Meeting documents

For a Local Area Commander to provide a briefing on:-

·         how the local policing model has been implemented in their area and the positive impact this model has had in reducing crime.

·         what is the impact of working in partnership with other organisations to address demand and dealing with local policing issues such as anti-social behaviour

For the PCC to provide an update on how he was holding the Chief Constable to account on:-

·         the local policing model and how success was being measured

·         the combination of budgetary pressures, increased demand, the reduction in officer posts and recruitment and retention, the impact of the new operating model and changing work practices - all of which may impact on stress levels within the Force

This item related to the new operating model which had gone live in June 2017. The Chief Constable reported that this new model had gone live during a time when they had lost a number of police officers (about 100), there were four murders in the first few weeks following implementation of the model and there was increasing demand, including the terrorist incidents in June this year. He commented that the old model would also not have worked well during this high demand period.

With regard to the loss of police officers other Forces were also recruiting and officers were leaving Thames Valley to join other Forces where it was cheaper to live. They were looking at alternative ways to boost numbers such as encouraging retired officers to undertake case investigations which helped the resilience of the Force. They had recently received an ‘Outstanding’ HMIC inspection grade with regard to efficiency in the Force but there had been problems initially with regard to new shift patterns under the new operating model. Some police officers were finding the new patterns tiring; they were being asked to work less each day but as a consequence they had less days off.  They had undertaken wide ranging consultation with officers and there was continuing debate over improvements to the model.

The high demand over the summer impacted on 999/101 calls but the number of calls has now dropped slightly. They were monitoring response times under immediate/non immediate responses but the majority of calls were being dealt with in a timely way. In terms of teams responding to calls the roll out of laptops had helped the Force. There was a dashboard of performance measures. Caseloads per officer had increased because of sickness issues. The latest HMIC report on efficiency had complimented the new operating model and the Chief Constable reported that whilst it had been a difficult change process and they were now six months into implementation, he felt that the model was an improvement and a better way of working.

The Local Area Commander for Wycombe Superintendent Kevin Brown gave an update on how the model was operating in his area. He had been moved into his post at the end of June so had no preconceived ideas of how it would operate and had not been involved in any of the planning processes. The model was not quite fit for purpose at the start of the process and in the last 3-4 months he had been looking at ways to optimise resources to meet the outcomes of the model. It was a big change management programme which included a change of culture, mindset and working patterns and there had been scepticism from officers. As the resourcing had not been ideal at the start this did have an impact on investigations and the Force had become reactive rather than proactive. Police officers had been concerned about their roles and responsibilities and struggled to manage their daily workloads.

However, a ‘one team’ ethos had been encouraged in the new model where individual officers each had a role to play and by sitting together this improved control and ownership. They had developed a smarter resolution function to deal with lower level crime by telephone and High Wycombe area was one of the best in the Force. They managed expectations of the public where there was unlikely to be progress. Initially there had been a time lag of 2-4 weeks in dealing with inquiries and this was now 1-4 days so services had improved. With the smarter resolution function they had decreased demand by 40% in High Wycombe and officers were now positive about the new operating model and the benefit to neighbourhood policing. The problem solving teams were working well and they were employing graduates to work on community projects as a dedicated resource. They were building community resilience to deal with issues such as homelessness and anti-social behaviour to create space for investigations to be undertaken.

The Chief Constable reported that they were currently being inspected by HMIC on the effectiveness strand of PEEL which would include feedback on the new model.

During discussion the following points were made:-

·         Cllr Burke commented that if some minor crimes were not addressed then the public would not be satisfied and asked how this was prioritised. The Superintendent reported that this only related to low level incidents and that they used the THOR model to prioritise (Threat Harm Opportunity Risk) and decide whether to attend incidents.

·         Mr Marshall asked what being back to normal meant in terms of minutes. The Chief Constable reported that the response times for immediate was just below 80% at 20mins and less urgent was below 60%.

·         Cllr Page congratulated the Chief Constable on the ‘outstanding’ rating from HMIC. He expressed concern about visible neighbourhood policing being downgraded as the public do engage with local police and use the 101 service to provide information. He had a surgery last Saturday where three residents had abandoned 101 calls after 10-20 mins wait and they said that they were unlikely to try again. On page 20 of the agenda papers Cllr Page quoted the HMIC report where the Force figures for the abandonment rate for 101 calls have averaged 6.1% for the 3 months December 2016 to February 2017. This was not an encouraging figure when the public were being encouraged to use 101. The Chief Constable reported that Reading in particular had been impacted by Force vacancies including the Police Community Support Officer and there had been no back up available. The Force did have a commitment to have a geographical and visible presence and they were working with partners to address this. The Chief Constable reported that he was totally committed to neighbourhood policing and that they were not where they should be with police officer numbers currently. In terms of 101 this had significantly improved but call centres still had to prioritise 999 calls and when there was a high demand this did impact on 101. There were finite resources. The more complex calls where a vulnerable person was involved would be assessed fully using the THOR model and these calls obviously took longer. They had a high benchmark of 40 seconds, which was higher than other Forces but the vast majority are within 2 minutes. There would always be anecdotal evidence that callers had to wait a long period of time. At the start of the call if they were experiencing high demand the caller was asked to call back at another time. There was a big change in technology which would be implemented next year (Contact Management Programme) which would allow more call handling to be undertaken over the internet which would allow telephone resources to be used for the most vulnerable. The Chief Constable encouraged all residents to persevere with 101 calls. Cllr Page asked for the updated figures on abandoned calls when they became available.

Action: Chief Constable

·         The PCC did comment that when other Forces also had a high demand for 999 calls these were referred to other Forces and this had happened with the Metropolitan Police. The Chief Constable reported that the new contact management system was being used by Hampshire and the Thames Valley and 101 calls would be shared when there were peaks and troughs in demand.

·         Cllr Hayes referred to the stringent public finances and the need for the police to focus on priorities. Whilst the new model was welcome there had been significant concerns about the roll-out of the model and the increased demand. The Force were doing an excellent job in combatting terrorism but there were concerns about community safety issues such as drug dealing in Oxford. He had been asking questions about the biggest community safety risk and the response had been the number of injecting drug dealers; there were 10 hots spots in Oxford. The neighbourhood teams were thinly spread particularly around areas such as Blackbird Leys where there was an increasing amount of gang activity and violence. These issues were being reported on 101 and they had to wait along time for a response. Anneliese Dodds MP had also expressed real concern about community policing and the delays to non-urgent calls and the invisibility of the police. He asked the PCC to confirm whether these issues were going to be dealt with in the up and coming budget and that Thames Valley Police would address the fact that they were not sufficiently policed which was leading to concerns about community safety.

·         The Scrutiny Officer then read out a question from Cllr Adey which was similar to the previous question. Since the new operating model has been put in place residents are expressing concern that there is no visible policing in Wycombe – and families are now afraid to go into Wycombe at night and are even intimidated during the day. She says there are gang, drugs and begging problems and the public safety protection orders are not working because there is no one to enforce them.

·         Cllr Dhaliwal also commented that the same issues were being experienced in Slough which had been discussed at their Scrutiny Committee the previous evening.

·         Cllr Sharp (Windsor and Maidenhead) asked a linked question about whether security companies should be used to address some of the gaps in resourcing.

The PCC reported that £100 million had been taken out of his budget and yet the Force was assessed as being ‘outstanding’ from HMIC in terms of efficiency. They would be down about 400 police officers and 100 PCSO’s at the end of the year. There were concerns about the distribution of funding for Police Forces across the Country and Thames Valley received £160 Government grant per head of population whereas northern metropolitan forces received approx. £190 per head. That difference in Government funding of £30, times the population of Thames Valley (2million), would pay for a large number of police officers. Resources had also been taken away to deal with the terrorist threat. The PCC had raised the precept at just below 2% each year but to make a real difference he would have to raise it by 10%. Some PCCs had been discussing the possibility of the Government removing the cap on the increase of the police precept and he would be interested to know residents views on this. If the cap was removed the PCC would go out to consultation to look at what level the precept should be raised to. The PCC commented that neighbourhood policing was a priority but that they still had to deal with threats such as counter terrorism which limited their ability to deal with street crime. There was also imported serious organised crime which needed to be addressed together with violence and ’county lines’ and it was difficult to know where to prioritise. He would see what could be done about addressing drug dealing but unfortunately once a gang had been caught and prosecuted this would be soon be replaced by another gang.

·         The Chief Constable responded regarding Wycombe and reported that they were trying to disrupt drug suppliers who target the vulnerable. A large amount of resources were being put into covert operations and some operations which were undertaken could take up to 2 years. He also referred to the comment made by the PCC about gangs being replaced once they had been disrupted. In terms of making High Wycombe a safe place to live it was important to work closely with partners to share information as it could sometimes be a struggle to get up to date information. They were working closely with the Chief Executive and the Community Safety Manager of Wycombe District Council.

·         The Superintendent referred back to the issues with youth violence and engagement, aggressive begging and homelessness which were problems being experience across urban areas in the Thames Valley. It was important to develop strong partnership working and identifying good practice across the Country to ensure that these issues were being addressed. The Chief Constable reported that local police areas have the proactive capability to deal with these issues such as targeting crimes such as drugs activity and protecting the vulnerable from cuckooing. They have had a number of successful operations relating to Serious Organised Crime. A number of posts were going to be released in January 2018 through the new operating model but this was before the Force experienced the significant rise in demand. Therefore the MTFP for next year does not now include the removal of these 50 posts. Thames Valley are currently undertaking a proactive recruitment campaign to mitigate the shortage of police officers which includes using staff case investigators. There were also budgetary pressures and in 2018/19 there was currently a shortfall of £3.17m which the Force will need to balance before the final proposed budget is presented to the PCC in January 2018. There was also a growth area in terms of vulnerability which was high risk and high harm such as modern slavery and county lines.

·         A recommendation was put that the Panel be updated on the new operating model after the first year of operation. Cllr Page asked for information to be provided on each Local Police Area as well as an overall assessment. The Chief Constable reported that they had a performance dashboard which he would share with the PCC.

Action: PCC/Chief Constable

Budgetary Pressures

Ian Thompson, Chief Financial Officer, OPCC updated Members on the budget for next year.

·         Since the Chancellor announced the results of the Coalition Government’s Spending Review in 2010 local policing budgets have been reduced, in real-terms, by 38%.

·         Key pressures on policing are coming from rising overall crime levels, more complex crimes being committed, a growing terrorist threat and more than ever the police being called on as a first resort when other agencies lack their own capacity.

·         The amount of money top-sliced or reallocated from core police grant continues to increase.

·         The date of the provisional settlement is likely to be 13 December 2017.

·         Although the Government has promised to protect local force budgets in cash terms (i.e. a real terms reduction) TVP continues to be an area of rapid population growth; its population is projected to increase by 15% over the 25 year period 2014 to 2039.

·         There is an increasing focus on the amount of reserves held by the police service nationally. A report was presented to the Minister in October 2017 which showed the total revenue reserves at £1.6 bn. Current forecasts indicate that revenue reserves will fall by a further 50% between now and March 2020 and capital grants and reserves are forecast to fall even faster. The situation in local force areas will vary significantly e.g Metropolitan Police have recently sold New Scotland Yard for £370million.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/13/met-police-sold-1bn-of-property-to-soften-blow-of-budget-cuts

·         Pay inflation has been provided for at a 1% annual increase.

·         There was to be a review of the Police Core Grant Distribution Formula and work was undertaken by a Home Office led working group where progress was sufficient that a public consultation was expected in June. However following the snap general election this has been parked whilst other priority issues are being addressed.

·         There has been a Home Affairs Select Committee looking at the Future of Policing involving PCCs and Chief Constables where a comment was made that the Police Grant funding formula changes won’t happen for 2018/19.

·         The reduced availability of finance will clearly be a significant constraint on operational policing for the foreseeable future. Given the level of savings already made the financial challenge facing TVP over the next few years is significant, extremely challenging and will require changes in all aspects of service delivery including frontline policing.

·         The Chief Constable had mentioned the shortfall in the medium term revenue budget; there was also a shortfall in the capital budget of £10 million with a capital programme of £100 million over the next 4 years, being the biggest yet to ensure that policing is fit for purpose for the future with ongoing funding restraints.

During discussion the following points were made:-

·         Cllr Page asked about PCC lobbying Government to have the cap removed so that they had more flexibility over the precept. The Chief Financial Officer reported that every PCC had been encouraged to respond to the DCLG to have precept flexibility and if this was allowed then the PCC would need to undertake a quick consultation to see if communities in Thames Valley supported this increase. The PCC commented that if the precept was raised there may be a danger that the formula grant may look more skewed.

·         Cllr Hayes asked whether the PCC had spoken to other PCCs and Ministers about raising the precept. The PCC commented that they already knew his views.

·         Mr Marshall asked where the money would be used if there was an increase in local taxation. The Chief Financial Officer reported that they would discuss this through the consultation but the extra resources raised would help sustain policing and reduce the level of budget cuts otherwise required.

·         Cllr Egleton commented that at the Home Affairs Select Committee they had discussed the need for local policing and the importance of this in building intelligence. Budgets had been top sliced for national issues.

RESOLVED

That the PCC continues to keep the new operating model under review with the Chief Constable and that the Panel be provided with a report at the end of the first year of operation.