Agenda item

Report of the Commissioner of Police.

Members considered a report of the Commissioner of Police regarding Third Quarter (Q3) performance against measures set out in the Policing Plan 2018-21 and the following points were made.

·         The Assistant Commissioner noted that the number of offences recorded overall equated to 3.6 per day. The Force was paying attention to the increase in Violent Crime (Measure 6) and Acquisitive Crime (Measure 9).

·         The Assistant Commissioner continued, noting that the Force had improved the way in which it improved its response to, and recording of, crime and as a result he was confident existing processes would be graded Good by any forthcoming inspections.

·         The Assistant Commissioner noted that the increase in crime outlined within the report should be considered in the context of a 250k increase in crimes nationally – in this context, the Force’s performance was arguably satisfactory and compared favourably with its closest relevant peer.

·         Nevertheless, daily briefings of Non-Commissioner Officers (NCOs) were designed to set expectations around appropriate management of crime. For example, whilst a crime such as shoplifting featured as a low priority on the overall threat, harm and risk matrix, the Force was mindful of the degree of confidence City residents and business would have in the Force would be depend on the Force’s response to such crimes.

·         In response to a question, the Assistant Commissioner confirmed that the Force had ambitions to utilise Artificial Intelligence to inform its response to crime.

·         In response to a question, the Assistant Commissioner noted that the increase in public disorder was largely due to issues around alcohol and the Night Time Economy (NTE) and the fact that the Force was being more proactive in addressing those issues.

·         In response to a comment from a Member regarding the Force’s capacity to address recent increases in crime across some Measures, the Assistant Commissioner noted that he would circulate some more detailed figures to Members outside of the meeting, and assured Members that steps were being taken to be more efficient in assessing the likelihood of the requirement for arrest in areas such as crime associated with the NTE.

·         In response to a question, the Assistant Commissioner noted that the planned recruitment freeze would reduce Force headcount slightly.

·         In response to a question regarding what approaches were being taken to mitigate the issues identified within the report, the Assistant Commissioner noted that a report would be brought back to Members outlining how Force performance measures could be assessed within the Authority’s corporate strategy envelope of the four Ps – Pride, Pace, Passion and Professionalism.

·         The Chairman noted that he would welcome an assessment on the impact of the transfer of staff from the Economic Crime Directorate to other roles in a future report to the Sub-Committee.

·         In response to a question, the Assistant Commissioner confirmed that patrolling had been increased on Thursday and Friday nights for the time being.

RESOLVED, that the report be received.