Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN. View directions

Contact: Victoria Lower  Email: victoria.lower@surreycc.gov.uk

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Items
No. Item

26/14

ELECTION OF THE CHAIRMAN

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    Members of Surrey’s Police and Crime Panel to elect a Chairman for the 2014/15 council year.

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    Minutes:

    Councillor Dorothy Ross-Tomlin was proposed by Pat Frost and seconded by Charlotte Morley to be appointed the Chairman for the municipal year 2014/2015. The Panel unanimously voted, by a show of hands, to appoint Councillor Dorothy Ross-Tomlin as Chairman of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel.

     

    The Chairman thanked the Panel for their support and stated she was looking forward to working with them over the next municipal year.

     

    RESOLVED: That

     

    1.    Councillor Dorothy Ross-Tomlin be appointed as Chairman of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel for the 2014/2015 municipal year.

27/14

ELECTION OF THE VICE-CHAIRMAN

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    Members of Surrey’s Police and Crime Panel to elect a Vice-Chairman for the 2014/15 council year.

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    Minutes:

    Councillor Ken Harwood was proposed by George Crawford and seconded by Victor Broad to be appointed the Vice-Chairman for the municipal year 2014/2015. The Panel unanimously voted, by a show of hands, to appoint Councillor Ken Harwood as Vice-Chairman of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel.

     

    The Chairman thanked Councillor Terry Dicks for his experience and support over the last two years, and introduced Victoria White as the new Scrutiny Officer who would support the Police and Crime Panel.

     

    RESOLVED: That

     

    1.    Councillor Ken Harwood be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel for the 2014/2015 municipal year.

28/14

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

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    The Chairman to report apologies for absence.

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    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Councillor Ken Harwood.

     

    Apologies were also received from the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner who was attending an Emergency Services Collaboration meeting with the Chief Constable.

29/14

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 54 KB

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    To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 29 April 2014 as a correct record.

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    Minutes:

    The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting with the following amendments:

     

    ·         The last bullet point on page 3 (Item 16/14) should also include a Member’s query regarding the number of fraudulent insurance claims being made within the county with people being involved in car accidents on purpose. In addition, a query was made regarding Police action against motorcyclists who were adapting their bikes to be louder.

    ·         Item 17/14, the fifth line of the introduction should read “...the precept for 2015/16.”

    ·         Item 17/14 bullet point 6 – clarification was provided regarding the internal auditors who were provided by the District Audit Consortium rather than being a joint committee.

30/14

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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    To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members of the Panel in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

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    Minutes:

    None were received.

31/14

PUBLIC QUESTIONS

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    To receive any public questions.

     

    Note:

    Written questions from the public can be submitted no later than seven days prior to the published date of the annual or any ordinary public meeting, for which the Commissioner will be invited to provide a written response by noon on the day before the meeting, which will be circulated to Panel Members and the questioner.

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    Minutes:

    None were received.

32/14

POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER'S ANNUAL REPORT pdf icon PDF 23 KB

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    To consider the Police and Crime Commissioner’s draft Annual Report.

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    Minutes:

    Due to the availability of the Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner for Victims Item 8 was taken before Item 7.

     

    The Commissioner provided the Panel with an overview of his first full year Annual Report, with some key areas of success being that arrests were up by 2,800, an 8 % drop in crime, and an increase in the number of constables by 200. The Commissioner had focussed on raising his concerns regarding the funding formula for Surrey Police by commissioning work from Oxford Economics which had been shared with the Chancellor, Home Office and Surrey MPs. Furthermore, he stated that he was uncompromising in his expectations of the Police and had made public statements when there had been cases of wrong doing.

     

    ·         Members requested that tables provided within the Update on Delivering the Six People’s Priorities report be consistent with figures for Financial Year 12/13, Financial Year 13/14 and Financial Year to Date 14/15. The Commissioner informed the Panel that the report was compiled by Surrey Police for Management Meetings with himself and had been provided for information.

     

    ·         Concern was raised regarding comments made by the Commissioner in the Surrey Advertiser regarding an attack by the Home Secretary on Surrey Police. It was raised that there was no specific reference within the Home Secretary’s speech regarding Surrey Police and it was felt that the Commissioner’s comments were not helpful. The Commissioner stated that he had spoken to the Surrey Advertiser as he felt that the Home Secretary’s comments had been unhelpful in improving police morale in Surrey as reference was made to historic cases on misconduct which were over 30 years old.

     

    ·         Members raised concerns that the Commissioner had announced within the media that 500 jobs would be lost due to the financial constraints the Force was under. It was felt that this statement would have a detrimental effect on police morale within Surrey. The Commissioner stated that the Force was in the position of losing around £30million, which equated to around 400-500 staff. He felt that he needed to be honest about the affects of the cuts and that he was attempting to consider future budgets as had been suggested by the Police and Crime Panel. He would however, continue to raise awareness of the funding formula and campaign for a change within central government. The Commissioner informed the Panel that by announcing the potential affect of the cuts on Police he was attempting to influence politicians into taking action with the upcoming General Election in 2015.

     

    ·         Members were concerned about police morale and particularly whether a ‘siege mentality’ would begin within Surrey Police. The Commissioner shared this concern and informed the Panel that he was talking to senior officers regularly about how Surrey residents did support the Police.

     

    ·         Members congratulated the Commissioner on the improving figures for crimes against property, but felt that more should be done regarding crimes against persons. They felt that Zero Tolerance policing would show an increase in the number of people being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32/14

33/14

DEPUTY POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER AND ASSISTANT POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER'S PERFORMANCE MONITORING pdf icon PDF 36 KB

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    To consider the performance of the Deputy and Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner’s, and the Assitant Police and Crime Commissioner’s contract renewals.

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    Minutes:

    The Panel welcomed the Assistant Police and Crime Commissioners to the meeting.

     

    ·         The Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner (APCC) for Victims informed the Panel that she had made a number of recommendations during the past year on how to improve the victims’ experience. She stated that she spent two thirds of her time listening to victims and the other third feeding back experiences to the services. She had written a number of reports which were given to the Police, courts and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider.

     

    ·         The APCC for Victims had found that Surrey Police were very willing to listen to her findings and involve her in developing the victim experience, whereas the courts service and CPS had not been as open.

     

    ·         The APCC for Victims had particularly focussed on the experiences of vulnerable victims, such as those of domestic abuse, sexual assault and anti-social behaviour.

     

    ·         A particular area of success due to her work had been that perpetrators of domestic abuse were no longer lined up at the back of the court in Redhill during all hearings. Only the accused relevant to the case was present.

     

    ·         Members queried whether the APCC for Victims felt that with her position within the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office whether she felt that she had the influence necessary to effect change to the victim experience. The APCC for Victims felt that her position did give her the ability to raise concerns as she was being listened to more than when she was doing the work as a volunteer.

     

    ·         The Panel queried what key issues the APCC for Victims had raised in her work. The APCC for Victims stated that there was a need for a greater understanding of domestic abuse and the effect it has on the victim and any children who are involved. Whereas for a victim of domestic abuse recovery can begin when they are away from the abuser, for a victim of sexual assault the recovery is often more difficult as it can take over their life. She felt these differences were important to consider when commissioning services for victims.

     

    ·         The APCC for Victims stated her belief that the Youth Criminal Justice system should be built upon to enable older people to take part in reparative work. However, she did concede that there was issue that often victims were not interested in restorative justice; however there were highly trained facilitators within Surrey.

     

    ·         The Victim Satisfaction Survey was taken very seriously within Surrey, with meetings every six months to interrogate the results. The APCC for Victims felt that she was working well with Surrey Police to review the survey results.

     

    ·         In the next six months the Police and Crime Commissioner would take on the commissioning of victim services and the role of the APCC for Victims was strategic in ensuring the services were right for the victims. Surrey was leading in the area of victim services. The APCC for Victims stated that she worked two days a week and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33/14

34/14

FEEDBACK ON MANAGEMENT MEETINGS BETWEEN THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER AND CHIEF CONSTABLE pdf icon PDF 38 KB

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    To consider the feedback from meetings between the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable.

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    Minutes:

    The Commissioner informed the Panel that there had been one management meeting with the Chief Constable which was reported on within the agenda pack.

     

    ·         The Commissioner informed the Panel that he had congratulated the Chief Constable for the Surrey Police’s work, however he had raised concerns over the Special Constabulary as they felt that they were a valuable resource.

     

    ·         The Commissioner intended to look into giving the Speed Watch volunteers more power. Panel Members felt that it would be beneficial for the programme to be a Road Watch scheme which also looked at anti-social parking and cycling, and drivers using mobile phones. The Commissioner felt that these could be considered as he was keen to give more power to volunteers.

     

    RESOLVED: That,

     

    1.    The report be noted.

35/14

COMPLAINTS RECEIVED SINCE THE LAST MEETING pdf icon PDF 34 KB

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    To note complaints against the Police and Crime Commissionerand the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner received since the last meeting of the Police and Crime Panel.

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    Minutes:

    The Panel were informed that the outcome of a complaint considered by the Complaints Sub-Committee on 24 April 2014 could be found within the agenda pack. Additionally, five complaints had been received and would be considered at a meeting of the Complaints Sub-Committee on 12 June 2014. The outcome of this meeting would be reported upon at the next meeting of the Panel.

     

    RESOLVED: That,

     

    1.    That the report be noted.

36/14

RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMPLAINTS SUB-COMMITTEE pdf icon PDF 43 KB

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    To agree the membership and terms of reference for the Complaints Sub-Committee.

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    Minutes:

    The Panel agreed that, in line with the Panel’s Complaints Protocol, the Complaints Sub-Committee was to be re-established to informally resolve noncriminal complaints about the conduct of the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, in addition to conduct matters which were referred back to the Panel from the IPCC.

     

    RESOLVED: That,

     

    1.    The Complaints Sub-Committee be re-established for the municipal year 2014/2015.

     

    2.    The Complaints Sub-Committee to have the following membership:

     

    ·         Councillor Victor Broad

    ·         Councillor Margaret Cooksey

    ·         Councillor George Crawford

    ·         Councillor John O’Reilly

    ·         Independent Member Anne Hoblyn

     

    ·         Chairman (ex-officio)

    ·         Vice-Chairman (ex-officio)

37/14

RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FINANCE SUB-GROUP pdf icon PDF 44 KB

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    To agree the membership and terms of reference for the Finance Sub-Group.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Finance Sub-Group was proposed to be re-established to assist the Panel in consideration of budgetary and financial matters.

     

    Members suggested that the new Independent Member of the Police and Crime Panel should have finance experience or skills as the membership of the Sub-Group was lower than would be desired. The Chairman informed the Panel that they would look for a candidate with experience of working within the community and financial knowledge, and that they aimed to appoint a new Member by the middle of July 2014.

     

    The Chairman requested that the Police and Crime Commissioner involved the Finance Sub-Group with the formation of the precept proposals by September 2014.

     

    RESOLVED: That,

     

    1.    The Finance Sub-Group be re-established for the municipal year 2014/2015.

     

    2.    The Finance Sub-Committee to have the following membership:

     

    ·         Councillor Victor Broad

    ·         Councillor Charlotte Morley

     

    ·         Chairman (ex-officio)

    ·         Vice-Chairman (ex-officio)

38/14

FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME AND RECOMMENDATIONS TRACKER pdf icon PDF 46 KB

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    To review the Recommendations Tracker and the Forward Work Programme.

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    Minutes:

    The Panel reviewed the recommendations tracker and forward work programme.

     

    RESOLVED: That

     

    1.    The recommendations tracker and forward work programme be noted.

39/14

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

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    The Panel to note the next meeting of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel will take place on 9 September 2014 at 10.30am in the Ashcombe Suite, County Hall.

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    Minutes:

    It was noted that the next meeting of the Police and Crime Panel would be on 9 September 2014 at 10.30am.