Following notification from the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner of his intention to appoint his preferred candidate to the role of Chief Constable, the Police and Crime Panel must hold a Confirmation Hearing, in accordance with Schedule 8 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

The Hearing will be undertaken in two parts:

Part 1 - To receive the following reports:

·       Police and Crime Panel Confirmation Hearing Procedure

·       Report of the Police and Crime Commissioner which includes the PCC’s reasons for the appointment and details of the candidate’s suitability for the role, including how this was assessed, and the proposed terms and conditions on which the appointment will be made. Also included were the role profile and an overview of the recruitment process.

·       Independent Panel Member’s Report

Part 2 – Members of the Panel will have the opportunity to ask questions to the PCC’s preferred candidate. In line with guidance from the Local Government Association and Centre for Public Scrutiny, the focus of questioning from the Panel should be limited to issues of professional competence and personal independence. 

NB The Panel will hold a closed session at the end of the agenda to agree its recommendation to the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Police and Crime Commissioner presented his report on the Chief Constable Recruitment Process. This report provided formal notification under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 from the Police and Crime Commissioner to the Police and Crime Panel that the Chief Constable recruitment and selection process has now been completed and the PCC’s preferred candidate is Mr Jason Hogg, who was currently the Deputy Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police.

The Police and Crime Panel is required to consider the proposed appointment to scrutinise the appointment process and has a power of veto. The PCC must not make an appointment unless the candidate fulfils all of the eligibility criteria.

The PCC provided details of his reasons for the appointment and details of the candidate’s suitability for the role, including how this was assessed, and the proposed terms and conditions on which the appointment will be made. Also included were the role profile and an overview of the recruitment process.

The PCC introduced his candidate, Mr Jason Hogg and explained the reasons why be believed the candidate was the most appropriate to undertake this role. The Independent Member who was involved in the selection process, Mr Mark Beard High Sheriff, provided a report with his views on the suitability of the candidate for the post.

The PCC placed on record his appreciation at the soon to be retired Chief Constable John Campbell who had provided great service as Chief Constable.

The following points arose from questions to the preferred candidate:-

·       Driving innovation – Project Vigilant which was an initiative where Police Officers carried out patrols in the night-time economy. Jason Hogg explained that he oversaw the drug diversion scheme and evidence based policing approach would be turned into an action.

·       Violence against Women and Girls – Three years ago the Police response to Domestic Abuse needed improvement. Domestic Abuse has been made a core priority with arrests made more quickly and improved outcomes for victims. There would be a “hearts and minds” approach which included introducing a training video, “Save Lives”.

·       Misogyny – This would have to be made totally unacceptable and make the streets safer with greater patrols in communities.

·       Police Officer misconduct and identifying those in the Force – Much of the criticism of the Police conduct was for Police Officers of the Metropolitan Police with a number suspended for sexual offences. There had been a survey on women and the culture in the Police and a lot of women had commented there had been improvements in conduct and the culture, however, there still needed to be more improvements.

·       Recruitment and Retention, BAME and Women in the Force – The Police Uplift programme was an opportunity to become more diverse. In the last 20 years the demographics of TVP had not changed. TVP had now 24% of new recruits from BAME with the work of the positive engagement team working on encouraging people to apply. There had been an increase in the number of female officers, with 44% of new recruits being female. TVP did not have a strong macho image of which some Forces had. There was a struggle for females applying for senior roles and conditions needed to change to enable more flexible working if requested.

·       Collaborations with other forces on solutions to the recently publicised problem of vetting – Vetting was not the only solution to conduct, and behaviour problems associated with Police Officers. There was a difficulty in finding out what officers had done whilst in service. There needed to be the creation of a culture within the Force where people had the confidence to come forward and speak up if there were behavioural comments which should be challenged.

·       Neighbourhood policing and “Stop and Search” – At Police training new recruits are asked to take proactive actions such as “Stop and Search”. Data on “Stop and Search” was about to be published. Reference was made to working in Aylesbury where drug dealers from London travelled to and the use of “Stop and Search” was used to stop the dealing. In relation to neighbourhood policing, the present policing system had been overcomplicated. Neighbourhood policing was primarily about visibility and problem solving and providing assurance to residents. The present policing created too many silo teams. The public were reporting more crime and the Police had to improve its performance in relation to response time and solving crimes.

·       Communication of good things which TVP do – There was a legitimacy crisis in the Police. Trust and confidence in the Police was important. Positive messages needed to be communicated and the Panel was informed that the new Chief Constable if confirmed, would be active on social media and visible on TV.

·       Retention of Police Officers, particularly a large number who were no longer completing 30 years - Retention was a significant challenge in Thames Valley. Proximity to other Force areas and the Met Police paying higher salaries was an issue. TVP lost around 40 Police Officers a month.

·       The recent PEEL Police effectiveness 2022 report assessed Thames Valley Police as requiring improvement in responding to the public and on good use of resources. What steps would be taken to tackle these issues? – The improvements had been made to the Contact Management System which would improve response times to the public. Response times to 101 calls was a national problem. Responding to calls regarding burglaries and keeping victims of crime updated needed to be improved.

·       The steps taken if the candidate felt the Commissioner was preparing to do something which may stray into operational policing – There was already a strong working relationship with the PCC. The PCC was clear on his own role and that the Chief Constable had TVP’s operational independence.  Reference was made to the joint working which takes place such as with Operation Deter. The PCC introduced Operation Deter as a zero-tolerance approach to knife crime. It started in Milton Keynes and was being rolled out in the force in other areas. Results being delivered were very encouraging in reducing knife crime.

·       Community Speedwatch and increasing support to communities to combat speeding – Thames Valley had the biggest motorway network in the country with the number of speeding offences being high. There could be no promise of an enhanced response to speeding. There could be an increase in Automatic Number Plate Recognition to help communities but it would be difficult to enforce every speeding vehicle. 

At this point the candidate and the PCC both left the meeting.