Agenda item

The Chairman of the Police and Crime Panel, Mr. J. T. Orson JP CC has been invited to attend for this item. A presentation will be delivered.

The Commission considered a presentation concerning an update on the activity of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Panel (PC). A copy of the slides forming the presentation is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting Mr. J. T. Orson JP CC, Chairman of the PCP who was present to deliver the presentation.

Arising from the presentation, the following points were noted:

·                The newly elected PCC had indicated that he was fully committed to partnership working and that he would use the PCP as a sounding board in this regard;

·                Some recent problems with anti-social behaviour in Countesthorpe had led to a public meeting being set up by the PCC and chaired by the local County Councillor. The work of the IMPACT Team was praised in dealing with this issue;

·                The tri-force collaboration involving Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire was progressing well. It was unfortunate that Derbyshire were not currently engaged in this work, though it was known that talks regarding their involvement were ongoing;

·                It was suggested that Leicestershire’s crime figures had risen by around 3% against a falling national picture. No comparative figures had been provided by the former PCC in his most recent Annual Report and it was suggested that the Panel would take this issue away as part of its ongoing work programme;

·                The Police’s satisfaction rates were informed by a survey of a percentage of those who had been victims of crime. Satisfaction rates for crimes such as theft of and from motor vehicles were known to have dropped. The PCC had noted in his annual report that this decline in satisfaction was due to the reduced service now provided to many victims of vehicle crime as a result of the force’s new operating model and regional policy decisions taken;

·                The Police were known to have made efforts to increase reporting of crime, though questions were raised in regard to which crimes were required to be recorded, as it was known that in some cases victims did not always receive a crime number. It was felt that confidence in the Police would be enhanced by greater clarity being provided on what constituted a crime;

·                The PCC had met with the leaders of most local authorities and had indicated that he intended to attend future meetings of the Leicestershire Safer Communities Board as a means of engaging further;

·                A question had been raised with the PCC at the most recent meeting of the PCP regarding funding for the Supporting Leicestershire Families programme. He had indicated that he understood the value of preventative work to all partners and that he would consider his funding contribution for this work in the future;

·                It was pleasing that the PCC had given his commitment to “visible policing” though in light of the ongoing pressures in terms of resources it was questioned where resources might be directed away from other areas of criminal activity as a result of this commitment;

·                The commitment from the PCC to allowing the Chief Constable to provide regular briefings to County Councillors on Force activity as he had done prior to the election of the former PCC was welcomed.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the chairman of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Panel be thanked for his informative presentation;

(b)       That the Police and Crime Panel be asked to follow up with the PCC and Chief Constable as appropriate on the following issues as part of its ongoing work programme:

(i)            A national and regional comparison of the Force’s crime figures;

(ii)          Clarity around the Force’s strategic response to lower priority crimes such as theft of and from motor vehicles;

(iii)         Clarity around what constituted criminal activity and the guidelines that regulated its recording;

(iv)         Further information on how resources will be directed in light of the PCC’s commitment to retaining police officer and PCSOs at current levels.