Agenda item

The Deputy Mayor had been provided with an advance question regarding her assurance that the new Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in York is meeting her strategic aims.  The Deputy Mayor had provided a written overview.  As a follow-up, the Deputy Mayor was asked about referrals for therapeutic help and support.  It was agreed that figures would be obtained regarding referrals to the SARC as well as to other commissioned services providing this support.   

A Member had also asked a question regarding the detection rate for dwelling and non-residential burglaries in the force area.  The Panel were advised that there had been a small rise (2.3%) in dwelling burglaries but others were down by 5%.  Detection rates are up 3.5% on the previous year – and in fact all crime type detection is up - so the Deputy Mayor felt reassured that the police service is performing well.  All such data is available in the Online Public Meeting performance packs.

A question was raised by a Panel member regarding the recent Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman and whether the police service has ensured that its policies and procedures adequately align with that ruling.  The Deputy Mayor provided a response from North Yorkshire Police (NYP) to the effect that this impacts several areas of policing such as custody, searching of detainees and suspects and recording of data.  NYP has undertaken an initial review but will ensure full compliance with the ruling across all policies and procedures.  The Deputy Mayor is anticipating further guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council and offered to provide a written update on that for Panel in due course.

As a linked query, the Deputy Mayor was asked if she was able to provide some reassurance to residents around management of potential tensions following the ruling and the potential for additional instances of hate crime.  The Deputy Mayor will continue to monitor this, along with police and fire service colleagues and it is also monitored through the community safety partnerships.

The Chair highlighted that there have been complaints to the Panel regarding the length of time taken on the adjudication of police complaint outcomes – sometimes up to twelve months - and asked the Deputy Mayor to reflect on this when preparing the report for Panel in July.  The Deputy Mayor highlighted that the backlog has come down significantly and more capacity has been put into the complaints team.  The Deputy Mayor also sought to reassure that the most serious complaint issues are triaged at point of entry to the team.

The Panel asked about the progress being made to tackle retail crime and whether the Deputy Mayor is looking to work collaboratively with councils and others on this issue.  The Deputy Mayor acknowledged the increase in retail crime in the last year and that it is a priority for the Mayor. Work is underway to streamline processes for businesses.  The Safer Streets mission will ensure a more joined-up approach to tackling retail crime and the additional money to the neighbourhood policing budget will ensure greater support.

Members sought assurance from the Deputy Mayor that there is capability and capacity to deal with bush/moorland fires in view of the dry start to the year and the emerging rural fires.  The Deputy Mayor urged the public to follow the NYFRS advice given to avoid fires occurring.  The Deputy Mayor has suggested a rural forum for fire issues as there is for rural crime and is conscious that large landowners often have access to supplies to complement the resources of NYFRS, so the additional resilience needs to be developed in communities.

A Member asked about the departure of the Corporate Director for Policing, Fire and Crime from the MCA earlier this year and whom Members should contact routinely on matters which that postholder would previously have attended to.  Rachel Antonelli spoke to the work underway at the MCA to consider the structure and remove duplication as the role undertaken previously by the Corporate Director does not exist in the current structure.  Two officers have been appointed as Deputy Monitoring Officer in the meantime (Tamara Stevens and Paul Clark).  A further update will be available for the next Panel meeting.

Concerns were raised by a Panel member in relation to the time spent by police officers escorting individuals under arrest to hospital for treatment, citing an individual case of an officer recently spending around eleven hours at York Hospital.  The Deputy Mayor is in ongoing discussions with health colleagues around ensuring there is capacity in the system to attend to these cases in a timely way.

The Deputy Mayor was also asked whether she is aware of the role of fire breaks in terms of ensuring an impact on handling wild fires and whether this could be raised with NYFRS.  The Deputy Mayor agreed to raise this with the Chief Fire Officer.

Resolved

That the Panel will receive:

(a)   data regarding referrals for therapeutic support for victims to the SARC and other services;

(b)   further information in due course on the guidance from the NPCC for policing in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling; and

(c)   further information regarding changes to the organisational structure and senior roles at the MCA for the next Panel meeting.