Agenda item

1.      The Commissioner congratulated the Chair and Vice-chair on their re-election to the Panel before providing an introduction and overview of his annual report.  He drew the Panel’s attention to the inclusion, for a second year, of data on deaths and serious incidents in police custody which had been included in the interests of full transparency and to support the recommendations of Dame Elish Angiolini’s review.

2.      The Commissioner thanked his team at the OPCC, Neil Wickens in particular, for their hard work on the Annual Report.  He also highlighted the Kent Police Finance Team, and in particular Sonia Virdee, for their excellent ongoing work, some of which had been recognised nationally and also on completion of the draft Statement of Accounts. 

3.      The Commissioner provided an overview of the key points from the report, including;

·         The Police and Crime Plan had been updated to include keeping roads safe and protecting vulnerable road users.

·         The largest recruitment drive in Kent Police’s history had been undertaken.

·         Additional resources had to be funded via a council tax increase because funding was not available from central government.

·         Additional staff recruited to the Force Control Room (FCR) which had improved 101 and 999 call-handling.

·         Implementation of the Chief’s Crime Squad to provide county wide proactive and preventative investigative capability and capacity.

·         Restorative Justice programme had been in place with the same provider for a full year, allowing more victims and offenders to come together in a positive way to discuss how to repair the harm.

·         Further investment in technology via the Athena system which had replaced Genesis in Kent and allowed easier data sharing between Forces.

·         Investment in mobile technology had improved efficiency for frontline officers.

·         The governance processes for holding the Chief Constable to account had been updated, including a focus on case studies and consideration of impact of crime and disorder rather than just statistics.

4.    The Chair thanked the Commissioner for the report and the verbal update before inviting questions from the Panel.

The Panel meeting was adjourned at 10:16 due to disruption by members of the public.

Meeting reconvened at 11:20

5.    Responding to questions regarding the accessibility of the Force, the Commissioner explained that accessibility was tested via public engagement, community and local government meetings.  He advised that where this engagement was taking place, he was satisfied that the local police were working to make themselves accessible.  The Commissioner also highlighted that there were now multiple channels for reporting crimes and incidents to Kent Police and that he remained committed to making best use of the Police estate and maintaining public Front Counters services in police stations and locations where they already exist.

6.    In answer to a question on how the Chief Constable was held to account regarding local crime and ASB, the Commissioner explained that a specific priority existed for these issues and that there was a standing item on his Performance & Delivery Board agenda, consideration of which included the Chief Constable providing the latest figures and relevant updates.  The Commissioner also advised that as part of his weekly Monday morning meeting with the Chief Constable, the Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing provided reports to the Commissioner on important local issues around the county.  He advised that there had been a 13% reduction in ASB but that he knew ASB was also reported directly to councils, so he and Kent Police worked with them on these issues where possible.

7.    In response to a question about deployment of the additional Officer resource provided by the recruitment drive and the need for increased police visibility as soon as possible, the Commissioner advised that the last of the recently recruited 200 Officers had now finished their training and would be out serving as warranted officers in local communities.  Linked to this year’s precept increase, a further 180 Officers were now being recruited and trained.  In terms of deployment, the Commissioner reminded the Panel that this was a decision for the Chief Constable, subject to the priorities in the Police and Crime Plan.  The Commissioner highlighted an increase in the size of the rural policing team, the roads policing team, the establishment of the Chief Constable’s Crime Squad and introduction of Sexual Offence Liaison Officers dedicated to working with victims of sexual violence. He said that overall, of the 200 Officers recruited last year, just over half had gone into visible, accessible, community policing roles and the other half into investigative roles. He added that of the 180 this year, half again would be going into local policing roles, including an extra 38 Officers for town centre policing, and the other half into investigation roles. 

8.    Responding to a question regarding the Medway Taskforce, the Commissioner explained that this would mirror the work of the Margate Taskforce and would be resourced with one Sergeant and six Constables.  He also confirmed that relevant expertise had been secured to assist in running the Taskforce.

9.    A Member commented that the report was very comprehensive and that it showed good progress had been made over the last year, which was positive.  The Member particularly highlighted the successful recruitment drive as a positive indication that Kent Police was an organisation people wanted to work for.

10. The Commissioner thanked the Panel for the positive comments but advised that the hard work of policing was done by the staff and officers on the ground and that he was always keen to ensure they received the thanks they deserved for delivering a good service.

11. Responding to a question about Compass House and the victim support arrangements, the Commissioner explained that the Compass Points were not fixed points around the county but instead operated like mobile surgeries.

12. In response to a question regarding the Council Tax increase, the Commissioner advised the Panel that he was pleased the increase had been generally supported and the public could see something tangible from it – extra officers.  He said that whilst Commissioners had been given more flexibility around council tax, it hadn’t impacted the general grant settlement and it was expected that it wouldn’t in the future.    The Commissioner hoped that the comprehensive spending review would, when it took place, give a clearer picture and take into account the challenges facing policing.  He also reminded Members that Kent Police received the 7^th lowest funding per head of population and had the 6^th lowest council tax, but was the best performing Force in the country. 

13. Members commented positively on the improvements made in call-handling, confirming that concerns about difficulties in contacting the police were no longer raised to them as issues by the public.  The Commissioner confirmed that he had regular meetings with the Chief Constable to monitor the issue and that recent briefings on this had shown that call grading processes were still managed appropriately, with High Grade calls being attended as soon as possible while emergency calls were treated as urgent.  The Commissioner highlighted that it had been shown at his Performance & Delivery Board that Kent Police were still attending over 80% of residential burglaries, with every victim visited by a PCSO even though many other forces did not send people to attend such crimes.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.