Witnesses:
Lisa Townsend, Surrey Police and Crime
Commissioner
Key points raised during the
discussion:
-
A member asked a follow-up relating
to Community Sentence Treatment requirements
and thanked the OPCC for sharing the reducing reoffending plan.
Surrey has the highest reoffending rate of the three counties
covered in the plan. Two probation
delivery units inspected last year had been declared
‘inadequate’. The member noted the view of others that
the probation service should return to local control. What action
could the PCC take to work with partners including the Surrey
Health and Wellbeing Board to combat these issues and to mitigate
the risk of a crisis of reoffending on Surrey streets? The PCC
shared some of the concerns expressed about centralisation and
emphasised the existing close working with the Health and Wellbeing
Board. As a cohort PCCs have been clear they are willing to take on
further responsibility for probation. However, Surrey has one of
the smallest OPCCs in the country and the resource available to
work on probation was very limited. A change from central
government would be necessary in order for PCCs to be able to
provide further support in this area.
-
A member flagged the question that had been
submitted on Car Meets and asked for the work with Districts and
Boroughs to be explained. The Deputy PCC responded that work was
taking place locally via Joint Action Groups and suggested specific
local queries or concerns be raised in writing. A member requested
that local Councillors are kept informed by their Borough
Commanders on these issues and highlighted problems arising from
frequent turnover of Borough Commanders in certain areas. The PCC
assured the Panel that the importance of communication with
Councillors and MPs was emphasised in a recent training event for
Borough Commanders at Mount Browne.
- On shoplifting, a member asked about the practice of
aggregating multiple shoplifting incidents where they were taking
place on the same day in the same place and whether this was an
appropriate way to record the crimes.
The PCC indicated that this was an operational matter for the Chief
Constable but that she expected a much harder line to be taken on
shoplifting in the future. The member
questioned whether national guidelines were set around the capture
and management of data on shoplifting crimes and queried whether
Borough Commanders considered shoplifting a priority. The PCC said
that the approach was changing in line with the new Chief
Constable’s priorities. When asked if the Police and Crime
Plan should be updated to reflect this new priority the
Commissioner responded that the Plan already covered the issue of
shoplifting and that there were no plans to review or update the
wording of it. A member asked whether the PCC was
content with Surrey Police’s policy for
tackling shoplifting and fuel station drive-offs and the mechanisms
in place for reporting these crimes to the police, and asked for
assurance that an effective policy was in place to ensure these
crimes are investigated properly. The PCC emphasised her clear
intention, and that of the Chief Constable, to take a hard line to
tackling shoplifting and offered to write to the Panel with more
detail on the Pegasus industry group that had been established.
(Action ii)
-
A member asked a follow-up on the question about
publishing data on officers under investigation. Surrey’s policy was not to do this although
data had been published by the Metropolitan police service to
increase public confidence. What was the Commissioner’s view
on the level of public confidence in Surrey Police? The PCC
responded that Surrey emerged as having one of the highest levels
of public confidence in policing in the most recent crime survey.
The PCC expressed confidence that Surrey does not have the same
degree of problems as the Met police.
-
The PCC was questioned whether an additional one-off
bonus payment to officers should be considered (using the Force
underspend) given the real terms pay freeze suffered by officers
since 2010. The Commissioner highlighted the 7% pay increase which
had been awarded and explained that the cost of any further
payments would be prohibitive. Pay did not seem to be the top
concern amongst officers.
-
The issue of police community support officers
(PCSOs) was raised. Concern was expressed about establishment
figures and whether there were sufficient PCSOs to support
community policing in rural areas. The Commissioner responded that
there were now rural teams in place within which PCSOs play an
important role. Recruitment of PCSOs was a problem however and
panel members were urged to
promote PCSO job opportunities locally.
Actions/Further information requested:
i)
Commissioner to write to the Panel to give more
details on Project Pegasus and the new industry group that has been
established.