Agenda and minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meetings held on 26^th July at 10am and 1.30pm.

Action table update to follow.

The minutes of the previous meetings held on the 26^th July 2024 at 10.00am and 1.30pm were agreed as a correct record.

Members of the Committee are invited to declare any pecuniary or personal interests relating to specific matters on the agenda.

Please see note (a) at the end of the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive an update on Gloucestershire’s response to recent national public disorder.

4.1The Chair invited Chris Nelson, the Police and Crime Commissioner, Nick Evans, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, and Ruth Greenwood, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) Chief Executive, to give an update about Gloucestershire Constabulary’s response to the public disorder in August 2024.

4.2The officers emphasised that whilst they were grateful that Gloucestershire’s residents did not engage in the unrest and violence, they were impressed with the Constabulary’s response which led to Gloucestershire’s officers helping other counties with their unrest under the police national mutual aid agreement.

4.3Whilst no events occurred in Gloucestershire, some residents did feel unsafe because of the riots that took place across the country. The Deputy Commissioner confirmed that both himself and Cllr Sajid Patel, Vice-Chair of the Police and Crime Panel, attended events to listen and provide reassurance to local communities.

4.4Responding to a Member’s question about the false information that was shared about a potential protest happening in Gloucestershire, the officers confirmed that the Constabulary had investigated where the misinformation originated from, and the social media post was deleted.

4.5The Officers confirmed that a meeting with the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) had been held to ascertain views on how the Constabulary responded to the event. Responding to a Member’s question about the diversity in the IAG group, the officers stated that the IAG was not as diverse as it could be. However, it was explained that the Constabulary and OPCC scrutiny panels were due to be reviewed this year to make sure they were providing best practice. The Member queried if the IAG was made up of any family members of police officers and the Officer said she was not aware that this was the case but said she would clarify.

Action – Ruth Greenwood

4.6 A Member questioned whether the Community Legitimacy Panel was still active as there were no recent minutes of meetings on the OPCC website. The Officers confirmed that it was still running and that they would investigate why the minutes were not published on the website.

Action – Ruth Greenwood

4.7 Responding to a question about communities at risk of radicalisation, the Deputy Commissioner confirmed that creating integrated communities was a key part of preventing radicalisation. He confirmed that there was an initiative that Gloucestershire were trying which had been successful in other parts of the country called ‘Clear, Hold, Build’. The initiative which had been renamed as ‘Endeavour’ in Gloucestershire was being trialled in two areas of Cheltenham. It was hoped that once it was completed, they would expand the initiative to other areas.

4.8 Answering a Member’s question about designing out crime and target hardening for places of worship, the Deputy Commissioner stated that the offer had already been made to all places of worship and communities through the crime prevention team within the Constabulary. The officers also confirmed that they were using the Home office Anti-Social Behaviour Hotspot funding to allow more officers to undertake their Level 4 designing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider the attached update report.

5.1 The Chair invited Peter Robinson, Interim OPCC Chief Finance Officer, to update the Panel on the Medium-Term Financial Plan for 2025/2026. He was supported by the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Ruth Greenwood and Kirsten Fruin, OPCC Assistant Chief Executive for Victims and Commissioning. The Officer confirmed that the financial plan was linked to the objectives in the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Prevention Plan. However, he stated that the financial plan was only a draft as it was not yet known the level of Government grant that would be received or the level of the precept. This information was unlikely to be known until the end of the calendar year.

5.2 It was explained that the OPCC had decided to make use of reserves to fund their IT improvements as the Constabulary had fallen behind development seen in other force areas which was causing inefficiencies, for example in some cases work had to be duplicated onto multiple systems. It was confirmed that whilst borrowing was increasing, it was being used only for essential items needed for the force to be able to meet their objectives.

5.3 The officer reassured the Panel that he did not plan on reducing the reserves any further than to £9.1 million by March 2028. He emphasised that the goal was to build up the reserves as soon as savings could be achieved.

5.4 Following a Member’s request, the officer stated he would provide more detail about the pie chart on page 21 of the agenda.

Action – Peter Robinson

5.5 Responding to a question about the nine prioritised work streams, the officer confirmed that there were three priorities that required continuous improvement, all nine priorities listed in the agenda were important in order to balance the budget.

5.6 The Officer stated that the Asset Management Strategy would be constructed later in the financial year as they were focusing on long term upgrades to police estate across the county.

5.7 Responding to a question about Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras (ANPR), the Deputy Commissioner confirmed that the ANPR cameras had been supplied through the Safer Street funding. It was confirmed that the ANPR cameras would be used mostly in rural areas, and they would be activated in the coming months.

5.8 Answering a Member’s question about the Victims Hub, the officer explained that the Victims Hub was currently in the process of expanding its portfolio from domestic abuse to also include hate crime, stalking and harassment. The OPCC had a duty to look at the Victims’ Code of Practice. Therefore, the OPCC had a scrutiny panel which included all relevant partners who looked at specific cases to learn best practice.

5.9 A Member asked whether the installation of the NICHE record management system could be brought forward. The officers confirmed that thirty other forces were using the NICHE system so Gloucestershire felt confident that it was the right system to choose. They explained that learning from other forces’ implementation, it was clear that they needed to implement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To note the attached report and receive a verbal update from the PCC on current activity.

Members are encouraged to pre-submit questions beforehand via Rosie Kenyon in Democratic Services.

6.1 The Chair invited the Commissioner to give an update on his activity since the previous meeting. The Commissioner confirmed that his main concern had been the balancing the budget. He emphasised that his first term as Police and Crime Commissioner had been focused on the Constabulary’s effectiveness and his second term was going to be focused on efficiency and gaining best value for money. Finally, he confirmed that the Police and Crime Plan was nearly ready to go out for public consultation in Autumn 2024.

6.2 Responding to a question about the internal audit budget, it was explained that the OPCC and the Constabulary used the South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) for its internal auditing. The partnership was used by many other forces and local authorities in the South West and it was felt that they were good value for money.

To consider the attached report.

The report is to be taken as read.

Members are encouraged to pre-submit questions beforehand via Rosie Kenyon in Democratic Services.

7.1 The Chair invited Ruth Greenwood to present her Chief Executive’s report. She gave the Panel an update on recent national policy and strategy. The Panel were informed that on the 7^th July, PCCs, Deputy PCCs, and OPCC Chief Executives were invited to a Teams meeting with the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, to discuss her priorities and ambitions for policing. The Home Secretary specifically spoke about focusing on halving serious violence within ten years, improving confidence in policing and tackling anti-social behaviour. It was highlighted that each of these ambitions were already seen as a priority in Gloucestershire.

7.2 Responding to Member’s question, the Deputy Commissioner confirmed that he would raise at the Road Safety Partnership about whether National Highways could make the A40 bridges safer for pedestrians.

Action – Nick Evans

7.3 Answering a question, the OPCC confirmed that they had a team focused on Violence and Intimidation Against Women and Girls (VIAWG). They had also created a words matter policy as they recognised how important it was to use inclusive terminology. The officers welcomed the Members’ input into the wording used in the Police and Crime Prevention Plan. 

Action – Kirsten Fruin

7.4 Speaking about police staff feeling valued, it was explained that the OPCC had commissioned a survey of Constabulary officers and staff to understand this issue and see how improvements could be made.

7.5 Regarding a question about the illegal use of electric bikes and e-scooters, it was agreed that the Commissioner would meet with the Member to discuss what action was being taken in her area.

Action – Police and Crime Commissioner

7.6 The officers confirmed that they had been in discussion with Ann James, Gloucestershire County Council’s (GCC) Executive Director of Children’s Services about how opportunity to support GCC’s Family Hub model to create a better partnership approach to helping children and young people. It was explained that the Serious Violence Duty was being used to fund interventions. The officers agreed to share those interventions with the Panel.

Action – Kirsten Fruin

7.7 A Member requested that the officers speak to Ann James about the ‘Language that cares’ model used in GCC’s Children Services about the way that children in care are spoken about as it could be beneficial for the Constabulary and OPCC.

Action – Ruth Greenwood

7.8 Responding to a member’s question about nationalisation or localisation of aspects of policing, it was explained that there had always been many debates in policing over this topic as there were positives and negatives to both.  It was something that the OPCC would consider for certain processes, but they would always weigh up the pros and cons.

To review the committee work plan and suggest items for consideration at

future meetings.

8.1 It was explained that the proposed item on Road Safety for November’s meeting could potentially be better placed under GCC’s scrutiny panels as GCC were responsible for the largest aspect of road safety. However, it was decided that Democratic Services would find out more information and update the Panel after the meeting.

Action – DSU

8.2 It was requested that a summary report about the Constabulary’s staff survey could be brought to the Panel.

Action – OPCC/ Democratic Services

8.3 It was requested to add an item about the performance framework and baseline figures from the Police and Crime Plan.

Action – OPCC/ Democratic Services

8.4 It was requested to add an item on the Constabulary’s part in monitoring parking in Gloucestershire.

Action – OPCC/ Democratic Services