Agenda item

The Chair welcomed Matthew Barber, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (DPCC) and Chief Constable, John Campbell to the meeting.

Ahead of receiving presentations, the Chair and a number of Members expressed concern and discontent that the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Anthony Stansfeld was not in attendance.  The Chair asked for the concerns of the Committee to be relayed to the PCC and that he be requested to attend future meetings in person.

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner

The Committee was provided with a presentation that outlined the role and responsibilities of the PCC and presented an overview of crime in the Thames Valley area.

The PCC’s responsibilities included: holding the Chief Constable to account for policing; developing a Police and Crime Plan; setting the policing precept, scrutinising performance, engaging with communities; commissioning services and awarding grants to support victims of crime.

Members were informed that the strategic priorities of the Thames Valley Police and Crime Plan 2017-21 were: prevention and early intervention; providing support to vulnerable people; police ethics and reform; serious organised crime and terrorism; and reducing re-offending.

In relation to funding, it was highlighted that: £3 million had been provided to support victims of crime across the Thames Valley area; £199,000 had been awarded from the Police Property Act Fund during 2018/19 to charities and community groups aiming to reduce crime and reoffending; £2.7 million Community Safety Funding had been provided to local authorities to help deliver crime reduction, prevention and support services.

It was reported that overall crime remained at historically low levels across the Thames Valley area; there had been 21,671 fewer crimes reported compared to 10 years previously.  However, crime in Thames Valley had increase by 10% compared to the national increase of 8%.  Violence against the person offences had risen by 40.7%, compared to a 20% increase nationally.  Sexual offences had increased by 16.2% over the past year; burglary of dwellings had decreased by 2% compared to a 3% decrease nationally; criminal damage and arson had decreased by 2.6% compared to a 3% decrease nationally; drug offences had increased by 9.9% and possession of weapons offences had increased by 28.2% compared to a 19% increase nationally.

With regard to call response performance, it was reported that as of September 2019, the average time to answer 101 calls was three minutes; this represented an improvement on performance last year, during which the average answer time was eight minutes.

Thames Valley Police

Chief Constable John Campbell provided Members with an overview of policing operations, priorities and crime trends for Slough and the wider Thames Valley area. 

The Chief Constable began by setting out the priorities of Thames Valley Police and the operational and organisational actions undertaken to deliver on the priority outcomes.  These included: reducing crime and incidents through targeted and effective problem-solving; and responding appropriately and improving communications with victims of crime, by improving non-emergency call answering times.  It was highlighted that the average time taken to answer 101 calls had recently reduced from eight minutes (April – September 2018) to three minutes (September 2019).

With regard to crime prevention, Members were informed that combatting serious violence, reducing knife crime, disrupting organised crime gangs, tackling county drug lines, including highlighting the issue of ‘casual’, as opposed to habitual drug use, were key priorities.

The Chief Constable highlighted the challenges faced by Thames Valley Police force, which included maintaining establishment levels, managing budget shortfalls, ensuring high quality investigations and improving call handling performance.  In addition, the numbers of officer assaults that had occurred in Slough during 2019 were highlighted.  It was reported that 61 officers had been assaulted during use of force incidents; 33 officers had been spat at; and one officer had been exposed to a blood borne virus risk. 

The Chair thanked the DPCC and Chief Constable for their presentations and invited comments and questions from the Committee.

Members had a wide-ranging discussion, during which the following points were raised:

• Concerns were expressed regarding the use of Stop and Search and Section 60 powers, which allowed a police officer to stop and search a person without ‘reasonable suspicion’.  A Member asked how the police would ensure people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities would not be unfairly targeted.  The Chief Constable explained that whilst undertaking a stop and search, police officers were mindful of maintaining the dignity of the person being searched.  All police officers wore body cameras and the footage could be reviewed if there was concern about the handling of an incident.  He said the Thames Valley Police had received very few complaints regarding the use of stop and search.  He explained that Section 60 powers were used to search people in a defined area, during a specific time period, when it was believed, with good reason, that serious violence would occur and it was necessary to use the powers to prevent such violence.  The use of Section 60 powers could only be authorised by a senior police officer. 
• In relation to crime rates, a Member noted that Thames Valley Police funding had been cut by £100 million since 2010 and a further £15 million of funding cuts would be implemented over the next four years.  It was noted that last year, recorded crime had increased by 10%, violent crime had increased by 40%, sexual offences were up by 16%, and possession of weapons was up 28%.  A Member said the funding cuts had led to an increase in crime.  In addition, it was asked why these figures were all above the national average and where the crime rates had decreased, why the decrease had been lower in Slough than the national average.  The DPPC explained that some types of crime were ‘localised’ and some crimes, such as rape and child abuse had historically been underreported but victims were now much more likely to take action.  In addition, he said drug and weapon possession became recorded as crimes when the items were recovered from a person who had been searched by a police officer.  Therefore, the increase in reported crimes of this nature could be viewed as a positive because it indicated that more people were being stopped and searched by the police.  He said there was no direct correlation between the reduction in funding and higher rates of crime.  He further explained that the police were increasingly undertaking preventative measures, including partnership working, to reduce the risk of crime occurring.
• A Member asked why BAME people were more likely to be stopped and searched.  The DPPC highlighted that due to the diverse population, the percentage of people stopped and searched, who identified as BAME, in Slough, would be higher than it may be in other areas in the Thames Valley area.
• It was noted that there had been a 44% rise in knife crime since 2010; the DPCC was asked what was being done to tackle the issue.  It was explained that the Early Intervention Youth Fund was used to deliver a programme of activities in partnership with organisations across Thames Valley to jointly tackle youth violence, vulnerability and exploitation.  The PCC led on the programme through Community Safety Partnerships, which included the police, youth offending teams, youth service providers, local authorities, secondary schools and charities.  Funding had been awarded to providers to carry out a range of activities across Thames Valley, including awareness raising in schools to target young people involved in gang and knife crime. 
• A Member asked if some crimes, for example, shoplifting, were given a low priority status and/or no police taken was taken.  The Chief Constable explained that police resources were prioritised and investigations focussed on serious and violent crimes.  However, the police endeavoured to explore all lines of enquiry for all reported crimes. 
• Concerns were raised about funding cuts and the reduction in the number of front line police officers.  The Chief Constable recognised that increasing the numbers of police officers would enable the police force to be more effective; however, he said there were a number of preventative measures that could be deployed to reduce crime rates.  He provided an example of a project that had involved providing homeless people with accommodation and employment with Tesco supermarket in Slough.  The project had successfully reduced the reported incidents of anti-social behaviour that had been occurring in the Tesco car park area.

·  In relation to recruitment and retention, the Chief Constable highlighted the challenges of retaining police officers in the South East, due to the high cost of living and the restrictive police pay framework.  In addition, he reported that increasingly officers were transferring out of the Metropolitan Police due to the high cost of living not being offset by the London ‘weighting’.

·  A Member asked if there was a good working relationship between the PCC and the Chief Constable, and if the Thames Valley Police force felt supported by the PCC.  The Chief Constable said the PCC robustly held him to account and was very supportive of the police force. 

Resolved –

(a)  That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee expressed its condolences to the family of PC Andrew Harper and commended him for the sense of duty he had displayed carrying out his duties.

(b)  That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee wished to formally recognise and extend its thanks to the police officers of Slough for their hard work to make Slough and its residents safe.

(c)  That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee raised concerns regarding police budget cuts which had led to an increase in crime.  Members requested that more resources and police officers be provided in Slough.