Minutes:
Reassurance was sought from the Commissioner around re-vetting protocols within North Yorkshire Police (NYP). The Panel were advised that NYP was the first force last year, as part of a pilot scheme, to run every officer and staff member through the Police National Database. This process continues on a monthly basis. The Chief Constable outlined that anything arising from the monthly search is followed up with enquiries to other forces and with interviews for officers/staff as needed. The Panel heard that the Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) oversees Professional Standards and receives a detailed report regularly of any staff or officers who are being considered for suspension. Simon Dennis also provided additional assurance around the delegated role of the Commissioner to himself and senior colleagues to meet regularly with the DCC, Force Solicitor and Head of Professional Standards on a closed circulation basis, to ensure opportunity to ask questions and review the data more thoroughly. It was agreed that the Panel will be provided with:
· redacted statistics on the numbers of officers and staff currently suspended due to investigations;
· statistics on those officers who have appeared before the Chief Constable on accelerated misconduct hearings and have been dismissed and also those who have appeared before a legally qualified Chair and the outcomes of these (it was noted that this data is also available online).
The Commissioner was also asked about the application of the ‘Right Care, Right Person’ model, recently introduced at NYP. The Panel discussed the development of the national agreement, which is founded on diverting a number of mental health/welfare calls away from the police and ensuring that the health service steps in as needed. Members expressed concern that third sector agencies had not been involved in consultation on the national agreement, particularly as a number of very vulnerable people are not linked in to statutory agencies/NHS but are linked in to third sector agencies and who will continue at points to need an urgent welfare check. The Chief Constable sought to reassure that the police will still act where this support is required. The Commissioner agreed to provide the Panel with a briefing on the model and also to drill down into why the third sector had not been engaged in early conversations around application of the model.
Members asked about PCSO recruitment and when communities can expect to see the NYP development plan. The Panel heard that an organisational review of NYP is underway. It had also been identified that NYP has the highest percentage PCSO workforce in the country and as such the Chief Constable felt it important to further review demand statistics and the evidence base. A lot of time and money had been spent in recent years on PCSO campaigns which were often unsuccessful. The Chief Constable intends to review what is needed for the organisation, consider where posts are needed locally and then re-open recruitment. The Panel is due to review the outcomes of the organisational review early next year.
Further to a Member query regarding how residents are supported and accounted for following large-scale fires, the Chief Fire Officer outlined the involvement of the local authority and the Local Resilience Forum in ensuring communications are adequately maintained once the fire service has been out.
The Commissioner was further asked for data on police response times and clarity on how these are being measured and over what time period. It was also highlighted that residents would like to see data on how the police are dealing with County Lines, shoplifting and burglaries. Cllr Burr also requested a meeting with the Commissioner to address longstanding locality concerns. The Commissioner agreed to do this and also to provide the data requested, although it was noted that this data is also available online.
Resolved –
That the Panel will, prior to its next meeting:
(a) receive redacted statistics on the numbers of officers and staff currently suspended due to investigations;
(b) receive statistics on those officers who have appeared before the Chief Constable on accelerated misconduct hearings and have been dismissed and also those who have appeared before a legally qualified Chair and the outcomes of these;
(c) receive a briefing regarding the Right Care, Right Person model and the involvement of the third sector in its development and application; and
(d) receive data outlining police response times (with clarity on how these are measured and over what time period) and data on how shoplifting, County Lines and burglaries are being tackled.