Information

Welcome and introductions.

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

MK welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Minutes and decisions of previous meeting

Actions – An update on actions was provided by PF and DCC Tuckley provided a brief update on the work being undertaken by the force regarding new technology. PB to provide a further update.

PART 1

Workforce Management
The Chief Constable introduced the item and provided an update on the work and investment being undertaken in relation to workforce management throughout the organisation. He noted this work was being undertaken in conjunction with the work relating to demand. The Chief Constable also explained that the force was focussed on helping officers on restricted duties back to front line policing. The DPFCC enquired about the numbers on restricted duties, PB responded and will provide a further update. PB was currently running a Gold Group in relation to this issue. He stated that he was confident processes were improved and improving and stated that a better process was now in place for identifying the tasks that officers and staff who are not fully fit can undertake.

He then explained the comparative data relating to sickness which showed the force were just above the national average and explained the increase in the numbers relating to mental health and wellbeing. Work was being undertaken with HR in relation to sickness management, helping people back to work and getting greater clarity in relation to reasonable adjustments.

The DPFCC asked if similar patterns were being seen with police staff, PB responded and explained there were increases across the whole organisation. PF asked if the Force were confident that those on restricted duties were being used to support front line efficiency, in response the Chief Constable conceded there were some issues, but supervisors were helping to deliver efficiency.

The DPFCC observed the difficulty in identifying the root cause of mental health issues and the Chief Constable observed that some of the sickness was as a result of improved disciplinary action that was being taken with some staff.

It was articulated that the majority of sickness was of a short-term nature, and feedback from staff was that this was as a result of stress and increased demands placed on them. The Force was in the bottom half of forces in terms of total available hours lost as a result of sickness.

The DPFCC asked what the expectations were for seeing improvements in terms of timescales. The Chief Constable stated that he expected to see improvements in 3 to 6 months.

The Chief Constable explained that the force was analysing the staff survey to examine where issues are and address them. He agreed to bring back an update to the meeting in six months. PF asked if the force were learning from other forces. PB explained that they have the data and will examine it further, he also explained the importance of managers in improving performance.

ACTION –PF to arrange for an update on this subject to be brought back to accountability board in 6 months’ time
ACTION – PB to provide comparative data for sickness levels between police, other public sector organisations and wider comparisons.

ASSURANCE STATEMENT

The DPFCC was pleased to hear about the ongoing work that was being undertaken by the Force, led by ACO Bullen to better identify and deal with the root causes of increased levels of sickness.
She stated she considered current levels of sickness too high and the Commissioner and her had a clear expectation that these would be reduced and appropriate support provided to prevent sickness in the first instance and support a speedy return to work where this was the case. She also stated that she needed to be assured that where staff and officers were on restricted or recuperative duty they were being deployed in areas that were of the greatest need for the organisation as a whole, to benefit local people.
The DPFCC requested that this matter be brought back to this meeting for an update in 6 months where she expected to see improvements.

Positive Outcomes and Charge Rates

Temporary ACC Emma James briefed the meeting on Project Sherlock and the work being undertaken on positive outcomes. She explained the force’s escalation policy for crime allocation has been revised alongside the introduction of a new Qlik app to support the work.

She highlighted that performance had improved and was in line with national and MSG averages. She then updated the meeting on the improvements relating to charge rates but conceded that out of court disposals remains a challenge, but work was being undertaken to better understand the issue and deliver improvements.

It was noted that whilst improvements in VCOP compliance and supervisor checks had been delivered, there was still more work to do. She also explained that several of the concerns relating to the crime allocation policy have been dealt with and a communication plan had been undertaken to support officers. PF questioned the performance in relation to VCOP given the number of complaints the OPFCC have received in relation to the quality of investigations and the updates received by victims, as well as why if supervisor checks had improved was this not seen in positive outcome rates. EJ articulated that the learning from this was that many issues were caused by poorer than expected golden hour principles in the first couple of days of a crime being reported.

The Chief Constable explained that the force was working on this but dealing with the issues will take some time given the complexity of the matter. The Deputy PFCC explained the importance of knowing what isn’t working and PF highlighted a number of high performing forces which the force could take some learning from, where they were performing well both in relation to positive outcomes and charge rates. It was explained that a senior member of staff was to be put in place to replace the previous Project Sherlock lead. JB questioned what would be different this time as there had been no significant visible improvement when this was previously attempted. IB responded assuring him that this time this was not a bespoke, standalone piece of work but would be clearly linked to the ongoing detailed demand and operating model work.

The Chief Constable noted that outcomes were not good enough, he explained that performance from retail crime had improved through a focussed approach, but improving performance for other crimes such as robbery would be more difficult. The DPFCC responded by explaining the importing of ensuring residents that it was worthwhile to report crimes.

ACTION – PF to monitor PO and charge rates on an ongoing basis outside of the meeting for assurances that improvements will be made.

ASSURANCE STATEMENT

The DPFCC made it clear that she shared the Chief Constable view that the current performance was not acceptable in relation to charge rates or positive outcomes and both she and the Commissioner expected to see improvements. She asked for when there was an expectation that real improvements would be made and the Chief Constable explained that this was clearly linked to the ongoing demand work and a definitive date was not possible to predict an exact date, but expected to see gradual improvements. She stated that this was an issue that would be monitored on an ongoing basis and would periodically be brought back to this forum.

PART 2

Neighbourhood Policing / Citizens in Policing
The DCC briefed the meeting on the work being delivered to meet the challenges relating to neighbourhood policing the neighbourhood policing grant. The DPFCC sought assurances that the force will be able to deliver this by 2026.

The DCC responded and was confident the 2026 deadline would be met. The Chief Constable briefed the meeting on police visibility in the county and reminded colleagues that details of neighbourhood teams were now on the force’s website.

The DPFCC asked about the recruitment process for PCSOs and the dropout rates. PB responded and briefed the meeting on the work being undertaken to better understand the issue. The DCC explained that the force needs to ensure the quality of candidates is right and there were robust processes in place. PF agreed to discuss this matter further outside of the meeting.

PB then updated colleagues on the numbers in neighbourhood teams and that discussions were ongoing with the Home Office to assess the force’s assumptions.

VA noted the complexity involved with the neighbourhood policing grant and the importance of joined up working to ensure success. PB responded and explained that weaknesses were being addressed and a planned taskforce would be established which will report to a planning group. He DPFCC was provided with assurances from the DCC and PB that this was now more joined up. VA expressed concerns about the claiming of the £1.9M Neighbourhood Policing Grant as none had been claimed so far this financial year. He was assured by the DCC and PB that this would be fully claimed in the remainder of the year.

The paper in relation to Citizens in Policing was taken in conjunction with that relating to the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, PF noted the force seems to be in a positive position in relation to its governance and management of the CIP agenda and the Chief Constable agreed and explained the importance of better comms and engagement by the PFCC was helping.

PF raised the issue of the force’s policy relating to staff who were Special Constables and whether the Force were compliant with their own policy in terms of letting police staff who are special constables time off to undertake these duties in line with the employer supported policing arrangements. He also raised the potential to recruit to specialist roles.

There was a discussion on the work being undertaken to better understand the social value of police volunteering. JB noted that the Fire and Rescue Service have written to local businesses in relation to retained firefighters and asked if the force undertake anything similar for specials. It was agreed that the concept of employer supported policing would be revisited.

There was a discussion relating to the importance of understanding the numbers of special constables that might be optimal for the Force and how to make best use of them to effectively support front line policing. Nationally numbers are low and reducing as in this county, but Northamptonshire has the highest number of Special Constables in the region and the 2nd highest ratio of SC per 1000 population in England and Wales.

ACTION- AT to provide a breakdown of the gender and ethic background of special constables, cadets and volunteers.
ACTION – AT to review the Northamptonshire Police policy for supporting police staff who are Special Constables and whether that policy in relation to allowing time off to undertake these roles is complied with.

ASSURANCE STATEMENT

The DPFCC thanked the Force for the detailed reports relating to the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
She was assured that in relation to delivery against the 6 core pillars of the guarantee, there was evidence of good progress by the force.
She stressed that it was important that the process of claiming the available NPT grant was effective and that this was done this financial year.
She congratulated the Force on the way that it is approaching the Citizens in Policing agenda and articulated the views that had been expressed in the discussion about how it was possible to make the best use of these and other volunteers to deliver better localised services to local people.

AOB

No further business was raised.