Sara Thornton, Chief
Constable of Thames Valley Police, accompanied by Superintendent
Richard Humphrey, Local Area Commander (LAC) for Slough, made a
presentation to the Committee outlining the strategy for Policing
in Thames Valley 2010 /11 and referring in particular to the Slough
policing area. There was a clear focus
on continuing to improve public confidence and
awareness of the
police role in line with the Policing Pledge. For the Slough area,
all the targets set for the 2009/10 period, bar 2, had been
achieved. Targets for 2010/11 for the Slough area focussed upon
improving detection rates and reducing the level of serious
acquisitive crime.
On completion of the
presentation, the Chair advised that two questions had been
submitted by members of the public for the attention of the Chief
Constable. After a brief discussion on these questions, it was
agreed that answers would be provided direct to the individuals.
Following this, Members raised several issues including: -
- A Member queried
whether additional funding was available in consideration of
Slough’s proximity to Heathrow and the ‘poor’
rating received in relation to the detection of serious crime. The
Chief Constable advised that the Inspectorate Constabulary had
assigned this rating; however, 3 out of 4 measures for this
category had been rated as ‘fair’ and only 1 as
‘poor’. In the previous year, no specific targets had
been set with regard to detection; this was now being focussed on
in the targets for 2010 – 2011. With regard to funding for
the policing of the Slough area, approximately 2 thirds of the
total funding was drawn from a government grant and 1 third from
the Thames Valley Police precept, agreed locally. This issue had
been raised by the Committee previously and a letter had been sent
by the Chief Executive to the Chief Constable to request further
elucidation of the matter. A response had been sent which set out
the details of the funding arrangements.
- Following this, a
Member sought further clarification regarding the specific criteria
used to determine funding across authorities and was advised that
there were several categories on which force budgets were
allocated. The TVP Authority received a grant for the Berkshire
East area, which was then allocated between the various policing
areas. The formula used to determine the funds for each area
related to their respective crime statistics.
- A query was raised in
relation to staffing issues resulting from sharing a boundary with
the Metropolitan police area. The Chief Constable informed the
meeting that previously TVP had been losing approximately 80-90
staff per year to the Metropolitan Police, although this figure had
fallen to circa 30 in the past year. This followed considerable
work carried out by TVP to counter this trend. Such work included
reaching an agreement with the national negotiating board to allow
an increase in the South East allowance from £2000 to
£3000, although this increase, when implemented, would have
to be funded via the local area budget. It was highlighted to the
Panel that there was a concern that the number of transfers to the
Metropolitan Police could rise in the lead up to the Olympics as
there would be an increased need for specialist officers.
- A Member enquired
whether the pledge to have police spending 80% of their time on the
beat related to all police or whether it included PCSOs. The Chief
Constable advised that this related to neighbourhood teams which
included Neighbourhood Sergeants, Constables and PCSOs.
- A query was raised
regarding what arrangements were in place to cope with cross
boundary issues, particularly in relation to funding and the
provision of resources. The Committee was advised that liaison with
the Metropolitan Police occurred primarily at two key levels; at
force level via the intelligence bureau, and through liaison
between Local Area Commanders. The latter of these tended to focus
on specific issues. A joint force intelligence ICT system was
planned but an implementation date had not yet been set. With
regard to funding and provision of resources, the area in which an
incident occurred would be responsible for addressing the issue,
unless it was deemed an emergency situation in which case other
forces would respond as necessary. The Local Area Commander further
advised that a sophisticated tactical assessment took place on a
weekly basis which allowed resources to be directed as needed.
The Chair thanked the
Chief Constable and the Area Commander for attending the meeting
and responding to Members’ questions.