Agenda item

10.10

This will be a presentation from the Chief Constable, Thames Valley Police followed by a verbal update from the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and both will take questions.

John Campbell, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, gave the presentation on the Strategic Plan 2020/21.  He then invited questions for himself or for the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber.

Councillor Tony Ilott asked if it was necessary to have a degree to become a constable.  The Chief Constable clarified that recruits join as apprentices and gain a degree as part of the training process.

Councillor Liz Leffman asked if the recent extra £8.4m from the precept was to be spent entirely on recruitment and how it related to the £13.4m in savings that need to be made over the next three years.

John Campbell responded that the £8.4m would be invested in recruitment and that the savings would have to be found from their budget.  They will work with the Police and Crime Commissioner on mitigating effects of the savings.  They have previously taken £109m out of the budget over 9 years.  He did not anticipate any reductions in the number of officers as the service was quite lean already.

Matthew Barber added that increased use of drones would reduce the need for expensive helicopters and they would also look at police property that was not public-facing as increased working from home is reducing the need for office space.

Members raised issues related to unauthorised encampments, speeding and the need for more action against illegal parking until the Civil Parking Enforcement system comes in.  Matthew Barber responded that new legislation coming in a Bill on police powers in the New Year will include measures on unauthorised encampments.  There will be a new pilot as part of a relaunch of Community Speedwatch and they are looking at ways of feeding the information into police and highways systems.

Councillor Jenny Hannaby noted that some of the figures in the presentation were just percentages without the total numbers.  The Chief Constable agreed to provide more detailed figures.

Councillor Hannaby also asked for more information on the independent group that reviews Stop and Search, what measures are taken to protect police from attacks and how that is balanced against the need for face-to-face contact which is important in terms of public confidence.

John Campbell responded that the advisory group was chaired by a member of the public and sits under the Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing.  Police officers are trained in self-defence and de-escalation techniques as well as being equipped with PPE and an increase in the availability of tasers.

Matthew Barber added that he recognised the importance of police officers being out in the community especially given the fact that very few members of the public visit police stations.

Councillor Nick Carter asked if the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) will also increase as part of the current recruitment drive and if the same level of energy that was put into Operation Bullfinch is still being applied in the partnership that was set up in the aftermath.

The Chief Constable replied that PCSOs are funded from the general budget and he did not see the numbers increasing.  They were currently under number and he hoped that they could recruit more people who would commit to be PCSOs rather than seeing it as a step into the main police force.

The Kingfisher Team that was set up following Operation Bullfinch is still in place and dealing with historic child sexual exploitation cases but also looking into more general areas of exploitation now.  The key thing is that there is now a system in place dealing with any kind of exploitation that might emerge.

Councillor Glynis Phillips asked if there had been any deaths in custody and, if so, what was the racial profile.  John Campbell responded that there had been one death in custody in the last year at Loddon Valley in Berkshire.  The person had a BAME background and it has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Councillor Judy Roberts asked if the website for reporting scams and dealing with parking fines could be improved as she felt that more people were calling 111 because they found the website too difficult.  She also asked for an update on rural crime which was not mentioned in the presentation.

The Chief Constable replied that the website was provided nationally but he would take the feedback.  He appreciated that, while rural crime in the county was relatively low, the impact was often greater given the sense of isolation.  The Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing chairs the strategic group on rural crime and is ensuring that there will be a minimum of five operations per year in each local policing area.

Matthew Barber added that WhatsApp groups had been quite effective in rural areas, leading to arrests in some cases.  Recent statistics had shown that, while the number of crimes went down this year, the value of what was stolen has increased.

Councillor Michael Waine raised the problem of drug dealing on bikes and the perception that very little is being done about it.  He also asked for more detail on what range of resolutions constitute “positive outcomes” as referred to in the presentation.

John Campbell responded that people should always report incidents but officers have to make decisions that depend on what else is going on at the time.  However, even if they cannot respond to an individual case that report helps to build a profile for an area which can inform decisions on future patrolling.

Positive outcomes include community resolutions, cautions or charges.  There are options other than criminal prosecutions which used not to go into the figures but they can often be in the interest of the victim who may be satisfied with an acknowledgement of the crime.

The Chairman thanked the Chief Constable and the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for attending and responding to questions and for all the work that the police service does especially under the extra pressures brought on by the pandemic.