Agenda item

The reports sets out details of the work that Jeff Harris, Shiraz Mirza and Jane Anderson have been undertaking and the outcomes they have achieved since the meeting of the Police and Crime Panel on 21 April 2015.

Key points raised during the discussions:

·         The APCC for Victims provided the Panel with an update on the work being done by the OPCC on the commissioning of victims’ services, including steps being taken to ensure that funding is distributed fairly and correctly at the local level across the county. The APCC provided details of her involvement on a Board which coordinates the allocation of funding for victims’ services and which provides insight into money being injected by the OPCC, health services and other agencies in and around Surrey to ensure that services available to victims are complementary rather than a duplication.

·         Panel members were also informed that funding efforts have primarily been directed towards supporting services which already exist in the county. The OPCC is open to funding new initiatives but these are reviewed carefully to ensure that all victims’ services commissioned by the OPCC are open and accessible and that pathways for providing support to victims of crime are clear.

·         More information was requested on how the OPCC is monitoring the outcomes of commissioned services to ensure that victims of crime are being given the right level and type of support. The APCC highlighted that a Policy Officer has been assigned to receive frequent reports from organisations commissioned to provide victims’ services. Accurately measuring performance against outcomes can be a challenge, particularly in relation to specialist services but the APCC assured the Panel that assessing the performance of these organisations is high on the OPCC’s agenda and that they will continue to closely monitor the support being provided to ensure that it is right for victims.

·         Attention was drawn to the £133,991 mentioned on page 33 of the agenda and the OPCC was asked to provide the Panel with a detailed breakdown of how this money has been spent to provide Panel members with information on the how the OPCC are funding victims’ services throughout Surrey.

·         Panel members asked the OPCC to provide the Panel with information from victim satisfaction surveys to explore an external perspective on how victims’ services are performing. The APCC confirmed that data from police satisfaction surveys can be reported to the Panel but indicated that it could prove challenging to get this information from partner organisations due to data-sharing policies. It was confirmed that the OPCC would consider the most appropriate way of bringing this data to the Panel.

·         Concern was expressed with the format of outcome sheets included in the agenda which detail how the DPCC and APCCs are performing against their proscribed targets. Panel members highlighted that these outcome sheets don’t provide the level of detail necessary for the Panel to effectively scrutinise the performance of the Deputy and Assistant Police and Crime Commissioners and suggested that a more appropriate format be used which facilitates a greater level of scrutiny. The APCC indicated that she shared the Panel’s frustration on this issue but advised that providing tangible measures of performance against outcomes would generate a great deal of paperwork. The PCC stressed that considerable resources would be required to make these reports more detailed and provide the focus on outcomes requested by the Panel. Panel members requested that these reports are adapted to provide more specific and detailed information on how the DPCC and APCCs are performing against their outcomes.

·         Panel members drew attention to the additional bureaucracy being placed on police officers due to the amount of money which has been taken out of the court and justice systems and asked what steps are being taken by the OPCC to mitigate this. The DPCC advised that there is work being done to explore how evidence can be made available to the courts and Crown Prosecution Service including through new technology such as body worn cameras.

·         Attention was drawn to the Signal Tree Project which has widespread support throughout the Prison Service as a means of restorative justice but is struggling to continue through a shortfall in funding. The DPCC highlighted that there has been a general reduction in the amount of grant funding available for initiatives such as the Signal Tree Project. Panel members were informed that the DPCC would consider the Signal Tree Project in more detail but indicated that there is a need to ensure that funding doesn’t lead to duplication in the services which are available.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1.    The Panel noted the report.

ACTIONS/ FURTHER INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED:

1.    That the OPCC considers how a report on victim satisfaction from the perspective of partner agencies could be given to the Panel.

2.    That the OPCC provides a breakdown of the funding of £133,991 mentioned on page 33 of the agenda.

3.    That the OPCC provides a specific update for the Panel member for Mole Valley on the youth centre there, following the query at the meeting.

PANEL NEXT STEPS:

            None