To inform the Panel’s consideration of the proposed precept [Item 6] the Chief Constable will be in attendance to provide an update on reviews currently being undertaken by Surrey Police.
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed the Chief Constable, Lynne Owens, to the meeting of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel, and invited her to provide the Panel with an update on reviews currently being undertaken by Surrey Police.
· The Chief Constable informed the Panel that she had been in the role of Chief Constable of Surrey Police for two years and remained committed to improving policing within Surrey. Since taking up the post there had been a number of reviews completed due to budget pressures, the need to respond to risk, the changing pattern of crime, and to ensure Surrey Police were able to respond to future challenges. The Chief Constable conceded there had been recent challenges with historic cases which had required resources to be moved to investigate them appropriately.
· The Chief Constable stated she was fully committed to Neighbourhood Policing as she believed it had lead to an increase in confidence in policing and a decrease in anti-social behaviour. The intention was to replace 60 Community Support Officers with 60 Police Officers which responded to the public wish for more warranted Officers. The Panel were informed that the Police had done some engagement online with local communities, but that there had not been any specific engagement on the topic of Community Support Officers. The Chief Constable was keen to not put junior constables in neighbourhood roles due to the challenges of these roles and envisaged more experienced Officers would be placed within Neighbourhood Policing.
· Further reviews had looked at custody provision in the county, CID provision, IT and HR within Surrey Police, and the work done with other Police forces such as Sussex Police. In addition, Surrey Police were taking part in a work stream which looked at the 999 services in Surrey. At present there were currently 13 different call centres across the county at a cost of £45million, and there was a need to work together and to share resources and information.
· The Chief Constable explained there were two elements of Zero Tolerance – a change of attitude and investigating crime properly. She informed the Panel that there had been a round of briefings for all senior officers regarding improvements to behaviour and appearance of Officers.
· Panel Members questioned whether crime levels were dropping, as there was evidence to suggest that a number of crimes went unreported and raised concerns that there was a risk of complacency. The Chief Constable stated that her Officers used both the national crime survey and the police recorded crime figures. There was a Crime Registrar whose role it was to look at both sets of data and integrate the figures. It was important that crime was recorded as resourcing decisions were informed by these figures. Furthermore, she was clear that she expected all officers to work with integrity and had stopped the process of multiple cautions and had changed the way in which community resolutions were utilised as they had affected the crime figures.
· Members were concerned that fraud below £0.5million was not investigated by Police and enquired how white collar crime would be easier to report in future. The Chief Constable conceded that current reporting procedures were difficult, but that Officers were looking into making the process easier for victims.
· The Panel raised concerns regarding the custody strategy within Surrey, as closing Woking custody cells would increase the time it took Officers to transfer people to other custody suites, in particular on Friday and Saturday nights. The Chief Constable informed the Panel that the Woking custody cells had not been closed, but usage was being reviewed as they were often underutilised.
· The Panel enquired how the Chief Constable made the decision on which reviews to commission and were informed that the decision was made in relation to risk assessments and finances. The Police were keen to ensure there was no duplication and had employed a Head of Change to look oversee the process, 55% of which is funded by Sussex Police.
· The Chief Constable expressed her frustration that residents were being directed to make Freedom of Information (FOI) requests by Officers as the number of FOI requests has increased significantly and more resources were being used to respond to these.
· Members queried whether Surrey Police had a mental health strategy and were informed that Constables were frustrated that they were being called out due to other agencies not being available. There was not strategy, but this was an area which the Chief Constable hoped to see an improvement and had begun discussing her wish list with Clinical Commissioning Groups.
· The Panel raised concerns that Neighbourhood Watches were no longer receiving the same amount of information from the Police which enabled them to inform residents of threats and risks within their area. The Chief Constable informed the Panel that the intelligence function was currently being reviewed to make a more streamlined process. Senior Officers had now been placed within the localities and it was hoped this would assist in information sharing and communication, to create a consistent approach across the county.
The Panel adjourned from 11.30am to 11.35am.