Agenda item

Guide time: 10.15 – 11.00am

RESOLVED that:

a)    The Panel emphasises the importance of delivering the objective of increasing visible policing in Northamptonshire.

b)    The Panel recommends that the work of Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service be given more prominence in future annual reports.

c)    The Panel requests to be advised of what percentage of the young people supported by the Targeted Youth Service was represented by the 375 young people who reached their final progress point in the Outcomes Star framework at the end of 2021/22 Quarter 4.

d)    The Panel requests that an infographic on the deployment of Northamptonshire Police officers be provided for the next Panel meeting.

The Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (PFCC) presented the Annual Report, outlining work done during 2021/22 and progress towards the delivery of his priorities. The PFCC highlighted the following points:

·         Although life was now returning to something like normality after the COVID-19 pandemic it was important not to lose sight of the experience gained during this period.

·         His role included supporting innovation that enhanced effectiveness and there had been good examples of this in Northamptonshire during the past year. £2.5 million funding had been secured from the Safer Streets Fund and the government had praised work being done in the county. Northamptonshire was also seen as a hub for innovation in relation to policing and the Fire & Rescue service.

·         He was responsible for holding to account the Chief Constable for the effectiveness of Northamptonshire Police and crime data was a key tool for this. However, a properly contextualised view of such performance data needed to be taken, which was why it had not been included in the current Annual Report. He was confident that the force had made good progress and he proposed to bring a new style of performance report to the Panel in 2022/23.

·         He thanked the team in the Office of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (OPFCC) for their work in delivering the activity set out in the Annual Report. 

The Panel considered the Annual Report.

A Panel member sought further information about how Safer Streets Funding had been used in Northamptonshire and the practical benefit this had produced. The PFCC made the following points:

·         Funding had been used on the Hemmingwell estate in Wellingborough, in Northampton and in other parts of the county for purposes including the provision of CCTV and alleygating, for youth work and to fund the Safer Nights Out (SNO) van operating in Northampton.

·         A second SNOvan for the north of the county would be provided if further funding was secured.

A Panel member referred to cases of young children being recruited by gangs to sell drugs and questioned PFCC on what was being done in Northamptonshire to address this, including the potential to do more engagement work in schools. The PFCC made the following points: 

·         The only way to resolve issues relating to drugs completely was to end drug taking in society: the drugs trade would continue whilst it remained lucrative. In the meantime, a range of work was being done in Northamptonshire on this matter.

·         New doors and security measures had been fitted on properties on the Hemmingwell estate in Wellingborough using Safer Streets funding

·         Northamptonshire had secured £350,000 additional government investment in police officer recruitment to reflect the progress made in the county.

·         The Adverse Childhood Experiences team carried out work to engage with young people about the dangers of getting involved in crime.

·         Young people’s involvement in crime could be linked to wider factors such as exclusion from education and relevant agencies needed to work together to produce an effective joined up response.

·         Engagement activity with young people should take into account that they spent more time with their families and in the local community than in school.

A Panel member noted that the Annual Report referred to various initiatives underway in Northamptonshire directed at improving safety for women and girls, but questioned what assurances that the PFCC had sought about their likely effectiveness. Further information was also sought about local responses to the issue of drink-spiking.

The PFCC made the following points:

·         A significant amount of work was being done in Northamptonshire that would improve safety for women and girls. Operation Kayak launched in 2021 was an example of specific action by Northamptonshire Police against predatory behaviour in the night-time economy, including drink-spiking. 

·         Other productive local initiatives included the Shout-Up project intended to counter sexual harassment in licensed premises; the Enough is Enough campaign encouraging men to challenge inappropriate behaviour towards women; and the SNOvan, which had received positive feedback from those it had helped.

·         These initiatives reflected the commitment to making the night-time economy in Northamptonshire as safe as possible. He also planned an initiative focussed on inappropriate behaviour by boys towards girls, which he had seen examples of when carrying out school visits.

A Panel member emphasised the importance of joint working in supporting community safety, due to the complex nature of the issues that could be involved. Increased investment in social care should form a part of this, to reflect greater risks to vulnerable young people who might be living in a chaotic family environment. The PFCC agreed the importance of effective joint working between relevant organisations, including local authorities and health organisations. The PFCC went on to highlight the importance of effective data-sharing between organisations, which was an issue that was not exciting but was crucial to success.

The Panel considered progress on enhancing visible policing in Northamptonshire. Members made the following points:

·         The focus on safety in the night-time economy should not detract from the importance of the daytime economy and the need for more visible policing during the day.

·         The PFCC was challenged about whether the recruitment of additional police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) was making a practical difference to visible policing in the county that would be seen by residents.

The PFCC made the following points:

·         The amount of police activity during the daytime in Northamptonshire had increased. Information reported to him demonstrated that additional officers were deployed in Northamptonshire and were going out on patrol in the community. He could provide further information on this to the Panel.

·         It was necessary to recognise that Northamptonshire Police still only had 1,500 officers to cover the whole of the county.

A Panel member welcomed good work being done in the county but noted that the Annual Report appeared inward-looking. The importance both of engaging with different communities and of learning from good practice relating to policing and community safety in other areas was emphasised. The PFCC made the following points:

·         He was sorry if the Annual Report gave the impression of being too inward-looking and challenged that this was actually the case in Northamptonshire.

·         Significant attention was given to community engagement by both Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS).

·         As PFCC he was willing to consider and learn from good ideas wherever they occurred. 

A Panel member questioned whether the PFCC was satisfied with the progress being made regarding disposal of unused properties. It was subsequently also questioned whether there was scope for unused properties to be made available for community use. The PFCC made the following points:

·         He would be using an Estates Board meeting later that day to emphasise that the current position with some property disposals was not satisfactory. More progress needed to be made, whilst still getting good value.

·         He was willing to consider all ideas regarding the use of properties. However, a former police station building was unlikely to be suitable for community use. Disposing of a high value building was also likely to generate more overall benefit for Northamptonshire residents than making it available for community use at a nominal charge. 

A Panel member sought further information about how the PFCC had used his role as Chair of the Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) to improve the operation of the criminal justice system. The PFCC made the following points:

·         He was pleased with the continuing work by the LCJB but there remained more to do.

·         Northamptonshire was in a better position than some areas with regard to the backlog in court cases, although this had resulted in one of its judges being transferred to Nottinghamshire to assist with pressures there.

·         There were always likely to be demand pressures on the judicial system.

A Panel member questioned that the Annual Report did not include any comparative information on how community safety in Northamptonshire had changed at the end of 2021/22 compared to a year earlier, which would assist a member of the public to understand what progress was being made. The PFCC made the following points:

·         This Annual Report did not include crime data due to the risk of this becoming the sole focus of attention, as had been the case when the 2019/20 Annual Report was presented to the Panel.

·         It was essential that crime data was viewed in context. Various examples illustrating this could be highlighted.

·         Northamptonshire had the third highest monthly increase in crime in the country in April 2022, but over the last 12 months its performance had improved most of all forces in the country. The recent position partly reflected hard work done by the force on crime recording, including the recording of secondary offences.

·         Most forces nationally were currently seeing an increase in domestic abuse but there had been an 8% decrease in all domestic abuse crime in Northamptonshire and a 6% decrease in the volume of victims, which was reflected in the number of referrals to the Sunflower Centre. He was concerned that Northamptonshire was an outlier in this way and needed to be satisfied about the reasons for this.

·         There had been a recent increase in shoplifting offences in Northamptonshire but this was largely due to a single repeat offender who had been responsible for 40 offences representing 13% of the total number.

·         The Panel should be assured that as PFCC he had a good oversight of the force’s performance and that performance data was also published on his website.

·         Performance improvements by the force over the past year should be recognised and he expected them to be reflected in its next PEEL assessment. However, they should also be seen in the context that the force needed to continue to improve.

Panel members commented that the Annual Report was very focussed on policing and encouraged that more reference be made to Fire & Rescue in future. The PFCC acknowledged this point, whilst also highlighting that Northamptonshire Police was a much larger organisation than NFRS.

A Panel member commented that financial pressures were a key factor that could cause young people to get involved in criminal activity if this seemed to be the only way of making money to support themselves or their family. This issue would get worse if the current cost of living crisis was not addressed. All concerned should push for action on this. The PFCC made the following points:

·         Current economic pressures had a wide-ranging impact. He would do all that was possible to make Northamptonshire safer within this environment.

·         Evidence on gang-related activity indicated that the majority of it was not financially-driven.

Panel members made the following additional points during the course of discussion:

·         It was positive to hear that activity in Northamptonshire was informed by examples of good practice elsewhere.

·         The emphasis on early intervention and youth work conveyed in the Annual Report was welcome.

·         The Annual Report referred to 375 young people supported by the Target Youth Service reaching their final progress point in the Outcomes Star framework at the end of 2021/22 Quarter 4. It was questioned what percentage this represented of the total number of young people supported. 

The PFCC made the following points in response to further questions raised during the course of discussion:

·         Victim support services in Northamptonshire were available to victims of historic crimes: there was no time limit on access to support. Voice was also intended to act as a gateway to different services that were available.

·         There was a sponsored PCSO programme in Northamptonshire. The beat buses operated by the force were another means of enhancing visible local policing.

The Panel considered potential conclusions on the Annual Report for inclusion in its report to the PFCC.

RESOLVED that:

a)    The Panel emphasises the importance of delivering the objective of increasing visible policing in Northamptonshire.

b)   The Panel recommends that the work of Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service be given more prominence in future annual reports.

c)    The Panel requests to be advised of what percentage of the young people supported by the Targeted Youth Service was represented by the 375 young people who reached their final progress point in the Outcomes Star framework at the end of 2021/22 Quarter 4.

d)   The Panel requests that an infographic on the deployment of Northamptonshire Police officers be provided for the next Panel meeting.