Agenda and minutes

Mr Meade declared that he was Chairman of Gravesham Pastors Charity.

Mr Feacey declared that he was Chairman of Ashford Volunteer Centre.

In response to a question from the Chair the PCC confirmed that an update on the criminal justice system would be brought to the Panel at the next meeting planned for July 2024. 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2023 were an accurate record and that they be signed by the Chair. 

To consider the Police and Crime Commissioner’s draft refreshed ‘Making Kent Safer’ plan; precept proposal for 2024/25 and supporting financial information. 

1.   The Panel received a report which detailed the Commissioner’s refreshed ‘Making Kent Safer’ Police and Crime Plan and proposal to increase the policing precept in 2024/25 to £256.15 for an average Band D property, which represented an increase of £13 per year, or 5.34%, on the 2023/24 precept.

2.   The Commissioner introduced his refreshed Police and Crime Plan and confirmed that his priorities within the plan had remained consistent.  The top five issues identified by the Annual Policing Survey were already included within the plan and were:

a.    Serious violence, including gangs/weapon offences.

b.    Sexual offences, including rape.  

c.    Child sexual exploitation.

d.    Antisocial behaviour.

e.    Burglary/robbery.    

3.   The most notable change was to the priority previously described as ‘Combat organised crime and county lines’ which had been changed to ‘Combat organised crime, county lines and drugs’ on the basis that illegal drugs were the root cause of much offending and therefore Kent Police should ensure it takes robust enforcement action to reduce harm in local communities. Other issues were becoming more prominent such as Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences, whilst there remained a clear desire for Kent Police to prioritise Violence against Women and Girls. 

4.   The Commissioner responded to Members comments and questions which included the following:

5.   Further work should be undertaken on refining the survey to engage the voices of children and young people.  The Commissioner explained that he had engaged with schools, youth groups, cadet forces to share messages and listen to the voices of young people. 

6.   Concerns were raised regarding the backlog within the Crown Prosecution Service and the effects of this on the confidence of the public in Kent Police.  The Commissioner considered this did affect trust and confidence and also in the wider Criminal Justice System. 

7.   It was considered that the survey needed to show what was important for the residents of Kent and what made a difference to them.  The Commissioner took the comments around the survey on board and would take this on board including responding to comments made within the service to provide a ‘you said, we did’ response. 

8.   In response to a question about survey responses from partner organisations some work would be done where possible to capture which organisations responses were coming from.  The survey had been given out at street stalls and in supermarket foyers with an aim of reaching as many people as possible.  Members were keen that the survey was representative of the residents of Kent and encouraged further efforts to increase responses from ethnic minority communities and young people.   

9.   In relation to the Commissioner’s priorities and the links between mental health and crime the Commissioner explained that mental health had been one of his driving forces since beginning in his role.  The relationship between the Police and Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) had improved, there was a shared understanding and the Commissioner commended the relevant teams for their work to improve this relationship.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112.

1.    The Commissioner introduced this item which provided an overview of Kent Police’s HMICFRS PEEL 2023-25 Inspection and outlined how the PCC would hold the Chief Constable to account.  The Commissioner emphasised the importance of the HMICFRS reports to him in assisting him to hold the Chief Constable to account and provided independent assurance, or not, around the performance of Kent Police. 

2.    The Commissioner was pleased with the improvements made since the last report and it was positive that a couple of gradings had improved, however two categories remained in the requires improvement category.  It was acknowledged that there were still areas for improvement, but the Commissioner considered that overall direction was positive. 

3.    The Commissioner wanted to record his thanks to Roy Wilsher, OBE QFSM HM Inspector of Constabulary and HM Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services and his team for their work on the inspection. 

4.    The Commissioner set out the key areas which required improvement, the majority of grading were good but areas such as ‘storing best practice’ needed to improve and it was considered that this was improving with the increased use of SharePoint.  The Force Control Room grading was based on data from March 2023 and this was correct as of that time, 101 call attrition rate was 1.93% at the end of January 2024 and it was considered that this grading would move to at least adequate if the inspection were to be repeated today however it was accepted that the grading was appropriate for its time.  This continued to be monitored on a weekly basis with the Chief Constable or his Deputy. 

5.    In relation to investigating crime, this had improved however the category remained as requires improvement.  The Commissioner had written to the HM Inspector of Constabulary with concerns that the measures used for grading this area were inconsistent. 

6.    The Chairman welcomed the report and the continued monitoring of the areas which were graded as requires improvement.   

RESOLVED that the Police and Crime Panel note the report and agree to a further update at their October 2024 meeting.   

RESOLVED to note the future work programme.