Agenda item

Mark Shelford will talk about his role followed by a question and answer session.

30 minutes

Mark Shelford, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Avon and Somerset spoke about his role, including the following issues:

·  There are plans to introduce a councillors’ crime forum.  This will be organised by council area and will take place over one day.  It will provide an opportunity for councillors to drop in to discuss any issues they wish to raise.  This is likely to begin after Christmas.

·  One of the roles of the PCC is to appoint a Chief Constable and this process is currently underway.  The proposed appointment will be considered by the Police and Crime Board and the appointment will then be formally announced.  The new Chief Constable should be in post by late November/early December.

·  The PCC also has to set a Police and Crime Plan, and this has been out to consultation for 12 weeks.  The Plan will next be scrutinised by the Police and Crime Panel.

·  Negotiations will also take place regarding funding and this will involve individual councils. 

·  PCCs must also contribute to national and international capabilities, such as the recent G7 conference which took place in Cornwall.

·  The PCC chairs the local Criminal Justice Board which brings together various agencies which are involved with the criminal justice system.  The Board includes representatives from prisons, the probation service, the Crime Prosecution Service and Clinical Commissioning Groups.  Attempts are also being made to include the education sector as excluded children are much more likely to become involved in criminal activity than those who remain in school.

·  Another role of the PCC is to commission victims’ services.  This includes services such as The Bridge in Bristol which provides excellent support to victims of rape and sexual assault.

·  The Commissioning Team has made bids to the Ministry of Justice of around £1.6m to boost support for victims of domestic and sexual violence. 

·  It is also important to ensure that the police priorities are correct and reflect the concerns of local people.

·  The PCC has taken on a role relating to economic and cyber-crime and hopes to reduce the number of people falling prey to this type of scam.

·  A Chief of Staff from the Ministry of Justice has been appointed.

·  A review of the commissioning programme has commenced to ensure that the process is as efficient as possible.

Mark explained that he had previously been a local councillor and thanked Unitary, Town and Parish councillors for all the work they do for their local communities.  He previously served on the Police and Crime Panel and felt that he had skills to offer to the role of PCC from his work in the military and in business.

The priorities of the PCC are:

·  To provide an efficient and effective police service which makes the people of Avon and Somerset safer and makes them feel safer.

·  The Police are the community, and the community are the Police.  Policing in this country is by consent and it is vital for people to have trust in the Police service.

·  The thread running through the Police and Crime Plan is to prevent crime rather than just chasing criminals.

·  The Police and Crime Plan was out to consultation for 12 weeks and received an excellent response.  The PCC holds the Chief Constable to account on priorities within the plan.

Mark then addressed the issue of violence against women.  He stated that he was horrified and disgusted by the murder of Sarah Everard.  He was concerned that this has destroyed trust in the police and stated that it is now the responsibility of the police to rebuild this trust.  Misogyny must be dealt with efficiently and effectively at all levels, including at low-level command.  An independent telephone line will be available for police officers to report any improper behaviour to ensure that any sexual impropriety is dealt with straight away.  It is important to ensure the right culture going forward and to deal with any inappropriate behaviour early (both in the police and in the community) to prevent escalation.  Education is also an important aspect and respect needs to be taught in schools.  The emphasis also must be on the perpetrator of sexual violence and not the victim, whilst providing wrap-around support for victims.  It is also important to ensure that more cases are taken to court.  Numbers have increased over the last four months from 1.2% of cases to 11%.  The target in three years’ time is for this to increase to 50%.  Whilst this is still not enough, it is a great improvement.

The PCC will be visiting local constituencies on an eight-week rotational cycle to speak to local people. 

Questions

The PCC then responded to questions as follows:

·  Allegations of corruption or misconduct within the Police service are taken extremely seriously.  Officers can be suspended or removed from public facing duties if necessary.  If there is evidence of gross misconduct, then they will be dismissed.  The PCC can also reduce pension rights.

·  Domestic violence is totally unacceptable.  The PCC is working up operational plans to make the night-time economy safer, particularly for women.

·  Some funding has been obtained from the Home Office Safer Streets initiative including £300k for the North Somerset area.

The Neighbourhood Police Sergeant for the Bath team is Daniel Hatcliffe and he is the contact for any operational questions.  Contact details are:

Email: Daniel.hatcliffe@avonandsomerset.police.uk

Tel: 07802 874264

Parishes can also find details of their neighbourhood policing team here:  https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/your-area/

The Chair thanked Mark Shelford for attending the meeting.