Agenda item

Report of the Commissioner

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Commissioner of Police that provided Members with an overview of activity undertaken in response to reports published by HMICFRS.

The Chairman noted that the recent inspection report had rated all items as good, as well as CoLP’s response to the London Bridge terror attacks.

The Assistant Commissioner emphasised that it was very important to recognise the challenge that CoLP had faced over the last year so they were very pleased with the outcome of this inspection.  He noted that only two Police Forces in the country were rated as “outstanding”, and only Durham Police Force in all areas.

The Head of Strategic Development explained that the new form of Integrated PEEL Assessments will commence in September, with a focus on organised crime.

The Chairman illustrated his approval of the positive results and the ambition to strive for “outstanding”.

The Chairman requested to be given sight of a current draft of the workforce plan as referenced within the report, due for publication in September 2018. (15). 

A Member asked if we were working towards a 5-year workforce plan and the Assistant Commissioner confirmed that they were working with a rolling plan as a live document, subject to significant changes over the next 6 months.  He confirmed that the plan would be submitted to this sub-committee.  The Chairman reiterated that he wanted to be given sight of a draft before it is submitted to the November meeting.

The Chairman noted that the recommendation around disclosure issues was rated as a RED risk, not GREEN as had been promised at the previous meeting.  The Head of Strategic Development explained that it should be marked as GREEN.  The Chairman asked for the action taken to implement this recommendation to be confirmed. (16)

The Chairman queried the RED risks around Stop and Search.  The Assistant Commissioner explained that there had been an issue with Q4 data extraction which has now been resolved.  He also noted that there had been an issue raised around stop and search training provision, since addressed by a schedule of training. He explained that this area should now be ready to move to GREEN.  The Chairman requested that stop and search statistics and the training plan be submitted to the next meeting. (17)

A Member noted that some areas marked for improvement were concerning, such as public protection and community engagement.  The Head of Strategic Development noted that the HMICFRS’s commentary on their causes for concern referenced the national perspective. It was also noted that these were ‘AMBER’ which meant they are in progress and still within the timescale to be delivered set by the Force or HMICFRS as per the AMBER definition.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.