Agenda item

As part of its Crime and Disorder Panel responsibilities under the Crime and Disorder (Overview and Scrutiny) Regulations 2009 the Committee invites Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, Jason Hogg, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police and Katy Barrow-Grint, Assistant Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police to present. Cllr Jenny Hannaby, Cabinet Member for Community Services and Safety, Ansaf Azhar, Director of Public Health, Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer, Kevin Cox, Thames Valley Police Crime Prevention Design Advisor will also be attending to contribute to discussion, and Chairs of the Community Safety Partnerships in Oxfordshire have also been invited.

The Committee is asked to consider the reports and responses to questions and, having discussed them, AGREE any recommendations arising therefrom.

NB An additional presentation will be circulated as part of an addendum to the main agenda pack.

As part of its Crime and Disorder Panel responsibilities under the Crime and Disorder (Overview and Scrutiny) Regulations 2009, the Committee invited the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, and one of the two Assistant Chief Constables to attend to discuss both the Commissioner’s and the force’s strategic priorities.  Cllr Jenny Hannaby, Cabinet Member for Community Services and Safety, and Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer, and the Thames Valley Police Crime Prevention Design Advisor also attended.

The Police and Crime Commissioner had hoped to join the meeting virtually but was unable to do so.  The Committee regretted that he had not attended in person and planned to invite him to its next meeting.

Jason Hogg introduced himself as the new Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police (TVP).  He gave an introduction to the context in terms of his priorities and some of the challenges faced by the organisation.

TVP had almost 9000 working for it, including officers, staff, and volunteers, and a budget of just over £0.5bn.  The Chief Constable explained that his management team was largely recently appointed.  He gave an overview of it and of the Oxfordshire Local Policing Commanders. 

The strategic plan set out the Chief Constable’s four priorities for the organisation: serving victims, fighting crime, building trust, and valuing our people.  The Chief Constable gave an overview of them and the priorities that lay under them.

He raised the issue of trust in the police that had arisen as a result of issues with the Metropolitan Police.  TVP had recently been inspected by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and was described as having an “inclusive and ethical culture” which “treats people fairly and with respect” and demonstrated a “use of powers which is fair and proportionate.”  This did not mean that the force was complacent and there would be officers and staff in court in coming months.  TVP was developing measures to assess levels of trust and confidence in the local area.

The target was to double the number of neighbourhood police officers in order to build visibility and target crime.  The Chief Constable was keen to publish information openly and transparently.

TVP had successful recruitment campaigns.  44% of new recruits last year were female and 18% were from a BAME background which was the highest proportion ever.  Officers were younger than average and, whilst TVP has a good reputation, neighbouring areas were cheaper to live in and so there were some issues with retention.

At its previous inspection, TVP reported excess workloads and limited resources.  This was improving.

Katy Barrow-Grint, Assistant Chief Constable, gave an overview of work combatting Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG).  TVP had worked closely with a national group chaired by Maggie Blythe to devise key streams of work.

External trust and confidence and internal trust and confidence were two streams pursued by TVP.  One thing that TVP had developed to support staff was a Rape and Sexual Offences Support Group for officers and staff who had been victims, whether during their service in the force or beforehand.  One of the first forces to be accredited as a White Ribbon organisation, which is an internationally recognised charity combatting male violence against women and girls.  The majority of staff have been signed up as champions.  There were specialist staff for police- perpetrated domestic abuse.

Partnership working in VAWG demanded a culture change across society and conversations were well-embedded in Oxfordshire.  There was a successful partnership with Sharon Gaffka, of Love Island fame, to reach younger women and girls. 

Relentless Perpetrator Pursuit was also a key stream and it was reported that, over the last 12 months, there had been a 10% increase in formal action taken in domestic abuse cases; 5% increase in sexual cases; 15% in stalking and harassment cases. 

Safer Spaces Project Vigilant has been nationally recognised working in the night-time economy and making women’s experience of the night-time economy safer.

The Chair was pleased to see a focus on VAWG and questioned why it was not one of the five top priorities of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

In response to questions, the Committee noted the following:

·       Following publication of the Casey review into the Metropolitan Police, TVP had considered itself in the light of the issues and recommendations raised in that report.  The Chief Constable was satisfied that TVP was in a much better position.  There had been a positive response to the internal survey of staff.  Since 2022, there were 29 allegations against police officers and staff under investigation.  Previously, it had been closer to an average of 12 a year but the rise had come alongside a rise in referrals being made internally.

·       The results of the review conducted by TVP would be published in May and the Chief Constable was happy to share that with members of the Committee once it was available.

·       Whilst satisfied that TVP was in a better position than some other forces, the Chief Constable believed that the force had not always been explicit enough about its standards and expectations.  There was work being undertaken to ensure that there were clear and explicit expectations of behaviours expected for promotion.  Healthy Team Culture training had been developed and was to be delivered to all supervisors, from sergeants to chief officers.

·       The Casey Review had drawn particular attention to the firearms team and a cultural audit of the firearms unit at TVP was about to begin.  There was no suspicion or knowledge of a similar culture at TVP but it was important to assess.

·       TVP was fully compliant with Home Office guidance on data collection but that guidance was to change imminently.  Data quality had not always been good because of the bureaucratic burden but officers were now inputting the required information into mobile phones using electronic forms which required them to complete each box before moving to the next.  It was anticipated that this would improve the quality of data.

·       Neighbourhood teams focused on engagement with hard to reach groups and there was an active LGBT+ staff association.

·       Whilst there were more men than women on the TVP management board, there was a female assistant chief constable and, of the local Chief Superintendents, two of three were women.  TVP had been selected to host the national Women and Policing Conference because the force had been recognising as being forward-thinking with a good culture.  Women were more successful in achieving promotions at every level other than that of sergeant. 

·       There had been considerable progress in improvements to the uniform for female officers.  There had also been a concern that firearms had been too big for most female hands and a move had taken place to using smaller pistols.

·       Oral abuse on streets and street violence were under the Safer Streets pillar of the VAWG agenda.  Whilst criminal offences and public order offences did exist, it could often be difficult to know who had spoken the abuse.  People were encouraged to report such whether by calling 101, reporting it online, or using the new app, Street Safe.  There was work being undertaken on a dataset which would highlight areas where multiple reports were made which would enable the police to engage in preventative activity.

·       TVP agreed with the Council and the Fire Service that ‘unauthorised encampments’ was the correct phrase and not ‘illegal encampments.’  There was an active Gypsy, Romany, and Traveller staff association which had recently reviewed TVP’s policies and procedures and provided feedback.  There was considerable racism to members of the Gypsy, Romany, and Traveller community and TVP was aware of the importance of not assuming there would be crime in any particular community but, at the same time, was committed to investigating significant crime wherever it was.

·       As he was at this meeting, the Chief Constable had been asked at a number of meetings recently what people could be done to support the work of the police.  He suggested members could get in touch with their neighbourhood teams and go on a ridealong with them and report back to the residents in their divisions.

·       There was a Race Action Plan and positive work was reported as being undertaken by the other assistant chief constable with a dedicated Positive Action team that worked in communities.  Each officer and staff member from the black community was offered a positive leadership course as well as a mentor.  All chief officers have a reverse mentor from someone in the black community.  BAME staff were more successful at every level when it came to promotion.

·       Data on stop and search was not considered to be nuanced enough to be entirely accurate and the Chief Constable was keen to reform the data collection so that it gave an accurate picture.  There was an independent advisory group on stop and search which had recently reviewed TVP’s training and which looked at all video evidence of stops and searches.

·       The Chief Constable was satisfied that the Police and Crime Commissioner was as committed as he was to the force’s anti-racist values.

·       TVP had the biggest motorway network of any force area in the country and has a large road policing unit.  163 000 people were either prosecuted or attended speed awareness courses last year which is a far higher number than Hampshire with which there was a joint unit.  TVP had a guidance document relating to 20 mph speed limits which they had produced and which they were happy to share with councils.  It was not the case that the force does not monitor 20 mph speed limits but there were issues with the stationary speed cameras as they were not sensitive enough to pick up such speeds.  Cameras did exist which had such capability but that would require a significant budgetary impact to install them.

·       Speed guns were capable of picking up infractions of 20 mph limits and were deployed.  There was significant monitoring at hot spots as TVP needed to focus attention where there was a problem.  Speedwatch being used in rural areas was also recommended.  There was an average speed cameras pilot in Hampshire but TVP was committed to following the national guidance.  The Chief Constable suggested that it would be useful for the force’s speeding lead might profitably attend a future meeting.

·       TVP had recorded 83 crimes in relation to bollards that have been vandalised in Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.  A number of arrests had been made but it was simply not practical for the force to guard the bollards on a regular basis.  However, the Chief Constable encouraged members to work closely with the local police commander and assured them that, where there was evidence, it could be investigated.

·       Parking was also a concern in both urban and rural areas but the particular issue of selfish or careless parking in rural areas was discussed.  It was suggested that concerns should be raised with local neighbourhood teams.  Whilst they were principally there to combat crime, visibility in an area with poor parking was often seen to achieve a difference.

·       Whilst many forces had stopped employing Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), TVP was committed to retaining them as part of their neighbourhood policing approach.  Recruitment of PCSOs was a challenge, though, and so members were encouraged to mention the possibility to people they encountered.

·       Rather than needing to telephone 101 or 999, the TVP website enabled residents to drill down into the local area in order to find email addresses for local teams.  It was also possible to report information or intelligence on the website.  It was reported that some PCSOs were willing to be part of neighbourhood WhatsApp groups and, in some areas, they attended local libraries to build visibility too. 

·       Operation Bullfinch was specifically for Child Sexual Exploitation.  There were still ongoing investigations and victims were still coming forward decades later.  Whilst it had been intended to be a temporary team, it had become permanent.

·       Exploitation of children now was often wider and included county lines and modern slavery.  £0.5m had been invested in the work of Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH) across the Thames Valley and there were different units across the police force specialising in different areas of work.  However, all these worked very closely together. 

·       The criminal justice system more widely had progressed and now made it easier for victims to give evidence with judges being permitted to allow evidence to be given remotely or recorded in advance.

·       There were more mapped County Lines in the TVP area than of any other police force, partly because of proximity to both London and the West Midlands.  There was a very quick and agile drugs team which worked closely with the National Crime Agency.  The force sought to break down the County Lines but was keen to move vulnerable youngsters away from a life of criminality rather than simply imprisoning them.  County Lines was an ongoing threat but levels of related homicide seen previously were no longer as high.

·       Crime prevention’s interrelationship with public health with a trauma-informed approach was integral to the work and approach of TVP.  The Violence Reduction Unit had received praise nationally and internationally for its work from a health perspective.  It collected a great deal of data around serious violence with an excellent dashboard.  That unit was to move to the PCC’s office but its work will continue.

·       The demands of mental health crises accounted for a significant demand in policing and the force was moving to a Right Care, Right Person approach.  Based on a Humberside Police model, with recognition from the NHS and from the Home Office, this was about ensuring the most appropriate person dealt with mental health crises which was often likely to be health professionals rather than police officers.  Contact management centre staff had been trained and 10 police officers had been funded to work as mental health support officers who would work closely with public health colleagues.

·       Whilst questions regarding the budget were principally for the PCC, the Chief Constable explained that, with this year’s rise in the precept, TVP had increased and modernised the major crime unit; increased resources in the vetting team; increased the size of the team conducting serious case reviews and domestic homicide reviews; had made contact management centre improvements with technology; doubled the number of neighbourhood officers; made significant investment in CCTV.

·       Rural crime was necessarily approached differently to that in urban areas but the Chief Constable conceded that this had not always been the case in Oxfordshire.  The Rural Crime Taskforce had been established 18 months ago and had quickly acquired a national reputation for its excellence.  The taskforce had drones in their vehicles and made use of them.  Drone usage across TVP was increasing in preference to helicopters because they were much cheaper and quicker to deploy.

·       Whilst police officers do not have the right to strike, the Chief Constable was clear that he would be regularly raising the issue of salaries.  Salaries in the Thames Valley are almost the same as those in areas that are significantly cheaper in which to live.  Pay has been increased as far as possible within the regulations within TVP but there was the dilemma that staff cuts would be necessary were pay to rise too far.

·       Without a capital budget, there were no plans to invest in police housing but the Chief Constable was committed to looking at other measures and there was a wellbeing group which was actively exploring options that might be considered.

The Committee expressed its thanks to the Chief Constable and to the Assistant Chief Constable for attending and for answering its questions so fully.  Through them, the Committee expressed its thanks to all police officers for their hard work and commitment.

Recognising that it would be in a position to question the Police and Crime Commissioner at its next meeting, the Committee RESOLVED to make the following interim recommendations which would be considered further at its next meeting.

Recommendation 1: That the Police and Crime Commissioner revise the wording in his strategy and priorities from ‘illegal encampments’ to ‘unauthorised encampments’.

Recommendation 2: That the Police and Crime Commissioner develop a priority on tackling violence against women and girls.

Recommendation 3: That Thames Valley Police work with Oxfordshire County Council to share more information on local neighbourhood policing through communication channels such as libraries and community centres.