Agenda item

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

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 arrested for these crimes, however despite an increase in reporting there did not appear to be an increase in convictions. It was felt that national figures for these crimes would be helpful to assist with understanding the trend. The Commissioner stated that he felt it was a good indication that people trusted the Police that reporting of domestic abuse and sexual assault was increasing, and that there was a slight increase in the number of people being convicted for these crimes. However, these crimes were under scrutiny by the Police to ensure everything that could be done was being done.

·         Members were concerned that there was an expectation that Zero Tolerance policing would show an increase in the number of people arrested on the street rather than raids on houses, as was shown on page 15 of the agenda pack. The Commissioner stated that he felt the photo showed robust policing and that with the other images within the Annual Report showed the work of Surrey Police. He felt that the increase in arrests did show that policing of anti-social behaviour was working. The Panel, however, felt that the figures needed to be integrated further to show what effect Zero Tolerance was having.

·         The issue of the noise of motorbikes was discussed and the Commissioner informed the Panel that he had written to the Mole Valley MP, Sir Paul Beresford, about his concern as it was felt that a change in legislation was required. The response to this letter had been forwarded to Councillor Margaret Cooksey. The Commissioner stated that he would write to all MPs about this issue and the need for a change in legislation.

·         Concerns were raised regarding the project to see war memorials cleaned up as part of a Probation Service project as some areas had not been attended, and it was felt that the centenary of the First World War was the year to complete this project. The Commissioner informed Members that this was a project that was being funded by his office, and was being arranged by his Deputy. He informed the Panel that he would look into this further.

·         Members were concerned by the number of arrests going up as it was felt that crime prevention was more effective.

·         The affordability of living within the county as a young Police Officer was discussed as an issue and was being looked into by the Police and Guildford Borough Council.

·         Members raised concerns that vulnerable adults were being released in the middle of the night from custody suites without any money or means to get home. The Commissioner stated that this was an area he would continue to monitor and would look into whether Officers could drop people home, if resources allowed.

·         The Panel queried whether the Commissioner’s office spoke to Housing Associations about the anti-social behaviour of residents. The Commissioner felt that the pilot enforcement team within Reigate and Banstead in the future should have the powers to ensure the Housing Associations did the right thing when residents were being anti-social and affecting the lives of neighbours as it was a particular concern of residents.

·         Concerns were raised about the investigation into the death of a seven year old boy in Chertsey during the floods, and whether the Police were keeping the family informed. Furthermore, a new investigation into the Deepcut deaths had been announced and assurances were sought that the investigation would be full and thorough. The Commissioner stated that there would be no cover-up in these investigations, and would ensure that the Liaison Officer for the boy’s family was keeping them informed of developments. Regarding the Deepcut investigation he informed the Panel that he has authorised £1.5 million of reserve monies to be spent on the investigation to ensure that all aspects were investigated thoroughly.

·         The Commissioner informed the Panel that within Surrey Police there were two full-time Police Federation officers at Mount Browne with offices. These officers provided advice and counselling to Police Officers, particularly when one was under investigation.

·         The Panel were informed that the Commissioner had a hired a young person to engage, via social media, with the public and he would keep the Panel up-to-date with their work.

RESOLVED: That,

1.    The report be noted.