Agenda item

1.            The Commissioner explained that Kent was the highest recruiting police force anywhere in the country last year.  It was now becoming clear the deployment was starting to deliver results for local communities.  There was a desire to have a police force that was reflective of the communities it served.  There was a large amount of effort going into engaging with all communities to highlight opportunities within policing.

2.            In relation to the deployment of this year’s recruits and their impact; once their initial training was completed officers would go out into local policing teams, responding to calls and engaging with victims of crime, but they also provided the Chief Constable with capacity to increase the size of teams and create new teams in order to address some of the challenges. Referencing the recruitment and training of additional Town Centre officers, the Commissioner advised their deployment was based on analysis of demand, including levels of crime and ASB.

3.            The Commissioner referred to positive criminal justice outcomes, this was moving in the right direction with regards to community outcomes.  Where officers were deployed was determined on the basis of need, they were still a limited resource.  The increase in officers represented a substantial investment by the Kent Council Taxpayer alongside the savings made to maximise the amount of money going into front line policing.  The Commissioner offered congratulations to Kent Police’s recruitment team, they had done a tremendous job delivering 291 extra officers last year, and boosting the number of applications received.  The Commissioner referred to the stated ambition for 20,000 more officers across UK, he assured Members that he would lobby hard for Kent to receive its fair share. There was uncertainty around when forces would know the finer detail, the Commissioner was aware that there would be a funding announcement soon and he would ensure that the Panel was made aware of the allocation. 

4.               Cllr Gideon commented that it was positive to hear that diversity statistics for Kent were ahead of the national benchmark.  She asked whether the diversity agenda played a role in who goes where.  The Commissioner confirmed that the force worked hard on encouraging people progression and this information was available publicly.  The Commissioner confirmed that when a new team was created applications from all officers were invited and followed by an assessment to determine who would be best in each role.  There was extensive support available to people looking for promotion and lateral transfers. 

5.            Cllr Clark congratulated the Commissioner on progress with regards to getting the numbers of police officers back to those of 2010.   He raised a concern over whether there was a high turnover of officers and a large loss of experienced officers.  He was also conscious that if the force was training a large number of officers there was a need for a large number of trainers.  The PCC explained that the biggest source of officers leaving was retirement, but sometimes those officers were retained as police staff.  Officers were not being lost to other forces at the levels seen nationally, Kent was a net beneficiary of police officer transfer schemes. 

6.            Cllr Palmer asked what the BAME makeup was across Kent and how the figures set out at paragraph 8 compared across the country and against other areas of the public sector.  The Commissioner explained that the most recent census figure for the BAME population in Kent was around 8% so although progress had been made further work was needed to ensure the force represented the people it served. 

7.            Ms Hamilton referred to retention during the probation period, and asked if who was leaving and why was monitored.  The Commissioner confirmed that it was monitored, and of the 490 officers who joined last year only 23 had left during the first year, this was for various reasons including finances, childcare, change of circumstances; there was no one reason which stood out as a cause for concern.

8.            Cllr Mochrie-Cox raised the £10million efficiency savings; extra police needed extra support, he asked whether officers were burdened because resources were not available to support them.  He asked that a report on support systems sitting behind officers be brought to the Panel at a future meeting.  The Commissioner confirmed that the information was publicly available in his Performance and Delivery Board papers, the Commissioner was a big supporter of police staff and he was happy to talk more to the Panel about support provided to police officers by police staff and how police staff were supported and developed.

9.            The Vice-Chairman congratulated the Commissioner on the work being done around diversity, he asked how Kent Police was being held to account with regards to recruitment across the diverse range of BAME backgrounds.  The Commissioner confirmed that he had requested some further information from Kent Police around the diversity of the workforce, including the Cadet programme and volunteering schemes.  In response to a question about fraud the Commissioner stated that he felt the process for dealing with it in the UK was not working.  A joint unit had been created with Essex Police to provide a better service around fraud and economic crime.  This was a big issue that caused significant levels of harm. 

10.         Cllr Dyball asked what the average time for processing applications was, were there sufficient staff working on the applications and did many applicants drop out because of the timescale.  The Commissioner explained that Kent Police had worked hard to reduce the processing time, which originally was taking around 8 months.  The process was now taking on average 4 months, with some turned round more quickly; the main concern was around DBS checks and vetting but this was being monitored.  It was not considered that many applicants were lost due to the timescale for processing applications but it was a flexible process. 

11.         Mrs Game expressed her support for the Police Cadet scheme, which was a golden opportunity to train young people to become good police officers.  The Commissioner supported this and confirmed that some Police Cadets were now joining Kent Police, adding that it was not the sole purpose of the scheme, but was a benefit. 

12.         Cllr Mochrie-Cox asked if a future Panel meeting could hear from Police Cadets, providing an opportunity to showcase and celebrate their experiences. 

13.         In response to a question from Cllr Gooch the Commissioner confirmed that Kent was the biggest recruiting police force in the country, it was the best performing police force in the country, it was ambitious to continue growth and development.  However, this wouldn’t have happened if the Panel and Commissioner had not taken some difficult decisions.  The Commissioner confirmed that he would continue to make the case for Kent and the South East. 

14.         Elaine Bolton congratulated the Commissioner on the improved delivery and diversity of the Force.  With regards to deployment being based on need, Mrs Bolton asked whether the diversity of districts and officers was taken into account when deployment decisions were made.  Mrs Bolton expressed her surprise at the lack of reference to serious violence, and that there were 19 extra officers in a team focussing on missing children and adults, did this mean that Kent Police had an issue around missing children and adults more than serious violence?  The Commissioner explained that with regards to the need for local town centre officers, violent crime was one of the criteria, amongst others; once announced, he said he would ask that the criteria be made transparent to ensure communities understood the decisions.  When deployed after initial training officers are asked for their location preference, but ultimately the decision rested with the chief constable.  The Commissioner said he was not aware of any process that sought to match officers from diverse backgrounds with diverse communities, but said he would ask the question of the Chief Constable.  

15.         Regarding missing children and adults, policing generally had a big problem; National Crime Agency statistics showed that over 300,000 missing person reports per year were reported to local policing.  The Chief Constable had created a Missing Child and Exploitation Team to address concerns about children going missing and exploitation by gangs, violent crime and Modern Day Slavery. He added that there had been a reduction in the number of children going missing and the length of time they were missing for.  It was considered that this was a good model that could be replicated for missing adults.

16.          The Chairman highlighted two points to take forward, firstly, the support structure and police staff to support the new officers, and secondly, how the Panel might celebrate the successes of the Police Cadet scheme.

RESOLVED that the Panel note the Commissioner’s Police Officer Recruitment Update and:

-       Request a report on the support structures that sit behind the new Officers

-       Consider ways in which it might celebrate the successes of the Police Cadet scheme.