Agenda item

1.    The Commissioner thanked his staff at the OPCC for their efficiency and hard work. In particular, he thanked Mr Wickens (Head of Policy Coordination & Research, OPCC) for producing his annual reports to a high standard.

2.    The Commissioner introduced the report, which he broke down into four key areas: Holding to Account, Finance, Victim Services, and Partnerships.

3.    With regard to the first area - Holding to Account – the Commissioner provided examples where accountability was key. For instance, steps were taken to improve the performance of the Force’s Control Room, as non-emergency call handling performance deteriorated, with an increase in unanswered calls and the time callers were waiting. The Force took immediate action to address this issue, and developed a longer term programme of strategic transformation. Two years later, performance in this area had become one of the best in the country.

4.    In terms of Finance, yet another balanced budget was delivered last financial year. This enabled maintenance of the previous year’s Kent Police uplift allocation.  Additional funding was secured for victim services, while the savings plan was mostly achieved.

5.    The victim support funding received from the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office was an example of where Police and Crime Commissioners could have an influence on supporting victims and making communities safer. During the course of last year alone, victim services supported over 100,000 people.

6.    Part of the additional funding was used to employ independent domestic abuse and sexual violence advisors; this helped an additional 7,000 people who had been victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. The Catch 22 initiative - helped 168 young people at risk of crime exploitation, such as county lines.

7.    The Commissioner praised the work of victim services, including those working with victims of domestic violence and homicide, those offering legal advice and those supporting families who lost loves ones in road accidents.

8.    In terms of partnership and prevention, the Commissioner praised the multiagency work of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which brought together local authorities, the police and other organisations. In 2023 alone, the support offered by the VRU to young people contributed to a decrease in knife-related injuries of 20%.  

9.    Partnership work through the Criminal Justice Board was continuing to address the backlog of outstanding caseloads in both Magistrates and Crown Courts. While Kent Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the courts and the Probation Service were working hard to resolve this issue, there were still challenges in terms of staff capacity, particularly with regard to judicial posts.

10.The Chairman expressed concern over the reduction of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and the coverage of the officers in the model.

a.    The Commissioner explained that the number of officers would remain the same; the vacant PCSO posts would be replaced by additional Police Constables.  Every Ward would have a named Police Officer. A higher proportion of resources would be owned at District level and each Kent District was able to decide the allocation and coverage of their officers.

11.In reply to a question about preventative work in schools, the Commissioner talked about the Young Peoples Prevention Service. It provided age-appropriate messages to young people to help them make better informed choices and keep themselves and others safe. The service was delivered by two providers:  Collaborate Digital - which focused on healthy relationships and cyber safety - and St Giles Trust – which focused on the dangers associated with gangs, county lines, knife crime and criminal exploitation.

12.In response to a question about what service improvements an annual increase in the precept would result in, the Commissioner said that he hoped to see an improvement in criminal justice outcomes, the quality of investigations and the visibility of officers.

13.A Panel member asked whether it might be helpful to investigate the possibility of consolidating some of the funding for young people’s preventative services, as this could avoid some duplication and promote a more efficient allocation of resources. 

a.    The Commissioner said that, hopefully, there would be funding for the VRU next year so that some of those projects could continue. He thought that the use of his own internal commissioning budget for the Gangs and County Lines Service, as well as the Young People's Prevention Service, worked well. The challenge was the increasing competition for fewer and fewer funding streams - hence increasing partnership work would be crucial in the future.

b.    The Crime Reduction Grant was allocated directly to local authorities. There was some flexibility in how it could be used, as long as it met the priorities set out in his Police and Crime Plan.

14.In response to a question about the approach of Kent Police to the recent public protests, the Commissioner said the Force displayed an effective and strong response. The engagement with the local community was an important element; it involved not just Police Officers, but also Community Liaison Officers, whose presence provided reassurance. 

15.Effective and accurate media communication and information was crucial. False and inaccurate media information that caused public anxiety was becoming an increasing problem. Collaboration between the police, local authorities and partner organisations was key to rapidly countering this type of misinformation. 

16.In reply to a question about the increase in the recorded possession of cannabis, the Commissioner said that this could be partly linked to an increase in police Stop and Search activity.  

17.A Panel member asked whether the decrease in knife crime was part of a longer term trend.

a.    The Commissioner confirmed that this was the case because there had been a consistent reduction in knife-related injuries in the past few years.

18.A Panel member asked to what extent the Commissioner’s Office interacted with Kent Police to ensure that sentences which were considered to be unduly lenient were challenged.

a.    The Commissioner said that there was a mechanism in place whereby, when appropriate, he could raise the leniency of a sentence with Kent Police, and if they agreed, in certain circumstances they would approach the CPS. However, it was not a procedure that had been used often.

RESOLVED: To review and comment on the Annual Report.