Agenda item

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

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 most of her time was used to talk to victims so research was commissioned by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and she commented strategically on this work.

·         The aim of the APCC for Victims was to make the process of conviction quicker, as domestic violence cases took on average six months while sexual assault took on average 12 months. The court services and CPS were struggling with cuts to budgets but were working to speed up the process.

·         The Commissioner informed the Panel that the APCC for Victims had raised the issue of the provision of refuges nationally as there was a situation arising where other counties were closing their refuges which meant victims from Surrey did not have a place to go. The APCC for Victims stated that these were important services which helped people to rebuild their lives. The refuges also helped children who had been caught up with the domestic violence and provided play groups.

·         The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner were assisting refuges to put in bids for funds from the Ministry of Justice, and had submitted eight bids including one for the purchase of school uniforms.

·         Members were concerned that the work of the APCC for Victims was more social and queried whether her work was influencing the work of Police Officers on the ground. The APCC stated that she worked more strategically with senior officers, but that her work influenced training available to Police Officers. Furthermore, she regularly spoke to Officers and felt that her work was being appreciated.

·         The Commissioner informed the Panel that he had taken the decision to increase the number of days worked by the APCC for Victims from two to three as she had previously been effectively worked one day for free. He further informed the Panel that he aimed to employ a young ethnic minority female for one day a week as there was a different set of values in some communities and he wanted his office to engage with these groups. The Chairman requested that the inclusion of an additional day of work for the APCC for Victims would enable her to attend future Panel meetings.

·         The APCC for Equalities and Diversity informed the Panel that his work was ongoing but that he was working on supporting the Police and increasing morale within the Force. He was also working to increase the number of contacts he had across Surrey and Sussex, particularly within the Crawley Mosque.

·         Members queried whether the communities that the APCC for Equalities and Diversity worked with wanted to be engaged with or preferred to be more self regulating. The APCC for Equalities and Diversity stated that he had been invited to meetings within these communities and he spoke of the services that were available to them.

·         The Commissioner informed the Panel that he had been invited to attend Friday Prayers at a mosque and was looking to attend more meetings at mosques across Surrey. He had also attended a meeting with representatives from organisations which looked at counter-terrorism about young men who had travelled to Syria, along with members of the community.

·         The Commissioner stated that the APCC for Equalities and Diversity had been able to educate Police Officers on the different sects within Islam which was assisting them with their work.

·         Members queried why there had been a high number of Stop & Search occurrences in Mole Valley in particular and were informed by the APCC for Equalities and Diversity that this would be looked into.

RESOLVED: That,

1.    The report be noted.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned for at 12.25pm and resumed at 12.35pm, with all those present who had been in attendance with the exception of Councillor George Crawford.