Information

1 Welcome and introductions.

Attendees:
PFCC Danielle Stone (DS)
DPFCC Marianne Kimani (MK)
Jonny Bugg (JB)
Paul Fell (PF)
Vaughan Ashcroft (VA)
CC Ivan Balhatchet (IB)
DCC Ash Tuckley (AT)
Temp ACC Emma James (EJ)
Assistant Chief Officer Paul Bullen (PB)
Nick Alexander (NA)
Stuart McCartney (SMc)

DS welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes and decisions of previous meeting

Actions – The Chief Constable provided an update on Complaints and the OPFCC Director for Performance noted the Customer Service Team can pick this issue up directly with PSD outside of the meeting.

PART 1

Given the importance of the annual budget setting process there were no issues identified for discussion in Part 1 of this meeting.

PART 2

Draft budget setting process 2026/2027

The Commissioner opened the discussion and noted her expectations relating to the inclusion of innovation within the draft budget proposals. In response, the Chief Constable set out work which was ongoing including the rollout of the live facial recognition system and the further rollout and use of Copilot AI by the Force. The Commissioner sought reassurance that the Force were managing such projects with a longer-term view. The Chief Constable noted that AI is being utilised to better understand demand and it was important to avoid short term reactive responses. The Commissioner asked if the Force had a blueprint of the work going forward and in response the Chief Constable noted that DDAT were working on roadmaps and timescales. Assistant Chief Officer Bullen explained the importance of targeting resources on those areas which will have the biggest impact on demand with the Chief Constable adding the importance of getting the right solutions in place and implementing them effectively. The Commissioner explained the importance of working from the ground up and getting ideas from the front line, she also asked what Horizon Scanning work was being undertaken. In response the Chief Constable noted that lots of ideas had been received, and work was being undertaken to understand the frontline issues being raised. The Commissioner then raised the issue of IT and the number of licences currently being held. Assistant Chief Officer Bullen explained that work was being undertaken to review what licences are needed and such issues are reviewed when being renewed. The OPFCC Chief Finance Officer also noted that legacy systems are being looked at and it was explained that when business cases are written, systems being switched off are highlighted.

The Chief Constable then briefed the meeting the meeting on investments being made such as digital hub and the growing demand on investigated digital devices along with addition regulation which adds to the workload. He then explained the force were holding focus groups to help with the ongoing work to better understand and deal with demand. He also noted the need for the organisation to manage teams and workloads more effectively. The OPFCC Chief Finance Officer briefed the meeting on the investment into the number of front-line officers and promised to include a table of numbers and provide additional information and context to better explain the numbers going forward, in a future iteration of the budget paper for January 2026.

The Chief Constable also explained that the Force was looking at different ways of bringing new people into the organisation which were outside of the main recruitment campaigns. The Commissioner asked about the quality of recruitment and in response Assistant Chief Officer Bullen explained that the Force has lots of data relating to the recruitment journey and where people drop out. He also explained the data is tracked throughout the process. The OPFCC Chief Executive asked whether the work being delivered by other forces was being looked at the gain a better understanding of the national picture, in response the Chief Constable noted the regional position and that some forces were struggling with recruitment.

The OPFCC Chief Finance Officer then briefed the meeting on the level of savings required and explained he will ensure that this is reported upon in more detail in January 2026 and promised to provide a table of figures for clarity and context. In conclusion, the Commissioner was assured that subject to the settlement, the Force had a deliverable budget and noted that when this matter is next discussed, there would need to be more clarity relating to officer numbers and how the funding gap will be met, in terms of the required savings plan.
The Commissioner reiterated some concerns that she had that the force needed to give more consideration to the us of technology to reduce demand that was being placed on it’s frontline staff.

Assurance Statement

The Commissioner recognised the significant work undertaken by a number of people in the preparation of this report, particularly given the fact that there remained significant uncertainty in relation to what the agreed funding settlement and situation for policing was to look like for 2026/2027 and beyond.

She was assured that the paper presented a realistic vision for the future and that the assumptions that were being made in it were sensible and justified at this current time.

She sought some additional assurances in relation to recruitment and establishment numbers that were to be included in the revised paper for January 2026 and also that there needed to be additional work undertaken in relation to how the required savings were to be achieved

Harry Dunn investigative review
The Commissioner noted that this issue was last reviewed in August 2025 but the matter dates from 2019. She acknowledged that some of the issues involved, which were included as recommendations were national ones, but she asked whether the force knew some aspects of the response into the death of Harry Dunn were below the standards expected.

The Force responded and noted that gaps had and have been identified and organisational learning has been taken. The Deputy Chief Constable assured the Commissioner that all the recommendations would be delivered in 2026. The Force also confirmed that updates to training were being implemented in the wake of the recommendations. The Commissioner asked about the work of the Safer Roads Team which the Chief Constable responded to. The OPFCC Chief Executive felt more updates were needed and in response, the OPFCC Performance Director suggested taking this matter up outside of the meeting. In conclusion the Commissioner requested a report on Safer Roads and how we work collaboratively with parishes on these matters at a future meeting.

Action – PF to request further detail on some of the recommendation progress updates in writing outside of this meeting
Action – PF to seek to identify a date for an update in relation to Roads Policing, Road Safety and partnership work on a future meeting agenda.

Assurance Statement

The Commissioner was assured that the Force had been positive in the way in which it had responded to the receipt of this report, and it’s associated recommendations. She was conscious that there were a few recommendations requiring a national acceptance and approach and sought assurances that whilst these were outside the direct control of the force, they were pushing these. This assurance was provided, with these matters being submitted to the national collision board for discussion and decision.

The Commissioner stated that there were a few areas within the report that she required some further details in relation to in order to satisfy herself that she was fully assured that some of the more local recommendations had been fully implemented. She stated that she was assured that the approach being taken by the force was one where there was reality testing taking place to test that any changes because of the implementation of these recommendations was embedded as business as usual.

3 AOB

No further business was raised.