Prior to the presentation by the Chief
Constable, Members wished to place on record a vote of thanks to
Richard Humphrey, the former Area Commander for Slough.
Sara Thornton, Thames Valley Police (TVP)
Chief Constable and Simon Bowden, Area Commander for Slough were
welcomed to the meeting. It was brought to Members’ attention
that a review by Her Majesty Inspector
of Constabulary in July 2013 had concluded that TVP had made a
strong response to meeting its financial challenge over the past
two years and that they were only one of four forces in England and
Wales where the number of police officers in frontline roles was
planned to increase.
Members were informed that the Police Delivery
Plan 2013/14 contained six strategic objectives for TVP and were
outlined as:
Objective One: to
cut crimes there are of the most concern to the public and to
protect the most vulnerable members of the communities.
- There had been a significant
decrease in the number of crimes recorded in the Slough area.
- Fifteen full time staff were
employed to scrutinise crime recording statistics for TVP to ensure
accurate data was provided.
- The Police Commissioner had set
specific objectives for the force to reduce their crime figures for
and these were noted as violence against the person, burglary
(dwelling), violence against the person with injury and rape
offences.
Objective Two:
Increase the visible presence of the police.
- Despite the financial challenges,
TVP had increased the total number of patrol officers and police
community support officers (PCSOs) from
2,371 in April 2011 to 2, 419 in April 2013.
Objective Three:
Protect our communities from the most serious harm
- Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation:
Members were informed that following the high profile case in
Oxford, further resources had been dedicated to this area including
additional staff and funds into Child Abuse Investigation Units. In
addition, although Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH) were being
initiated across the force, this was proving to be difficult to
establish in Berkshire. It was explained that with six unitary
authorities’ within Berkshire, agreeing on a MASH model was
problematic. Although the favoured option was most likely to be
establishing a MASH in the East and West of Berkshire, a number of
options were due to considered at a meeting with Chief Executives
in the near future.
- Organised Crime Groups: A total of
72 organised crime groups were currently active in the Thames
Valley area, 21 of which had been successfully disrupted in
2012/13. Partnership work with the Government Agency Intelligent
Network (GAIN) to share information and disrupt organised
criminality had proved successful. Details of Operation Saffron
were outlined, where 23 people were arrested and 18 charged in
connection with a street gang in Reading concerning firearms and
drug dealing.
Objective Four:
Improve communications with the public in order to cut crime and
build trust and confidence with communities.
- Statistics regarding the number of
visits to the website and social media followers were
detailed.
Objective Five: To
tackle bureaucracy and develop the professional skills of all
staff.
- A number of initiatives had been
developed to address the issue including a South East Police Shared
Network Services Agreement which had resulted in significant
savings.
- A new Records and Evidence Centre
was opened in December 2013.
- Body Worn Video by officers –
300 cameras had been distributed across 33 locations since June
2013 and feedback there had been excellent feedback from
operational officers.
- Following public consultation in
November 2013, a new Code of Ethics had been implemented.
Objective Six: To
reduce costs and protect the frontline.
- Savings of £58 million had
been achieved through shared activities with Hampshire and ensuring
value for money in all activities.
In the ensuing discussion, Members’
asked a number of questions, which included:
·
The recent OFSTED report regarding Safeguarding Children and
Vulnerable Children in which partner agencies were criticised for
not providing the support necessary/required to the Local
Authority. Mrs Thornton stated that the quality of referrals made
by the police following domestic violence cases had been identified
as a weakness. To address the issue two additional posts had been
created to this area to improve the quality of referrals made to
the local authority.
Attendance by police representatives
at multi-agency meetings was also referred to. It was noted that
although the Area Commander would attend meetings of the Local
Children’s Safeguarding Board, it would be useful for a
schedule of meetings to be sent in advance, as it was often
difficult to support meetings at short notice.
The logistical difficulties
encountered in establishing a MASH in Berkshire were reiterated and
Members were informed that options to address the issue were being
explored with the Berkshire unitary Chief Executives.
- A Member asked whether incidents of
domestic violence had increased in Slough and whether sufficient
resources were in place to address the issue. It was noted that
although figures relating to domestic violence offences
specifically were not available, statistics for violent offences in
Slough had decreased by 4.5% and that appropriate resources were
allocated for this area.
- Members asked for details relating
to what work was being carried out to tackle forced marriage and
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The Chief Constable explained that
TVP were in the process of implementing a plan which raised
awareness of FGM amongst police officers and focusing on
multi-agency work. TVP were
participating in a Local Conference in Slough, due to be held in
June, to raise awareness of forced marriages. It was noted that
there was no evidence of organised crime with regard to these
specific matters.
- Following a Member query, an
explanation was provided regarding response times to residential
burglaries.
- Clarification was sought regarding
the use of taser guns by officers.
Members were reminded that previously only specially trained
firearms officers were issued with taser guns. However, this had resulted in increased
response times to incidents, especially in rural areas. Following a
review of the use of taser guns, more
officers had been trained, which had resulted in four trained
officers on duty in each shift.
- Members were informed that child sex
exploitation was a Thames Valley wide matter with investigations
ongoing across the force. TVP were committed to working with a
range of partners to ensure that the most effective strategy was in
place to deal with any such cases. It was brought to Members
attention that sexual offences against children had increased by
30% in the previous year and that this area presented the greatest
challenge to TVP.
- Following a recent incident in the
Queensmere Shopping Centre involving an
explosive device, Committee Members were informed that the matter
had been resolved very effectively, where safety of the public had
been paramount.
- It was explained that police
officers were allocated to areas based on crime figures and
population per head and that as a general principle officers were
single crew during the daytime.
The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, thanked
Chief Constable Thornton and LPA Commander Bowden for attending the
meeting and providing a detailed presentation.
Resolved – That details
of the presentation be noted.