability in Kent. The Commissioner confirmed that following the increase in council tax precept for 2016/17 the additional funding raised would pay for 24 of the 37 additional firearms officers the Chief Constable needed. The Commissioner explained that recruiting firearms officers was not easy and Members offered alternative routes to follow such as the Civic Nuclear Constabulary at Dungeness and Ministry of Defence police at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory as areas where officers may be drawn from. The Commissioner confirmed that through mutual aid firearms officers would be shared in the event of an emergency but that the Chief Constable considered it necessary to have firearms officers available in Kent for a quick response.

(7)  The Commissioner also confirmed that the Chief Constable was exploring a range of options including approaching the army to identify those leaving who may wish to join the Force as firearms officers.

(8)    One Member queried why the increase in violent crime was not mentioned within the Annual Report and the Commissioner confirmed that there had been a small increase in low level violent crime, and pointed out that many incidents classified as violent crime involved no injury.

POST MEETING NOTE: the increase in violent crime was referred to within the Annual Report at page 50 of the Agenda reports pack.

RESOLVED that the Kent and Medway Police and Crime Panel note the 2015/16 Kent Police and Crime Commissioner’s Annual Report and that the Chairman be authorised to approve the Panel’s report on the Annual Report.