Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 October 2013 were taken as read, confirmed and signed subject to paragraph ix on page 4 being amended to reflect the negative effect that the increased use of technology through mobile working could have on the 5% crime reduction target in the Police and Crime Plan.

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There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

All members of Community Safety Partnerships declared personal interests in all matters relating to those partnerships.

Mr Orson and Cllr Pendleton declared personal interests as members of the Strategic Partnership Board.

Cllr Sood declared a personal interest as the Chair of the Leicester Council of Faiths and a member of Sport England.

Cllr Senior declared a personal interest as a member of UNISON.

The Panel considered a report of the Chief Finance Officer concerning the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) first year in office. A copy of the report, marked “Agenda Item 4” is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed the PCC, his Chief Executive (CEO) and Chief Finance Officer (CFO) to the meeting to introduce the paper. In doing so, the following principal points were made:

·                The first year had been largely a transitional process. Staff continued to be recruited to the PCC’s office to ensure the successful delivery of the Police and Crime Plan (PC Plan);

·                Much had been learnt thus far about the partnership work the Police were engaged in. Community Safety was one area highlighted as a success;

·                Leicestershire Police continued to lead the mental health agenda nationally. The PCC hoped that further integration would take place with Public Health, including taking a more active role on the Health and Wellbeing Board;

·                Regional collaboration with other forces was viewed as a priority;

·                The Office for the PCC (OPCC) would be reconfigured with a budget reduction of £15,000;

·                Leicestershire was the first in the country to start a “Youth Commissioning” pilot consisting of a group of youths with varied backgrounds advising on priority issues for young people. This work would feed into areas such as training for Police Officers;

·                The OPCC wished to carry out better consultation with the public in future. A suggestion was made that it might be possible for the OPCC to collaborate with local authorities when consulting on issues such as council tax and the precept;

·                The impending independent review of the Force’s PR and communication function would decide under whose control this function would sit in future. It currently sat within the Chief Constable’s control.

In response to the questions of Panel members, the following points were noted:

·                The overall crime statistic for the force area was showing an increase of 2.8%, which was recognised as a concern. Despite this being a trend nationally, the PCC highlighted that, in 2012, crime had a seen a dramatic reduction, which had meant that a further fall would have been challenging to achieve. The statistic reflected an increase in “volume” crimes, such as theft from cars, shoplifting, theft of bicycles and burglaries. In response to a question as to whether this increase could relate to the economic climate and its impact on the population, the PCC referred to an increase in driving away from garages without having paid for fuel;

·                Operation Tiger was a direct reaction to the increase in volume crime, with a focus on a visible police presence tackling issues that were of high concern to communities. Operation Tiger would continue for the foreseeable future, though possibly with fewer officers. The part the public could play in tackling crime was highlighted;

·                The PCC had received assurances from the Chief Constable that the Force was doing all it could to combat increases in rural crime in areas such as Melton;

·                Funds were issued via the PCC Grant (paragraph 16 d. of the report refers) according to the priorities of the PC Plan. An example was given of a scheme called The Friends of Holly Hayes Wood, which had recently received grant funding to enable it to continue a programme training people who were not in employment, education or training to acquire skills-based educational opportunities in areas such as woodland management and dry stone walling;

·                The innovation grant had been successful in bringing forward ideas to combat crime. An example was given of an app to combat cyber bullying. It was fully intended to continue this sort  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

The Panel considered a report of the Chief Finance Officer concerning an update on the financial position prior to the budget process in January 2014. A copy of the report, marked “Agenda Item 5” is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the debate the following points were noted:

·                Though there would be no council tax increase in 2014/15, assurances were given that the Police was looking to increase revenue through a variety of means, such as the Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 contributions. The need was stressed for the Police to clearly evidence the need for funds to ensure success at planning committees;

·                Work was being carried out regionally to commission a “Regional Hub” for victims and witnesses. All of the five forces/PCCs were active in driving this forward. The Panel would be provided with more detail on this work in the near future;

·                A £2.9 million reserve enabled the recruitment of PCSOs beyond that set out in the budget;

·                There was, at the end of October, a £900k underspend. Discussions were already taking place about how to use these funds pro-actively;

·                There was an uncertainty around the intended transfer of work from the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That, in light of concerns expressed about the approach of the Police to Section 106 agreements, the Chief Finance Officer be requested to write to Police and Crime Panel members regarding the ways in which it expects to utilise Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy.

The Panel considered a report of the Chief Finance Officer concerning a thematic update against the strategic priority of the Police and Crime Plan (PC Plan) to reduce offending and re-offending. A copy of the report, marked “Agenda Item 6” is filed with these minutes.

In introducing the report, the Chief Finance Officer explained that there would be a more detailed performance report submitted to the PCP at its budget meeting in January.

The PCC noted a request from a number of members of the Panel to increase funding for the “Troubled Families” partnership agenda and stated that budgets could be increased in future if the programme proved to be successful. The importance of evidencing clear outcomes was therefore stressed;

Whilst the cohort in the “Troubled Families” was relatively small at present, an officer had been seconded to the OPCC from the Probation Service to work through the issues and any barriers to growing the number of families in the programme.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The next meeting of the Commission is scheduled to take place on 27 January 2014 at 2.00pm at County Hall, Glenfield.

It was NOTED that the next meeting of the Commission would be held on 27 January 2013 at 2.00pm at County Hall, Glenfield.