To receive a presentation from Barrie Sheldon, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Chairman welcomed Barrie Sheldon, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner to the meeting; the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) was recovering from illness and the Committee wished him a speedy recovering.  The Chairman commented on the role of the Committee in relation to scrutinising crime and disorder functions and invited Mr. Sheldon to provide an overview of the work of the Office of the PCC.

Mr. Sheldon gave a verbal report, the principal points included:

1.         There had been focus on the strategic alliance between Warwickshire and West Mercia Police Authorities during the year.

2.         Of the £21 million savings target by the end of 2015/16, £9 million still needed to be saved but the PPC had been assured that the savings would be achieved.

3.         Further savings of £22 million would need to be made after 2015/16.

4.         The police council tax precept had been frozen for the last three years but would be increased by 1.99 per cent from April 2014.

5.         A restructure, in the form of the ‘People Movement Plan’, had been progressed to maintain a strong front line of policing.

6.         West Mercia Police had reserves of £49 million, this would be used to offset the savings required through to 2018/19 and to support an ‘Invest to Save Scheme’, including the digitisation of records through the ‘Athena’ IT system.

7.         Consideration was being given to control room issues; there were three control rooms currently and some had out-dated technology.

8.         The number of brigade police stations had been reduced from 20 to 11, enabling savings to be made from sergeant and inspector posts.

9.         Patrol officers had been issued with Tetratabs, a mobile tablet device that would help to reduce the time spent at desks, thereby enabling officers to be  more visible in communities.

10.      The Policing Plan contained eleven objectives; reference was made to those aimed at reducing crime associated with alcohol, drugs and anti-social behaviour.

11.      Road safety was a particular issue for Herefordshire and the community speed watch initiative was about to be reintroduced.

12.      Attention was being given to business crime and rural crime, with workshops held for key stakeholders in order to shape the strategies.

13.      The DPP would become responsible for commissioning victim services from 1 October 2014, supported by additional money from central Government.  The DPP had invested in victim services from the outset, including funding for independent domestic violence and sexual violence advisors.

14.      There was a multi-agency hub strategy to achieve the best outcomes for vulnerable people in Herefordshire, this approach was to be expanded across the alliance area.

15.      Reference was made to the ‘Plebgate’ incident involving Andrew Mitchell MP and to the Stephen Lawrence Independent Review.  The Committee was advised about the role of the professional standards department within West Mercia Police and about the extent of record-keeping and disclosure now required.  It was reported that an Ethics and Integrity Committee was to be established and the College of Policing was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73