Agenda and draft minutes

It was proposed, seconded and:

Resolved: That Claire George be appointed as Chair for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

It was proposed, seconded and:

Resolved: That Councillor John Gowing be appointed as Vice-Chair for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors; Cameron Holloway, Jason McNally and Marge Beutell.

Councillor John Fox declared that he was a retired Police Officer.

Councillor Julie Kerr declared that her husband was a retired Police Officer.

It was confirmed that responses to the two questions submitted to the meeting would be shared with the Panel.

Following the deferral of both the Complaints Guidance and the Rules of Procedure report it was agreed that they were intending to be brought back to the meeting in November.

At its meeting on 13 March 2024 the Panel requested an item to discuss His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services following a Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legistimacy assessment – the Commissioner confirmed that there was an item on today’s agenda that covered this.  

Questions must be received before 12 noon on Friday 26^th July 2024 to be guarenteed acceptance in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.

None.

As part of his update the Commissioner updated the panel on the main pillars within his Annual Delivery Plan these being; Putting Communities first, Crime Prevention, Supporting victims and witnesses, Ethical policing and Robust enforcement.

The update included:

• The Constabulary now had a record number of officers which was a direct response to concerns being raised of police visibility on the streets.
• A review had been carried out by the Home Office on the Community Safety Partnership which confirmed an allied nation of good practice, and that funding would hopefully now be received for posts to support in practice.
• Bike theft was down 54% following the partnership approach.
• Hospital admission for knife related injuries had reduced by almost half following new legislation for tackling serious violence.
• The victim and witness hub were being mirrored by other constituencies and had received significant funding for additional roles.
• 101 Calls were answered outside of the area to support other areas at high traffic times.
• The new telephony system would highlight pinch points more clearly to allow for a better understanding in the areas that need to be streamlined.
• Although there was a complaints resolution team most complaints could be resolved with a conversation, the Commissioner’s approach was to listen to peoples concerns and try and solve them before they reach a formal complaint.
• The Constabulary received an outstanding mark in terms of trust in the vetting procedure for new officers.

Noted

The Commissioner provided an update against the 2023 report on all the mechanisms the Commissioner has in place to hold the Chief Constable to account for ethics and integrity.

The Panel expressed their desire for recommendations to add value rather than being purely ‘to note’.

Noted

The Commissioner explained that the logo had been inherited with the office. 18 months ago, the Communications department reached out to the graphic department at Anglian Rustling University with a live brief including integrity, trust and bringing communities together. 20 designs had been received in total. The logo had been confirmed to be fully accessible.

Members were pleased that it had come at no cost, other than an amazon voucher.

NOTED

The Commissioner explained that a goal had been set for 999 calls to be answered within 15 mins, it had been confirmed that the team were in reach of completing the goal.

A positive result had been obtained following a standalone assessment of organised crime undertaken by HMRC.

Following questions from Members the Commissioner explained that although data is being shared better than ever before it is for the Chief Constable to be satisfied or decide if more needs to be done to improve. 

It was confirmed that the Interim Chief Executive attends assurance meetings to discuss the progress of the Chief Constable’s Annual Plan, actions and recommendations are monitored and all information is fed back to the Commissioner.

NOTED

The Panel expressed their interest in receiving a report on the Commissioners approach to grants, as part of the Finance report.