Agenda item

To consider a report of the PCC on his response to Covid 19.

Consideration was given to a report which summarised how the Police and Crime Commissioner and Thames Valley Police responded to the Coronavirus pandemic since the national emergency measures were introduced by the Government in March 2020.

The Chairman thanked Thames Valley Police for the work they had carried out during the Pandemic.

Questions

(1) What provision did the PCC and the Chief Constable make to ensure that front line Police Officers had Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?

[The Police and Crime Commissioner reported that Thames Valley Police were the lead force in terms of procuring PPE nationally and officers in the Thames Valley had been adequately supplied during the pandemic to enable officers to carry out their duties safely.]

(2) Could details be provided on the increase in Domestic Violence which resulted, particularly, once lockdown was eased?

[The Police and Crime Commissioner reported that unsurprisingly all crime across the Thames Valley had dropped, including Domestic Violence. This could have been because people were frightened to report crimes or because during self-isolation people were not seeing the perpetrators of such crimes. However, since the easing of lockdown, there had been evidence of Domestic Violence increasing. Reference was made to the emergency number victims could use and if they were frightened officers would get back to them.

The Chief Constable expressed his concern that victims of Domestic Violence would not be able to access support services such as charities and local authorities. Reference was made to a vulnerability task force which had been set up who carried out risk assessments on known victims of Domestic Violence. Over 1500 victims had been contacted and overall the response had been positive.]

(3)       Were there any indications that children were suffering more than adults in terms of abuse during the pandemic?

[The Chief Constable reported that during lockdown there had been a reduction in the reporting of cases. This was because schools were a main source of reporting of such crimes. However, there had been an increase nationally in the number of cases of the sharing of indecent images of children. Once schools were reopened it was expected that there would be an increase in the reporting of abuse against children and police resources would be ready for this.]

(4)       In relation to crime reporting reference was made to the decreases in telephone calls to TVP during the Pandemic. Should local authorities be promoting greater use of on-line reporting.

[The Police and Crime Commissioner reported that it was much easier if the public reported crime on-line, however, this was not the preferred way by most of the public, particularly the elderly.

The Chief Constable commented that there had been a reduction in the number of calls during the Pandemic, but a significant number of calls were taken regarding Covid 19 breaches. Callers were encouraged to report on-line and this had resulted in a 176% increase. The message had been, if the crime was happening now, stay on the line, otherwise report the crime on-line if possible.]

(5)       With the message promoting the on-line reporting of crimes, how have calls to “101” been affected and if it has, is the crime intelligence being received? Reference was made to a couple of residents who had given up reporting crimes to the “101” service.

[The Police and Crime Commissioner informed the Panel that if “101” was not working well, there would be a reduction in crime reporting because people would not be bothered. In the past there had been problems with the “101” service, but this had been rectified with an increase in call handlers. 

The Chief Constable said that he was not aware of the intelligence aspect being reduced. He commented that crime across the Thames Valley was currently down 15%, compared to this time last year. Burglaries were down 37%, Section 18 woundings were down 30%, thefts from motor vehicles were down 49%. This was mainly due to there being no night-time economy during the Pandemic. In general terms crime was coming down but he did not think this had been due to problems of people trying to contact the Police.

“101” Call handling was much improved and he did not think this had an impact on the reduction of crime. On-line reporting was working and there had been a number of crime reports which had started to build up.]

(6)       Reference was made to the powers given to the Police to help tackle the spread of Covid 19 and a question was asked regarding the number of occasions police actions had been considered heavy handed?

[The Police and Crime Commissioner commented that in his opinion the rules which had been introduced had been heavy handed. However, he believed that the Police had not been heavy handed in enforcing the legislation.

Regarding the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices, Thames Valley had issued a high number of these because of the size of the force area and because Thames Valley had one of the biggest road networks in the country. TVP were stopping a lot of drivers who were on the road during lockdown when there were restrictions on peoples’ movement. Reference was made to Fixed Penalty Notices being issued, for example, to drivers of expensive BMW cars, wearing hoodies, who may have been driving during lockdown for no good reason.

The Chief Constable commented that it had been a challenging time for the Police having to enforce the regulations, but the approach of the Police had been to engage, explain and only to enforce as the last resort. The issuing of FPNs had reduced with the easing of the restrictions and the increasing mobility of the public. A significant number of those stopped were in the male age range of 18-25 and were stopped for offences such as driving in vehicles with individuals from different households. He was not aware of any complaints against the Police, although challenges could be made throughout the FPN process and in court if offenders did not pay the fine.

Monitoring was taking place through community groups such as through the strategic stop and search independent advisory group, Professional and Ethical Standards Panel (formerly the Complaints, Integrity and Ethics Panel) to assess independently how the Police have behaved.]

(7)       A Member referred to the Police and Crime Commissioner’s use of the phrase “people in BMWs in hoodies” and asked the Police and Crime Commissioner what the significance of that phrase was, as neither were in themselves crimes.

[The Police and Crime Commissioner replied that during Lockdown when a valid reason had to be given for travelling a distance down the motorway, it became a bit more obvious in relation to “County-Lines”, when expensive cars, driven by someone very young, was travelling. Overall, this type of crime had been reduced during Covid 19, but during Lockdown and with the powers the Police had, people were being stopped and were asked for their reasons for travelling, which meant inroads were made in relation to drugs trafficking out of major cities and into the Thames Valley.

Historically, it was found that those people who tended to be involved in these types of crimes were very often young and drove expensive cars.]

A supplementary question was asked which was what were the combination of factors which the Police used when deciding to stop drivers during Lockdown and were there any statistical evidence to suggest that the profile of individuals, outlined by the Police and Crime Commissioner were targeted. Reference was made to anybody travelling a distance should have had a legitimate reason for travelling and a sector of society should not be discriminated against.

[The Police and Crime Commissioner replied that the Police were not discriminating against the young and were picking up any person who did not have a legitimate reason to be travelling a distance. Over the course of this, the Police were able to pick up “County-Lines” criminals.

The Chief Constable clarified that TVP did not target any individuals based on their vehicle types or their clothing. The tactics used by TVP were monitored by the community groups.]                

(8)       The Police and Crime Commissioner was asked whether Police Officers had been assaulted by members of the public and whether support was being given to Police Officers who had been under criticism from some of the public for their enforcement of the Covid 19 Regulations.

[The Police and Crime Commissioner replied that overall assaults on Police Forces were down because of the restrictions, however, there had been incidents of people deliberately coughing or spitting at Police Officers and these had been dealt with appropriately He gave total support to the Police regarding assaults. The Chief Constable added that there had been around 50 Covid 19 related assaults on officers and strong support has been given by the Courts and the public to Police actions. The Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office was supportive and there was a seven point plan which was put into action if an officer was assaulted.]        

(9)       The Police and Crime Commissioner was asked whether the ethnic mix of those people who were receiving penalties was in line with the demographics of the Thame Valley or were there certain ethnic groups being overrepresented?

[The Police and Crime Commissioner replied that he did not have those figures  but he believed that those people receiving penalties were representative of the population of the Thames Valley.

The Chief Constable commented that within the overall enforcement of the penalties there had been some disproportionality in terms of ethnic mix but this depended on which area of the Thames Valley you carried out the enforcement, and this skewed the figures. Monitoring took place to delve deeper into these statistics.]

(10)     With crime figures falling but policing costs having increased, and with the Home Office providing extra funding, could the Police and Crime Commissioner provide further details on this. In addition, with unemployment increasing which would result in increased crime, what will the impact be on the service, particularly with Police Officers having to take accrued leave because of the Pandemic.

[The Police and Crime Commissioner replied that TVP would be owed a lot of money from the Home Office. There was a relationship to unemployment and crime. Reference was made to the lack of a night-time economy which had reduced crime. Household burglaries were down because people were at home. Those crimes which were still being committed were investigated in more detail which resulted in a greater clear-up rate. The Police and Crime Commissioner expressed concern that there would be an increase in crime in the Autumn.

Ian Thompson, Chief Finance Officer of the PCC reported that monthly reports were submitted to the Home Office providing details of extra costs relating to Covid 19. The Panel was informed that up till May, there had been a net increase in spending of £12.1 million, of which £11.25 million was spent on buying PPE as part of the national cause. TVP distributed PPE nationally.

RESOLVED – That the report submitted be received and the Police and Crime Commissioner be thanked for the detail he had provided to the Panel.