Meeting documents

To receive a presentation from Chief Constable Francis Habgood

The Chairman welcomed the Chief Constable Francis Habgood to the meeting. Apologies were noted from the Police and Crime Commissioner, Antony Stansfeld.

The Chief Constable gave a presentation which included a short video highlighting some of the achievements of Thames Valley Police (TVP) over the past year.  The following main points were made:

·         Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) had recently inspected TVP.  The inspection focussed on efficiency and understanding demand and TVP had been graded Outstanding, one of only two forces in the UK to achieve this. (Durham being the other)

·         Summer 2017 had been a tough period, with terrorist incidents in London and Manchester.  In the previous three years there had been 13 significant terror plots nationally, compared to 12 significant plots in seven months in 2017. This represented a step change. Police had responded well to the incidents in London, due to effective training and bravery of officers involved. In the aftermath of these incidents, communities were reassured by seeing armed officers on patrol.

·         TVP had also been dealing with significant crime incidents locally, with four murders in the first two weeks of June.  There had been an increase in both 999 and 101 calls – 999 calls continued to be higher than normal, although 101 calls had now reduced.

·         Nationally some recorded crimes were increasing, but overall crime was reducing.  There had been an increase in sex offences, burglaries and more complex crime. However TVP was in the bottom third of all forces for burglary and violent crime was also very low.

·         Budget pressures remained. TVP received a cash flat settlement of £390million per year from Government but with inflation and increased demand, difficult decisions had to be made.

·         Partnership working was going very well, for example, the Safe Hub in Aylesbury, where partners were working together to support individuals who placed a high demand on the Police and other services was seeing results.  The Early Help Panel also tried to break cycles of issues within families.

·         TVP were also working closely with Bucks Fire and Rescue service.  The Fire Service supported TVP in looking for missing persons and there were also plans to co-locate in some areas.

·         The Aylesbury Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) was now well-established and working well. Workload remained high, but staff morale was good and it was proving to be the most effective MASH in the Thames Valley.

·         Community working was also a priority for TVP. The Chief Constable was committed to neighbourhood policing and whilst numbers were down, problem solving teams could be drafted in to tackle more difficult issues in an area. Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) were important in supporting communities.

·         TVP were also doing lots of work on Hidden Harm, trying to encourage reporting of modern slavery and child sexual exploitation (CSE), as well as domestic violence.

In response to Members’ questions the following points were made:

·         In response to a question regarding historical cases of CSE, the Chief Constable commented that it was important to support people who come forward and that cases for investigation had to be prioritised, especially if children could still be at risk currently.  More resources would be assigned to this in 2018.

·         Issues had been experienced with call waiting times for the 101 service.  The Chief Constable explained that this was due to an increase in demand for both 999 and 101 calls, both of which were handled through the same call centre. 999 call s must be answered within 10 seconds and the vast majority of 101 calls were answered within 2 minutes. In 2018, a new system would be introduced to allow non urgent reporting to be done online, where updates could also be posted to reduce call volumes.

·         There had been an increase in rough sleepers in Wycombe. A multi-agency approach was needed to address this as enforcement was not always the best option.  It was important to understand and address the root causes.

·         On the whole, burglary had significantly reduced in recent years, possibly due to a decline in the market for second hand electrical goods.  However there have been some trends in burglaries this year – when the weather was hot in the summer there were opportunistic burglaries, Asian households had been targeted for gold and travelling criminals have come in to the Thames Valley from across the world.

·         A Member raised concerns about implications for crime associated with the construction of HS2.  The Chief Constable explained that a team was being set up, co-ordinated by the British Transport Police due to the geography of the line.  His concern was more about dealing with protests, than crime as well as possible disruption on transport routes.

·         Neighbourhood Action Groups (NAGs) which were active and effective would still be supported by TVP.  In areas where NAGs had been disbanded, the Police would look to liaise with the community in another way.

·         A Member asked what was being done to tackle anti-social behaviour by youths on dirt bikes in Wycombe. The Chief Constable agreed to come back with a response to the Member.

The Chairman thanked the Chief Constable for attending the meeting and asked for the Council’s thanks to be passed on to all TVP officers in recognition of their work and dedication.