Meeting documents

To note and ask questions on the Chairman’s update, PCC update and the topical issues report.

The Panel considered a report prepared by its Scrutiny Officer on Topical Policing and Crime issues. Areas which were covered in the report included:-

Recruitment of 20,000 extra Police Officersand Crown Prosecution Service to receive an extra £85m over the next two years to deal with rise in violent crime  

The Police and Crime Commissioner welcomed the announcement by the Prime Minister to fund the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers in England and Wales. The Panel was informed that these additional officers would bring police numbers back to the levels of 2012. For Thames Valley Police an increase in the number of police officers would improve even further an efficient Police Force.

Reference was also made to the increased funding for the CPS which would help the Criminal Justice System deal with the increase in violent crime.

Panel Members asked the following questions:

(1)             Has there been any indication at this stage what the rationale will be for where the reported extra officers (400-800) for TVP may be deployed?

[The PCC reported that the extra officers would be allocated across the 18 Local Police Areas of the Thames Valley with the vast majority deployed as front line police officers. Reference was made to the challenges of recruitment within Thames Valley because of the cost of housing and the cost of living.]

(2)             Reference was made to all Police Forces losing experienced Police Officers and the PCC was asked what could be done to improve recruitment and retention?

[The PCC reported that the Government had launched a national recruitment campaign aimed at the recruitment of 20,000 Police Officers. The PCC stated that an issue with the recruitment was the requirement from 2020 that all new Police Officers in England and Wales would have to be educated to degree level. This would impact on how quickly officers could be recruited and would delay the appointment process. The Panel was informed that recruitment would not be easy because of the cost of living and high house prices in the Thames Valley.

The majority of the extra Police Officers would be put into neighbourhood front line policing but with extra officers being put into specialist units such as the Serious Organised Crime Unit to tackle serious crimes such as "County Lines".    

The Chief Constable informed the Panel that Thames Valley Police ensured that quality officers were retained as far as possible and there would be a recruitment drive to ensure Thames Valley was at the forefront of the recruitment process.

The PCC reported that he would have more information on possible numbers and when the recruitment process would commence by the time of the next Panel meeting].

(3)             In view of the increased number of assaults on Police Officers, would the PCC offer all front-line Police Officers Tasers, as other Police Forces have done?   

[The PCC acknowledged the increasing number of violent assaults on Police Officers and that some Police Forces had issued officers with Tasers for protection. The PCC said that he was looking into the use of Tasers for the Force and referred to a three day training course which had to be undertaken for officers to use Tasers.

In response to a comment regarding the safe secure storing of Taser equipment, the PCC reported that the storage of Tasers around Thames Valley was an issue and referred to the closure of a number of police stations which had reduced storage space.

The Chief Constable reported that 12 months ago, Thames Valley Police had      agreed to increase the use of Tasers by Police Officers and that they were a very useful bit of kit for officers. The protection of Thames Valley Police Officers was very important and the use of Tasers would be kept under review, subject to a threat and risk assessment.]  

Thames Valley Police: Crime Data Integrity re-inspection 2019

The Panel was provided with details of the Crime Data re-inspection results which found that Thames Valley Police had improved its crime recording arrangements since 2017, however, it was found that still more needed to be done.

The PCC reported that there was clearly more work to be done to improve crime recording in response to the HMICFRS re-inspection of Crime Data Integrity and it was a concern that some of the issues raised at the last inspection were not yet satisfactorily remedied. Reference was made to how crime was recorded which meant certain crimes had to be recorded multiple times. 

Panel Members asked the following questions:    

(1)             Could the PCC indicate to the Panel how is he holding the Chief Constable to account regarding the processes which are being put in place to address the issues raised in the report relating to training of frontline officers in the use of NICHE and to Contact Management Centre staff for recording crimes correctly?

{The PCC reported that greater training would be taking place and improvements would be made. Meetings took place every two weeks where issues were discussed to improve processes. The Chief Constable said that improvements would take place on recording crime when the public first contacted the Police and first calls would be recorded. A review and further training would take place to improve performance on this.

Reference was made to other Police Forces also having poor reports and Chief Constables questioning the process for recording crimes. A meeting would be taking place with the Home Secretary to discuss the issue.]

(2)             What was the impact of reporting on the Victims First scheme, particularly around crimes relating to Domestic Violence, sexual assault which from the report, were not always being recorded properly. In addition, reference was made to those crimes which were not always reported at the time they were committed. 

[The PCC reported that victims wanted to see justice being done. Crimes were on the increase and yet prosecutions were down. The PCC continued that all crimes which were reported were investigated and the Chief Constable reported that all sexual assault and domestic abuse crimes were investigated consistent with national risk assessments. There was a duty to protect victims.

Reference was made to needing to act quickly in relation to Domestic Violence to ensure a speedy court appearance and the CPS had an important role in this respect.]

(3)             A Member enquired about the impact of the reporting of crimes on national systems and whether there was enough resource to deal with this.

[The PCC made the point that the Police Force with the best recording of crime arrangements had the worst outcome rates. The Chief Constable reported that reporting was a very complicated process and that systems did not help. An example was given of stalking which used to be recorded just the once, but under the new system, this has to be recorded by the number of instances, which was challenging.]

A comment was made regarding the increase in the crime of possession of knives which had occurred because of the increased recording of the crime and the efficiency of the Police.  

[The PCC in response said that the success in terms of knife crime was due to the effective and efficient use of "stop and search" powers. The same applied to drug related arrests. These type of outcomes were not reflected in the inspection report.]  

(4)             Are other Police Forces struggling with the recording of crimes or is this a unique situation to the Thames Valley? Is there liaison with other Forces who are performing better in terms of Crime Data to ensure lessons and best practise can be shared?

[The PCC referred to West Midlands and Kent who received similar reports. The Chief Constable explained that the background to this area of inspection was that there had been allegations that the Police massaged crime figures. The Panel was informed that 17 Police Forces were rated inadequate in terms of crime reporting with 3 Police Forces classified as good. Reference was made to the introduction of on-line reporting which was a good facility.]

RESOLVED – (1) That the updates provided and the topical issues contained in the report be noted.

(2) That the PCC be requested to provide an annual update to the Panel on Recruitment and Retention within Thames Valley Police, which would include further information on the impact and benefit of the additional Police Officers, once the process to recruit them has been completed. 

(3)  That the PCC be requested to provide an update to the Panel in six months’ time on progress made by TVP in making improvements to Crime Data Integrity.