Agenda and draft minutes

Police and Crime Panel - Wednesday, 11th December, 2024 10.00 am

Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ. View directions

Contact: Megan Rochester  01305 224709 - Email: megan.r.rochester@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

26.

Minutes

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 9th October 2024 were confirmed and signed.

 

27.

Declarations of Interest

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

 

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made at the meeting.

28.

Public Participation pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work, or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit either one question or one statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via MS Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.  If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting.

 

The first eight questions and the first eight statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  For further information please see Public Participation - Dorset Council  

 

All submissions must be emailed in full to megan.r.rochester@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 8.30am on Monday 9th December 2024.

 

When submitting your question or statement please note that:  

 

·       You can submit one question or one statement.

·       A question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.  

·       It must be a single question, and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted. 

·       Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to three minutes to present your question.  

·       When submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g. the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder)  

·       Include your name, address, and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting.  

·       Questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda.

·       All questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.  

 

Dorset Council Constitution - Procedure Rule 9

 

Councillor Questions

 

Councillors can submit up to two valid questions at each meeting and sub divided questions count towards this total. Questions and statements received will be published as a supplement to the agenda and all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.

 

The submissions must be emailed in full to megan.r.rochester@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 8.30am on Monday 9th December 2024.

 

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13

Minutes:

A question had been received from Mr Kevin Brown regarding the need for a Police and Crime Commissioner and whether a Corporate CEO could have been appointed to manage and address efficiency and productivity within the police force. 

 

The member of the public was thanked for their question and the need for a Police and Crime Commissioner was highlighted. These are Statutory roles and the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 set out the need for a Police and Crime Commissioner in every area, with the inclusion of Dorset. The PCC provided detail of how budgets were spent and how they are distributed across the whole county in areas such as crime prevention and victim support. Ensuring that residents of Dorset were receiving best value.

 

No further questions or petitions had been received.

 

29.

Monitoring Report - 00:10:12 on the recording pdf icon PDF 689 KB

To receive the Q2 Monitoring Report 2024/25.

Minutes:

The Police and Crime Commissioner gave an update on the progress against the Police and Crime Plan.

 

Priority 1 – Cut Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour – 00:10:05 on the recording.

 

The PCC highlighted the work currently being undertaken as part of the priority. He provided particular detail to the hours of patrols, stops and searches as well as addressing issues surrounding shop lifting and the initiatives to prevent this. Assuring members that they were making good use of the funding provided by the government. However, the PCC did inform the committee that with much regret, the Bobby Van Scheme would be coming to a stop due to increasing financial pressures.

 

Questions from the Priority Leads and Panel members (attached at appendix 1)

  • Use of E-scooters
  • Impact of the Bobby van scheme
  • Use of drones

 

Panel members were given the opportunity to ask questions. The PCC responded in detail to questions in relation to the support provided by the Bobby Van Scheme to prevent crime, the smart water scheme, traffic violations and road safety initiatives.

 

Priority 2 – Make Policing More Visible and Connected – 00:34:10 on the recording.

 

The Police and Crime Commissioner highlighted the work being undertaken as part of priority two of the plan. Identifying an improvement with the number of answered 999 calls, hitting above the target within ten seconds. The PCC reminded members of the storm which hit Dorset a few weeks back and informed them that it had increased calls by more than 50%, however, emergency calls still met the target which demonstrated a good improvement. In addition to this, members of the public were given the opportunity to ask questions relating to police initiatives through the inclusion of family days. The Standards and Ethics Panel had been chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable and engagement strategies had been initiated during the summer months. The PCC noted the intelligence and importance of local community engagement which allowed for the correct allocation of resources.

There were no questions from the Priority Leads.

 

Panel members were given the opportunity to ask questions. The PCC responded in detail to questions in relation to engagement with local communities and community contact points.

 

Priority 3 – Fight Violent Crime and High Harm – 00:42:08 on the recording.

 

The Police and Crime Commissioner highlighted the work being undertaken as part of priority three of the plan, noting that the most serious of violent offences continued to fall, however, there had been an increase in the use of domestic violence, sexual harm and stalking prevention orders. The PCC informed members that they were working to improve the service to victims and had sought long term partnerships to improve services and support for victims. Drug testing on arrest had also been introduced in Dorset which had concluded a 75% rate of users as the latest figure. Members were informed that the use of illegal drugs drives 50% of murders and theft as well as 75% of shoplifting offences. Driving significant harm to women  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

30.

Child Exploitation - 02:07:56 on the recording pdf icon PDF 398 KB

To provide members with an update on the PCC’s work in support of the best use of technology within the Police and Crime Plan priority of Making Every Penny Count. This paper also seeks to address the Key Lines of Enquiry as provided by the Dorset Police and Crime Panel.

 

Minutes:

Cllr Keddie commended the report and was disturbed by the figures relating to child exploitation.

 

Cllr Canavan introduced the report which set out the work undertaken to implement the ‘Child Exploitation’ initiatives across Dorset. The position nationally was concerning with statistics identifying worrying figures. More work is needed to try to encourage people to report these incidents. Cllr Canavan noted the involvement of young people and was pleased to see the work being done to engage with them. The Youth Participation Strategy was also highlighted, and comments were raised regarding how beneficial youth parliament had been in engagement to build networks. Cllr Canavan thanked the officer for the report.

 

The Police and Crime Commissioner was pleased to see that the subject had been done justice. He noted his passion for this area and sought to increase awareness through the addition of charities who support parents and carers to understand the signs of exploitation. The report highlighted that anyone could cause exploitation and possible sexual abuse, guidance of what to report is currently being worked on but will come back to committee. The PCC noted that it would be continuous work and hoped that the government would give a higher priority to drugs which occurred to child exploitation.

 

Cllr Keddie commented on the statistics and was reassured that Dorset was low down the league table but could not quantify the reporting element. The figures around drug use were shocking and underlined where the root cause of these issues lied. Cllr Keddie also referred to item 2.4 within the officer report which identified the 2022/23 figures where 1,070 child sexual offences were recorded. Issuing guidance to members on how to engage and how to report would be welcomed by the committee.

 

Panel members were given the opportunity to ask questions. The PCC responded in detail to questions as to whether Dorset was using their resources effectively and the need to prevent early drug users and prevention.

 

31.

Use of Technology - 02:39:28 on the recording pdf icon PDF 454 KB

This paper updates members on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s work on the Use of Technology.

Minutes:

Cllr Bown noted the potential benefits through the use of technology, however the balance had to be right. She queried how the PCC had invested in it to improve the force and asked for clarification as to how it was being monitored in terms of value for money. Cllr Bown noted that technology needed to be seen as worthwhile and not an extra burden.

 

The Police and Crime Commissioner introduced the report which set out the work undertaken to implement the ‘Use of Technology’ initiative across Dorset in the police force. Operation Edison was referred to from within the report which highlighted the enhancement of video responses. Members were informed that this did not replace officers, but it was an additional option which was better suited for some and had a quicker response time. The PCC highlighted that technology had been making the force more efficient.

Panel members were given the opportunity to ask questions. The PCC responded in detail to questions in relation to technology cost and maintenance. Members praised the robust and detailed report and were pleased to see that Dorset police were driving innovation. They were glad that there had been an increase in the number of answered 999 emergency calls but noted that work was needed around 101 telephone responses.

 

In accordance with Procedural Rule 8.1 the committee voted to extend the duration of the meeting.

 

32.

Complaints Update - 03:02:44 on the recording

To receive a verbal update from the Service Manager for Assurance.

Minutes:

The Service Manager for Assurance advised that there was one complaint, but it was not upheld, therefore no further action was required against the Police and Crime Commissioner.

 

33.

Forward Workplan - 03:03:20 on the recording

To discuss the Forward Workplan.

Minutes:

Cllr Keddie noted that members had reached the end of their Forward Workplan and the next quarterly panel in February 2025 would focus on a detailed scrutiny of the precept. Members were also invited to a workshop in January where they would be trained in finance scrutiny. A survey would also be circulated for the allocation of priority leads.

 

The PCC noted that Dorset Police had been working well and effectively and this was evidenced as anti-social behaviour and crime rates were down. Constraints made by finances were real, however, Dorset Police would continue to do their best to keep the residents of Dorset safe.

 

34.

Urgent items

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

 

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

35.

Exempt Business

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 3 of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.  

 

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.  

 

Minutes:

There was no exempt business.

 

Police and Crime Commissioner Responses to Questions pdf icon PDF 160 KB