September 3rd, 2024
Quarter 1 Performance – 2024/25
Date: 3rd September 2024
Chair: John Campion
Minutes: Alexandra Knight
Venue: West Mercia Police HQ
Attendance:
- John Campion Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)
- Christopher Jensen Policy Officer (CJ)
- Alexandra Knight Policy & Commissioning Intern (AK)
- Richard Cooper T/ Chief Constable (T/CC)
- Rachel Jones T/ Deputy Chief Constable (T/DCC)
Review of Action Tracker
Actions were reviewed and progressed as per the action tracker.
Chief Constable Assessment on Quarterly Performance
Safer West Mercia Plan and Budget Priorities
The T/CC provided an update on key areas of performance and outlined the consequences of West Mercia’s ambitious targets. He acknowledged that while there is progress in the level of crime taking place, outcomes for the public are not as significant as desired potentially due to crime closures. The T/CC aims to make performance progress before the end of quarter two for crimes waiting for detection and quality assurance. The worsening performance of action taken for rape was raised by the T/CC. However, outcomes are in a positive place. There are key areas of focus, and 999 call performance is the forces top of priority.
Crime Data Integrity – Other Offences Audit
The T/CC considers the force to be performing well and these crimes tend to have better recording rates due to simplicity. The force is performing less well in relation to the timeliness of recording crimes, especially when there is not deployment to a member of the public. Generally, crimes are recorded quickly when there is police attendance, however the T/CC recognised there are a greater number of crimes which do not require attendance. Timeliness has consequences for VCOP and support services.
PCC asked if the issue with timeliness is an organisational problem. The T/CC provided that this has not had the same priority as other timelines issues and therefore CRC recording has had less scrutiny but there is individual scrutiny in place and triage to ensure bad decisions are identified. The T/DCC outlined hope that soon there will be a technical solution for crime recording where SARB can be used to create a skeleton report in Athena.
The PCC asked how this relates to satisfaction, and it was provided that there is good evidence of contact which is encouraging as it shows an improvement since the HMI revisit and there are high level of compliance of recording of investigative practice. Investigative rigor is broadly positive but not yet considered good. The victims service review will show results for quarter one.
PCC raised the lack of improvement in recording protected characteristics. The T/CC believes this will only improve significantly when there is greater integration between SARB and Athena. T/DCC stated that on Athena version 6 there is a required data field of recording ethnicity.
A case study on burglary was discussed which showed a clear error, the case decision was errant and being investigated.
Case outcomes have seen a broad improvement in documenting evidence. However, the T/CC stated his disappointment in having supporting evidence of a victim’s withdrawal.
There has been a focus on quality over the last six months.
Crime Volumes – Action Taken – Domestic Abuse
There has been a statistically significant reduction in the volume of recorded domestic abuse offences. The T/CC provided that there is nothing that can be clearly attributed to the reduction in recording, there is nothing nationally which would suggest lack of confidence and West Mercia is not an outlier in their most similar group. There will be attempts to analyse and understand the reduction, the T/DCC believed the changes could be due to recording changes for harassment.
Domestic abuse outcomes have also seen a reduction. In March/April community resolutions for domestic abuse were suspended. It needs to be understood if community resolutions are universally bad or if the decisions need to be more scrutinised and a decision to be made if they are to be reintroduced. Discussion was had on community resolutions being victim led or victim focused. The PCC raised the inconsistency within the Local Policing Areas (LPA’s). The T/CC provided that for Shropshire this is a longer-term issue which reflects cultural leadership and is a key focus. South Worcestershire has trialled service scenarios, where a hypothetical case study is provided on what should be done, domestic abuse is the first example used. This will be used across the force to increase awareness of correct actions.
The PCC asked about analysis of if there is a wider problem for Shropshire? The T/CC stated that the levels of recording crime need to be examined in this quarter and the PCC is right to be concerned about level of service offered in Shropshire and this is high priority for the Superintendent. There is no structural reason for the difference and the T/CC was confident the gap will start to narrow.
Officer Morale and Staff Sickness
The T/CC provided that there are no figures available for quarter one, however sickness rates are improving and they feature at the Force Delivery Group (FDG), with a focus on Shropshire’s policing area.
Work is being undertaken to improve Shropshire’s culture which will be reported on to the T/CC.
PCC provided criticism of West Mercia performing poorly and his interest in the decrease in performance of West Merica Police being a good place to work. The T/CC stated that the data is from quarter four but that there is a feeling of ‘other’ in the organisation and belief other teams are better off. More regular communication to the workforce is being worked on. There was discussion of reconciling the FED’s survey results with staff’s personal feedback. T/DCC raised trying to understand if there is a hotspot of negativity. The FED survey is the only national comparator, but HMICFRS have provided a survey which will used to triangulate findings. Viva engage and its ability to dynamically survey the force was discussed. The T/DCC provided that while engagement was captured, she was unsure if there is the ability to analyse staff feeling.
Any other performance areas as determined by the Chief Constable
999 performance
The T/CC believes 999 performance has stabilised and will now improve. BT data was discussed and the positive impact of shortening a recorded message. 999 performance is an area of focus, there will be further technical stability and increased staff in quarter two which will be significant, they are essential for improvement. There was discussion of which data source the HMIC will use to assess the performance.
Robbery in Shropshire
Robbery increased in Shropshire but has since settled. This was reviewed in relation to national performance. Recording of robbery was discussed and the T/CC stated there has a been quality assurance backlog, and there is a chance that some theft from the person offences will be recategorized as robbery.
National priorities
Murder, Homicide and Serious Violence
The T/CC outlined that West Mercia experienced low levels of Homicide in quarter 1, showing a sustained reduction. There has also been a reduction in serious violence in hotspot policing areas compared to control areas.
ACTION: 02
The PCC inquired about a ‘near miss’ document and how its knowledge is being operationalised to prevent homicide and serious violence? The T/DCC explained near misses and solutions, the homicide strategy is the consolidation of other plans, this is governed through crime and vulnerability board to ensure activity is progressing.
PCC asked if some of communities are more likely to be subject to domestic serious violence due to geography. The T/DCC responded that understanding who is most likely to be affected is part of the lead safeguarding partners role and they should target those communities.
PCC inquired about the impact of activity, it’s measurement and hoe it is articulated to provide an evidence base for activity. The T/DCC stated there are numerous case studies with strong indication of preventing outcomes, the consolidation of this for commissioning services is mature. There is a wider nighttime economy plan which includes operation vigilance.
ACTION: West Mercia Police to evaluate Operation Vigilance, examining the value of its role and overall approach of reducing harms linked to the NTE. This is to be shared with the PCC once completed.
Drugs
Due to the implementation of a new system, there was relatively low levels of disruption. The T/CC provided that there are historically low levels of disruptions but he is not confident the number of disruptions recorded is accurate. T/DCC stated that the new system of recording disruptions will be more purposeful than it is and will hopefully see improvements. The Serious Organised Crime team are working with LPAs and with licensed partners on recording disruptions.
Neighbourhood Crime
The T/CC provided that there is a broadly positive picture for Neighbourhood Crime. Theft from person was raised as an issue but there has since been a reduction across the force, it was theorised that this crime type is more subject to error than others.
The West Midlands regional collaboration on vehicle crime was discussed, and the T/CC reported being pleased during the middle of quarter one with the information sharing and initiatives resulting from the collaboration.
The PCC provided feedback that it would be helpful for the report to clearly identify areas for improvement and why subjects have been included.
Quarterly HMICFRS Update
The PCC outlined feeling prepared ahead of the HMICFRS PEEL inspection.
HMICFRS- Unannounced visit to police custody suites in West Mercia Police (published April 22)
T/CC stated HMIC were broadly positive and there is no intention for them to reinspect before 2027. He provided there is evidence of custody being made less punitive and there is a change on perspective, to see custody as rehabilitative. Learning is being put into practice and the T/CC is encouraged by the level of progress maintained.
The PCC asked for reassurance of custody performance and that performance is sustained. The PCC expressed his disappointment in basic elements of humanity not being met. T/CC is reassured as there is now an internal audit and custody records are reviewed, with a stringent audit done by the custody SLT. There are ongoing discussions on how to get feedback from people who have been in custody as the T/CC recognised that more could be done this cohort. There is a transition to new DO’s with them having more responsibility.
PCC raised disappointment from an estate perspective, he also raised concerns and criticisms of the Hereford custody block. The PCC asked how staff are driving estates to be at the right level and about investment into custody blocks. T/DCC provided that there are a number of estate issues arising out of the HMIC report and there is a programme of closures to address issues, which will provide improvement.
Summary of Actions Arising
The PCC is to be provided with an update regarding the hot spot policing initiative for ASB and Serious Violence from the head of prevention (Brian Gibbs).With a focus on the initiatives impact on Serious Violence.
West Mercia Police to evaluate Operation Vigilance, examining the value of its role and overall approach to reducing harm in the NTE. This is to be shared with the PCC once completed.
AOB
N/A
Confirmation of next meeting type / date / time / venue:
Thematic A&A: CSE / 08 Oct 2024 /14:00 – 16:00 / The Habington Room, Hindlip Hall
