Agenda item

To receive an update on the delivery of effective and efficient policing for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and delivery against the objectives of the Police and Crime Plan.

The Chairman welcomed the Chief Constable Scott Chilton to provide an update alongside the Police and Crime Commissioner, combining Effective and Efficient Policing and an update on Police and Crime Plan Performance (see Item 7 in the Minute Book).

In response to questions, the Panel heard:

·         A national response had been initiated to the local affects of the conflict in the Middle East. This included engagement with local faith leaders and an accelerated response to reports of hate crimes. It was noted that good partnership working with Local Authorities in the area supported this work.

·         The topic focus for the performance update at this meeting was the target to improve police visibility and the target to make reporting through 101 easier.

·         It was noted that the Panel Chairman had written to the Commissioner to request that the update cover certain information linked to the pledges made in the Commissioners Police and Crime Plan. These questions were referenced in the presentation slides provided.

·         It was reported that a new Victim Update Portal would be going live soon which would enable improved updates to victims about the progress of reported crimes and include the capability for two way messaging.

·         85% of what had been set out in the Plan had been achieved and it was aimed that delivery would be complete by the end of the Commissioners term of office

·         The new operational policing model represented the biggest organisational change in twenty years.

·         The Deputy Chief Constable had been tasked with tackling the contact issues in 101.

·         It was highlighted that of the 58,000 contacts to the Police in September 2023, 40% were not issues suitable for a police response.

·         There had been recruitment challenges at the contact centre in the past. Vacancies had reduced from 85 to 40 and consideration was being given to how to retain staff once recruited.

·         It was now possible to get advice from an officer via a video call without a police car needing to attend, which was more efficient.

·         The Panel Chairman requested that performance of the 101 service continue to be monitored closely and a further update be provided to the Panel at a future meeting.

·         Panel Members commented that they were aware businesses were not always reporting shoplifting to 101 as they had lost confidence in the service.

·         It was noted that there had been an overall increase in call volumes to 101. The Commissioner suggested this could in part be due to Local Authorities becoming less accessible to report issues to due to funding reductions.

·         It was discussed that while it was positive that 600 extra police had been recruited, expectations of the public should be managed as they would need to be accompanied by experienced officers for some time, so the impact on police capacity would take time to take effect.

·         Panel Members requested further information on ‘local bobbies’ and their ‘beats’ when it was available.

RESOLVED:

That the update on the delivery of effective and efficient policing for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and delivery of the Police and Crime Plan was noted.