Agenda item

Matthew Barber, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and John Campbell QPM, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, were in attendance to present to members on the work of TVP in Buckinghamshire over the last year.  The Chief Constable was accompanied by Chief Superintendent Michael Loebenberg, Superintendent Emma Burroughs (South Buckinghamshire LPA) and Chief Inspector Robb Webb (Aylesbury LPA).

The Police and Crime Commissioner informed Members that the Chief Constable John Campbell would be retiring in early 2023 and would be replaced by the current Deputy Chief Constable Jason Hogg who had worked for TVP since 2016 with extensive other policing experience since 1995.  Member were then given an overview of the work of TVP over the past year which highlighted the pressures involved in setting the police budget, work being done to improve the ways that the public could contact the police including work to improve the ‘101’ system, and that the police strength (4,861) was the highest ever per head of population for TVP with the recruitment of further Officers continuing.  Priorities for the coming year would include investing in areas of interest to the public, increasing police numbers in neighbourhood policing / community policing and recruiting additional PCSOs to replace those who had transitioned to become Police Officers.

The following key points were highlighted during a presentation from the Chief Constable, with localised information being presented by Superintendent Burroughs and Chief Inspector Webb.  These included:

·               Information was provided on the police area in numbers.  TVP was the largest non-metropolitan Force in England and Wales, covering 2,200 square miles, 3 counties and a population of 2.5m people.  There were 11 Local Police Areas (LPAs), each with a senior command team lead by a Superintendent.

·               The Chief Constable’s Management team.

·               Police numbers (at October 2022) – 4,861 Police Officers, 3,384 Police staff, 288 PCSOs, 229 Special Constables, plus volunteers, cadets and mini police.

·               Police Uplift Recruitment Campaign – the commitment to recruit an extra 609 officers, including details of the work being done to build a workforce that reflected communities and on the entry routes into the Force.

·               The challenges for recruitment, including that a relatively large number of PCSOs had transitioned to become police officers, with most returning in PC roles to serve the LPA.

·               Force activity (1 April to 30 September) – 497,857 contacts from the public, 90,339 incidents attended, 15,099 arrests (including 4,494 for domestic abuse and 445 for knife crime) 

·               Force activity (1 April to 30 September) – with an 8% increase in rape, 105% increase in sexual offences, 55% increase in stalking and harassments.  There had been a 44% increase in domestic abuse formal action and a 21% increase in the volume of crimes resulting in formal action.

·               Force activity (1 April to 30 September) – 4,025 road collisions attended, 3,319 missing persons found and 319 events policed.

·               On workplace initiatives including menopause friendly accreditation and receiving an award for the Most Open Workplace Award.

·               The support provided for Operation London Bridge which had included supporting events in London, plus events leading up to the Queen’s final resting place at Windsor castle.

·               South Buckinghamshire LPA – information was provided on crime statistics, domestic abuse (29% increase in number of cases where FAT), residential burglary (24% increase), knife related crime (39% increase), Neighbourhood teams and engagements, drugs, complex and serious crime (7% increase), and on the Stronghold team.

·                Aylesbury LPA – information was provided on crime statistics, domestic abuse (56% arrest rate), residential burglary (4% increase, 8% positive outcome rate), knife related crime (7% increase), Neighbourhood teams and engagements, drugs (32 arrests), complex and serious crime (12 charged), and on the Stronghold team.

The Chief Constable also highlighted the outcomes of the HM Inspector of Constabulary inspection during the early Spring that had highlighted:

-                      The Force had an ethical and inclusive culture, staff were proud to work for TVP and a feeling of belonging existed in the organisation.

-                      TVP was good at treating people fairly and with respect.

-                      The Force worked with diverse communities to understand what mattered to them.

-                      The workforce understood how to use stop and search powers fairly and respectively.

-                      The workforce understood how to use force fairly and properly.

Thanks were expressed by Members for the hard work of officers and all that they did to protect the public.  A question / answer session to the PCC and Chief Constable followed the presentations, which included 5 questions submitted by Members in advance of the meeting.  Details were as follows:

(i)                 a Councillor commented that last month he had accompanied 2 Officers from the Wycombe team on patrol.  He had been extremely impressed with how professional, patient, and courteous the Officers had been in dealing with a person who had a mental health issue.

(ii)               Gerrards Cross – TVP were thanked for recent efforts in the Gerrards Cross area relating to Operation Gallop and a spike in burglaries.  The Chief Constable explained that LPAs held daily management meetings to identify crime trends that needed to be addressed and where necessary could draw in resources from other areas.  Local intelligence was also helpful in identifying trends and crime activity.

(iii)              Aylesbury Town Centre – an explanation was provided on what was being done in Aylesbury Town Centre to address issues such as an increase in petty crime and shoplifting, which included working with community safety partners and street wardens, and holding fortnightly neighbourhood demand meetings to keep appraised of issues of concern.

(iv)              Organised crime associated with waste disposal – an explanation was provided on efforts made to tackle illegal waste disposal which it was acknowledged sometimes had links to organised crime.  This was one of the issues being looked at by the Rural Crime Task Force (as well as plant and equipment theft).  Lower level fly-tipping could be dealt with by local Councils in partnership with LPAs.  Larger issues involved also working with the Environment agency and working across borders through joint police/EA teams.

(v)                Police numbers 2010 versus 2022 – Members were informed that the force numbers of 4,772 Officers at the last quarter, as quoted by the Chief Constable, included regional units.  At the 2019 baseline there had been 4,250 Officers.  In 2010 this had been 4,516 Officers.   The total number of Officers was continuing to increase and would be higher today (than 4,772) and would exceed the Home Office recruiting target by the end of the year.

(vi)              Digital Evidence Management System – Members were informed on the DEMS which allowed police to collect digital evidence from victims and witnesses (which might include video doorbells) and share with partners such as the Crown Prosecution Service.  The public were also able to upload to the DEMS.  The PCC advised that the TVP were investigating initiatives used by other Police Forces for collecting digital evidence.

(vii)            Wycombe Town Centre – with regards to an increase in issues affecting the Town Centre such as shoplifting, begging and drug selling, and a number of instances of TVP not responding to calls from retail businesses who had apprehended shoplifters, Members were informed that, unfortunately, the police were diverted/delayed by other jobs en route.  Superintendent Burroughs provided detailed information on work in the Town Centre which included setting up a Business Improvement District; working with the community safety team, outreach teams, Councillors and volunteers; and recent efforts focussed on the top 3 shoplifters who were causing the greatest harm, working with the Eden shopping centre and their own security.  The efforts were focussed on both reducing crime and antisocial behaviour in the Town Centre.

(viii)          Behaviour and public assurances – the Chief Constable provided detailed information on what TVP was doing internally to provide assurance to those leading the service that any poor behaviour would be dealt with, and that the public could be assured that particularly those people who were vulnerable were dealt with fairly and with respect.  This had also been mentioned by the Chief Constable earlier in the meeting regarding the outcomes of the HM Inspector of Constabulary inspection during the early Spring.

Councillor Rouse had submitted a question in advance of the meeting and stated that he was happy to receive a written response following the meeting.

The Chairman expressed thanks to the Police and Crime Commissioner, Chief Constable and police representatives for the presentations and responding to Members’ questions. The Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable thanked Members for their continued support for the work of officers.