Information

Welcome and introductions.

 

Attendees:

PFCC Danielle Stone (DS)

Jonny Bugg (JB)

Vaughan Ashcroft (VA)

Louise Sheridan (LS)

Stuart McCartney (SmcC)

A/CC Ivan Balhatchet (IB)

ACC Tuckley (AT)

ACC Adam Ward (AW)

ACC Emma James (EJ)

ACO Paul Bullen (PB)

Colleen Rattigan (CR)

Sarah Crampton (SC)

Nick Alexander (NA)

 

• DS welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies were accepted from Paul Fell

 

 

Previous minutes and action log

 

• Outstanding actions from the Action Log have been updated.
• JB advised that there will be changes to future Accountability Boards. They will be shorter and more collaborative, alternating between formal decision making and business development.

 

 

Force matters of priority performance update.

 

The Chief Constable has adopted a suite of performance measures and targets relating to Force matters of priority for 2024/2025.

 

The Commissioner requests a presentation/report that shows performance against these measures and targets to this point.

• The report was taken as read with SC providing additional commentary for each priority.

Drug Harm.

• Drugs are the motivating factor behind much neighbourhood crime.
• The force is seeing a faster reduction than peers (5.8% vs 1.6%) and this momentum is being sustained.

• Residential burglary saw the lowest volume in recent history during May 2024
• Arrests and intelligence are increasing.
• The Commissioner asked how this was being achieved.
• The Chief Constable advised that this is down to having a dedicated burglary team which offers bespoke victim contact and care.
• In addition, the Force is piloting a dedicated response to robbery with additional resource within CID. Officers will deal regardless, if PIP 1 or PIP 2 offence.
• Regarding crime data integrity, Northants is one of best forces in country.

SOC

• Focussed on vulnerability – young people at risk of exploitation.
• Identifying and taking positive action to safeguard and prevent reoffending.
• JB asked what the Force is doing in relation to cybercrime and fraud which also sit within this crime type.
• The Commissioner confirmed they are linked into both the regional and national strategy.
• The Force has a good relationship with Action Fraud and D. Chief/Supt. Rich Tomkins owns economic crime.

VAWG

• Repeat sexual offence victim rates significantly lower than 2021/22
• Arrests for DA perpetrators remain high across all risk levels and reoffending rates are lower.
• A DCI has been identified to pick up this strand of work.
• The Force is issuing a high number of DVPNs and DVPOs
• The DA unit is supporting high risk DA cases where the victim does not support police action. (Using 999 call, cctv or friend to acquire evidence-based submissions).
• Indecent Exposure and up skirting offences are being investigated by detectives and no longer sit with Response.
• For lower risk DA cases, or where it is not possible to get a response crew straight away, FCR can now pass to an officer to do a video call and engage early with the victim.
• The Force is also conducting an end-to-end review of DA. Has identified 22 recommendations. –Extra staff being recruited to action.

Action – IB to share end-to-end DA report with JB.

Action – LS to ensure Police are invited to the Commissioners VAWG workshop on 29^th July.

 

Serious Violence

• Most serious knife crime offences are at their lowest levels and the Force is no longer a national outlier for these offences.
• U18 involvement in serious violence continues to fall (both victims and offenders).
• This is the result of better partnership work including education in schools and Supt. Andy Glenns work with the YVIU.

• Knife amnesties continue and are working well.
• Understanding context is really important – a high percentage of knife offences are threat rather than actual use.
• The Chief Constable advised that there is a national conversation about crime recording. Are the right things being recorded together. Theft versus robbery for example.

Service delivery

• Neighbourhood and response officers are visible in communities 66% of their time.
• Members of the public can contact via a broader range of channels.
• 999 and 101 calls are answered very quickly.
• G1 response times 13.39 in urban areas and 15:52 in rural.
• New shift pattern has had a dramatic improvement.
• Able to schedule appointments and attend grade 2 incidents more quickly.
• Repeat victimisation levels continue to decrease.
• Sustained increase in CPS charges and quality of files remains some of the best in the county.

 

Assurance statement:

The Commissioner received the update and welcomed the positive work being undertaken. She was assured that the Force were providing a comprehensive approach to improving performance.

 The Commissioner was very supportive of the use of video calling victims but challenged the force on visibility as she felt the message from the community did not reflect what the figures showed. She did support the need to sell the message as there is gap between public perception and performance.

 

 

Strategic Outcomes Requirements Letter

 

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner agreed a Strategic Outcomes Requirements letter with the Chief Constable as part of the budget setting process for 2024/2025.

 

The Commissioner requires a report outlining progress against the contents of this letter to this point.

• The report was taken as read with CR providing additional commentary.
• There is good governance through the Strategic Planning Board

FCR uplift and improving pay.

• All posts filled and performance is good.
• Morale is better.
• Investment on track.

Leaning and development

• All aspects to the L&D uplift have been completed including an increased allocation to the training budget.

• The additional budget has allowed the team to allocate all of the ‘Must and Should dos’ this year.

Social Medium Platform (Orlo).

• This is now live for the first users in Corporate Communications and plans are being developed for a wider rollout overtime.
• Most forces already have Orlo in place.

 

Enterprise tool

• This tool looks at how systems work together and how new systems can add value. (If turn this off, impact or benefit is this)
• Taking longer to implement.
• Enterprise architecture team only in place last year.
• Have completed scoping, now going out for procurement.
• This will take three months due to procurement regulations then an additional two months for implementation.
• The Commissioner was surprised by
• the length of time lost to procurement. She requested further information to understand the challenges so that this could be raised with government.
• PB will provide a simplified version of procurement rules for the Commissioner.

Action – PB to ask Leanne and lucy to pull together a simplifies version of procurement rules and send to DS.

 

Facial recognition.

• The Force is in procurement for both retrospective and live (lite option) at the same time.
• Initially only retrospective FR was approved however in Feb 2024 the former PFCC agreed further funding.
• There was a discussion on how it will be used, stored and who has access to it.
• The Commissioner was reassured by the Chief Constable’s responses.

 

Assurance statement:

The Commissioner was assured with the work being undertaken to deliver new projects but challenged the procurement process and the length of time taken to deliver. She assured the Board that this was an issue that she would raise with central government. She requested a briefing on the issues so enable her to raise the issue.

 

 

HMICFRS response plan

 

The Force has received its final report and assessment from HMICFRS PEEL inspection of 2024. The Commissioner requires a report that outlines a high-level overview of the findings from this inspection and outlines with timescales the activity that the Chief Constable intends to take to address the findings contained within the report where this is required.

 

• The Force has a continuous improvement plan and has completed a review of all strategic documentation.

• A new Strategic Plan is being developed which encompasses 6 major work streams.
• Governance is in place for each area of improvement with strategic business leaders assigned.
• Self-assessment reviews are being completed to understand any pinch points and monitor progress.
• Examples were provided on how the any risk is being mitigated.
• They will use the same methodology this year as in previous years.
• The aim is to move from adequate to good and then to outstanding.
• The Commissioner asked if the Force has the capacity to deliver further improvement.
• CR confirmed that there was sufficient resource which was spread well across the business.
• In addition, the Strategy Innovation team has grown this year.
• They are looking at innovation that is evidenced based in other forces and bring forward for discussion later in the year.

 

Assurance Statement:

 The Commissioner was assured following the briefing that the force was delivering a lot of positive work in relation to the HMICFRS report. She questioned whether or not the force had the capacity to deliver all the work but was assured this was the case and the force had a robust system in place to meet the demand.

The Force also promised to provide a further briefing on all the innovative work taking place nationwide that could be implemented locally.

 

 

Neighbourhood policing discussion

 The Chief Constable has previously developed and agreed a Neighbourhood policing blueprint with the Commissioner.

Given the changes in Commissioner since this time she welcomes a discussion on the shape of Neighbourhood policing now and in the future.

This discussion should be based around the currently agreed and shared blueprint, and it is intended to ensure ongoing clarity and agreement about neighbourhood policing being the foundation of the manner in which the Force intend to police local communities.

 

This is to be an open discussion covering:

• Blueprint for and style of neighbourhood policing delivery.
• Number of staff agreed to be assigned to NPT and progress towards this.
• How problem solving and community engagement is delivered as a part of this and also gets embedded into neighbourhoods, and how this style forms a part of other teams, such as CID and response policing in support of the neighbourhood style.

 

• AW provided an overview of the core elements of the Neighbourhood policing strategy.

• There is both a proactive and preventative premise to the blueprint with a focussed new approached.
• Op Revive is focussed on left-behind areas with the highest crime.
• There are six areas covered by Op Revive.
• Important to give qualitative outcomes and increased confidence in these communities.
• There was a discussion about capable guardianship and the need for these to be county wide and at all levels – local authority, community wardens, parish councils.
• There was a discussion about Citizens in policing.
• Northants were the first force to develop national framework.
• Specials constables are fully integrated as are volunteers and cadets.
• All add benefit.
• The Commissioner asked for further information about the number of volunteers and what part they play.

Action – AW to send information about the numbers of volunteers to JB.

 

• There was a discussion about PCSOs and ‘Weeks of action’.
• PCSO’s are working with PLRs to identify what the priorities are for them; giving them the power to tell us what is bothering them.
• There is a plan to enhance PCSO training based on the performance framework and problem-solving training.
• Further Community engagement is facilitated via the Beat Bus, Northamptonshire talking.
• More work to do to increase an online presence.
• AW is particularly keen on problem solving mindset and working towards a ‘Preventative community’- need to understand how the problem arose, not just investigate the crime.
• AW then shares a video that has been produced.
• The Commissioner liked the video and asked if it will be shared more widely in communities. She would also like it to be part of her first 100 days in office communications.

 

Assurance statement:

 The Commissioner was briefed on the position relating to neighbourhood policing in Northamptonshire and she stressed the importance of working collaboratively.

 The Commissioner felt that more information regarding the contributions of volunteers but was assured with the work being undertaken.

 She felt the presentational video should be shared with local groups and communities to underline the importance of neighbourhood policing.

 It was also felt that the OPFCC work on Safer Streets should link in with this work as well and the Commissioner felt this was something that should be shared with the Police, Fire and Crime Panel.

 

 

AOB

No further business was raised