Agenda item

RESOLVED that:

a)     The Panel endorses the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire’s draft Police, Fire & Crime Plan 2021-26.

b)     The Panel welcomes the focus on prevention and partnership working reflected in the draft Police, Fire & Crime Plan 2021-26.

The PFCC presented the draft Police, Fire & Crime Plan, highlighting the following points:

·         This was the first combined Police, Fire & Crime Plan for Northamptonshire but also in the country as a whole.

·         The draft Plan set out his strategic priorities, not an exhaustive list of future actions.

·         The strategic priorities in the draft Plan sought to protect and build on previous work and to give a renewed focus to the core objective of making Northamptonshire a safer place.

·         The draft Plan identified key priorities for Northamptonshire Police, for Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS), for joint working between the two services and for work with other partners. This reflected the PFCC’s experience that some of the issues affecting safety in the county could not be solved by a single organisation.

·         He was confident in the level of consultation carried out on the draft Plan and that the feedback obtained supported his proposed priorities.

·         The new Plan would support continuing improvement in local services by challenging the force and NFRS to raise the bar still further. Previous investment had put the force on course to have more than 1,500 officers by 2023, the highest number ever, and had stabilised NFRS. The new Plan would help to use resources more effectively to meet the challenges of the future.

·         He was confident that with effective working between organisations Northamptonshire would be made a safer place.

The Panel considered the draft Police, Fire & Crime Plan.

The Panel questioned the PFCC about the level of public support for the priorities set out in the draft Plan. Panel members made the following points:

·         The 1,103 people who responded to the consultation survey on the draft Plan represented approximately 0.2 per cent of the population of Northamptonshire aged 20 years and over. The PFCC was questioned about whether he was confident that this represented an adequate sample size and how it could be increased in future.

·         The PEEL 2021/22 inspection report on Northamptonshire Police had concluded that the force needed to improve its own community engagement.

·         The demographic breakdown of responses to the consultation survey raised concerns about the level of engagement with people living in ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods in areas such as Corby and with people from black and minority ethnic community groups.

The PFCC made the following points in response:

·         There was not a simple answer to improving public engagement. The OPFCC continued to look for new ways to do so and reviewed past consultation exercises to identify opportunities to improve.

·         The priorities in the draft Plan reflected commitments he had made when standing for election in 2021. These had had been supported by over 102,000 voters in addition to the responses to the latest consultation exercise.  

Panel members emphasised the increasing risk of cyber-related crime and fraud. This could be a hidden issue, which some victims were reluctant to report. There was scope to provide more information and support to people who were potentially vulnerable, such as older people living alone or people who were not confident using technology. The PFCC was challenged about whether cyber-related fraud should be more prominent in his new priorities.

The PFCC made the following points:

·         The draft Plan did make specific reference to fraud rather than just general
cyber-related crime. This continued to be an area of attention in Northamptonshire both in terms of enforcement and crime prevention. More general activity such as work to improve the force’s digital capability would assist in this.

·         Prospective changes to the law in 2022 requiring banks to reimburse people who have been victims of scams were also likely to increase the national focus on cyber-related fraud still further.

A Panel member emphasised that there was an increasingly blurred line between being a victim and a perpetrator of crime, particularly in relation to young people: a young person who had suffered from crime was at greater risk of becoming a perpetrator. Robust enforcement action by Northamptonshire Police on an issue such as knife crime should be done in way that would encourage members of the public to speak to the force. Generally, police officers should treat people in the way that they would want to be treated themselves.

The PFCC made the following points:

·         He agreed with the principle that police officers should treat people in the way that they would want to be treated. This informed the priority to strengthen neighbourhood policing in the county.

·         Neighbourhood policing aimed to work together with local communities. Linking youth teams with neighbourhood policing teams would also assist in this. This approach would help to support more locally-led, collaborative action on issues such as knife crime.

·         Even once it had 1,500 officers the force could not make Northamptonshire a safer place without support and input from the community.

Panel members commented on the presentation of the Plan, making the following points:

·         The ‘Plan on a Page’ graphic included in previous plans was helpful and the PFCC was encouraged to continue this approach.

·         Confirmation was sought that the final version of the Plan would be available on the web and in accessible formats.

The PFCC advised that the format used for this draft Plan reflected that it included linked priorities for both the force and NFRS, which needed to be set out clearly. Once the final Plan had been approved it would be made available to members of the public on the OPFCC website, including in accessible formats.

A Panel member sought reassurance about how the PFCC was supporting the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer to enable the make-up of their respective organisations to become more representative of the communities they served. The PFCC made the following points:

·         He did hold the two chiefs to account robustly on matters relating to recruitment, supported by better information that was now available to the OPFCC.

·         He was satisfied that the force and NFRS were making genuine progress with regards to reflecting the communities that they served. Female officers made up 80 per cent of the force’s latest intake of detectives and 40 per cent of the total number of officers recruited by the force in the current year: one of the highest percentages in the country.

A Panel member noted that the focus on prevention, partnership working and community engagement reflected in the draft Plan was welcome but would have resource implications and sought reassurance about how these would be met.
The PFCC made the following points:

·         He had previously been able to increase the resources available to support community safety in Northamptonshire, from both local and national sources. As an example, the budget for policing had risen from approximately £110m when he was elected in 2016 to approximately £150m in 2021.

·         He would be able to raise the police precept by up to £10 for 2022/23; the Home Office was also in the process of reviewing the police funding formula.

·         The draft Plan did not reflect an approach based solely on securing more money for Northamptonshire. It was essential that the force and NFRS worked as effectively as possible to make best use of available resources.

The Panel considered how the PFCC’s priorities would contribute to support for vulnerable young people in Northamptonshire. Panel members made the following points:

·         Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) represented a particularly vulnerable group in society. It was important that all relevant organisations, including the police, played a part in supporting their wellbeing.

·         Work experience or employment opportunities for young people with the emergency services produced a benefit both for the individuals concerned but also by strengthening the relationship between those organisations and the wider community that they served.

·         There were examples of good work being done in Northamptonshire but effective communication about available opportunities was essential: a young person in the NEET group, for example, needed to be engaged quickly with a view to understanding their interests.

The PFCC made the following points:

·         Local authorities held the primary responsibility for safeguarding children. However, the OPFCC made various contributions to partnership working on this matter. The Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) team worked with schools to provide support to young people. Youth Services carried out community-based work that could help to identify and support young people who were not in school.

·         The force carried out a range of activity that contributed directly or indirectly to the wellbeing of vulnerable young people.

·         There could be many reasons for young people being in the NEET group and this was a complex issue. However, he remained committed to participating in the collective response to it in Northamptonshire. 

·         The age profile of Northamptonshire Police recruits tended to be slanted towards younger ages. The force currently had a significant proportion of young recruits and it could be counterproductive to go further in this direction: the attrition rate for younger recruits could be higher than for those coming into the police with more life experience. The force should also try to reflect the community in terms of including people at different ages as well as in other ways.

·         The Emergency Services Cadets made a valuable contribution to build links with the local community.

The Panel considered its potential conclusions on the draft Police, Fire & Crime Plan. Panel members made the following points during the course of discussion:

·         The draft Plan should be welcomed.

·         The draft Plan would support a fresh approach that recognised the importance of partnership working and prevention activity in securing a safer community.

·         If local communities were engaged appropriately they should be able to support activities intended to deliver the strategic priorities set out in the draft Plan. 

RESOLVED that:

a)     The Panel endorses the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire’s draft Police, Fire & Crime Plan 2021-26.

b)     The Panel welcomes the focus on prevention and partnership working reflected in the draft Police, Fire & Crime Plan 2021-26.