Archived decisions

    AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE POLICE AUTHORITY held at The Castle, Winchester on Tuesday 20 November, 2001

PRESENT:

Councillor S.A. Hayes (Chairman); Mrs. R. Atkinson; Mr. M.J. Attenborough-Cox; Mrs. C. Barratt; Mrs. L. Cawsey JP; Councillor A. Collett; Councillor J. Fazackarley; Councillor D. Gillett; Mrs. J. Griffin JP; Mr. R. Gully; Councillor P. Heath; Councillor D. Knowles; Councillor P. Mason; Mr. R. Palmer; Councillor Mrs. J. Rayment; Councillor Mrs. M. Snaith.

Also present: Mr. P.C.B. Robertson (Clerk); Mr. J.C. Pittam (Treasurer); Mr. I.R. Readhead (Deputy Chief Constable); Mr. M. Coombes (Director of Finance); Mr. P. Jacobs (Assistant Chief Constable); Chief Supt. G. Stogdon (Corporate Services); Mr. G. Ford (Performance Review Manager); Ms. J. Bodman (Corporate Services); Mrs. M. Boyes, Mrs. C. Godding, Miss S. Jackson, Ms. C. Vagg (Clerk's Office).

517 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Authority held on 25 September, 2001 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

518 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

      (a) Chief Constable

      The Chairman reported the apologies of the Chief Constable who had been required to attend an urgent meeting of the Association of Chief Police Officers in London.

      (b) Chief Supt. Richard Stowe

      It was with pleasure that the Chairman informed Members that Chief Supt Richard Stowe had been appointed as Assistant Chief Constable with the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and would take up his new post in January, 2002.

      (c) Chairman's Familiarisation Visits

      The Chairman reported that, apart from Gosport, he had now completed his programme of familiarisation visits to all policing divisions in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. He considered that these visits had been very beneficial and that the results would be fed back at future Authority Awaydays.

519 POLICE AND SUPPORT STAFF STRENGTH

The Authority considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 3 in the Minute Book) which set out police strength against budgeted strength at 30 September, 2001.

The Deputy Chief Constable outlined the report and drew particular attention to the fact that current recruitment forecasts suggested that the Force was unlikely to achieve more than 50 of the potential 140 Crime Fighting Fund officers allocated to Hampshire by the Home Office for 2001/02. The Force would, therefore, need to apply to defer the remaining 90 posts to 2002/03. The Deputy Chief Constable indicated that every effort would continue to be made to recruit new staff.

Members discussed this key issue in detail and expressed deep concern about the inability to fill the available number of vacancies. In this respect, Members noted the special attention paid to this matter by the Personnel Panel which was awaiting the outcome of a specific piece of work on recruitment being undertaken by Superintendent A. Thomas. Pending the outcome of this work, the Authority felt that it was unnecessary at this stage to establish a special working group to examine the problem of recruitment in more detail. However, Members did agree that a letter should be sent to the Home Secretary asking him to receive a deputation from the Authority in order to press Hampshire's case more strongly.

In the meantime, it was agreed that a special meeting of the Personnel Panel, open to all Members of the Authority, should be arranged following the completion of the work being undertaken by Superintendent Thomas in December with a view to the Minutes from that meeting, together with a copy of the report, being presented to the full Authority in January, 2002. The deputation to the Home Secretary would, therefore, need to be sought towards the end of January.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the report be noted.

      (b) That the Home Secretary be asked to receive a deputation from the Authority to outline the current police officer recruitment crisis in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and, in view of this prevailing situation, to seek his assurance that Hampshire's share of the Crime Fighting Fund, which it is unable to commit in the current financial year, can be carried forward to 2002/03.

520 MEMBERS' ALLOWANCES SCHEME

The Authority considered a report of the Clerk (Item 4 in the Minute Book) on new legislative provisions which would come into force on 1 December, 2001 and which would provide for each Police Authority to decide its own allowances scheme.

The report proposed that the Authority's existing Scheme be adopted as of 1 December, 2001 pending the introduction of its own local scheme with effect from 1 April, 2002. In the meantime, this matter would be considered at the next meetings of the Policy Group and the Financial Affairs Panel with the final Scheme being presented to the Authority at its meeting in February, 2002.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the current position be noted.

      (b) That the Financial Affairs Panel consider the detail of the new Members' Allowances Scheme including the setting of appropriate allowance levels.

      (c) That, pending the development and introduction of the Authority's own local scheme, the Home Secretary's Scheme (the Authority's existing scheme) be adopted with effect from 1 December, 2001 and published accordingly.

      (d) That a report setting out details of the Authority's new local scheme be presented to its meeting in February, 2002 for adoption.

521 PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - SECOND QUARTER REPORT

The Authority considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on the progress of the Authority's Performance Indicators for the period July to September, 2001.

Members sought clarification on various aspects of the report including public disorder incidents per 1,000 population, 999 calls answered within 10 seconds, and complaints.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

522 LORD JUSTICE AULD'S REVIEW OF THE CRIMINAL COURTS - CONSULTATION

The Authority considered a report of the Clerk (Item 6 in the Minute Book) which set out a suggested response to Lord Justice Auld's review of the criminal courts. The review recommended that the criminal law should be codified under the oversight of a new Criminal Justice Council, by or with the support if necessary of the Law Commission.

Members agreed that this was a major piece of work upon which there would be a wide debate by all interested parties. In addition, it was noted that the Magistrate Members of the Authority were receiving separate briefings on this issue within their own organisational structures.

Whilst the broad thrust of the paper was supported, Members considered that comment needed to be made in relation to the possible effect of extended court sitting times on police officers who would need to be available at any time and on the prison service where, for example, prisoners were not currently taken to prison after a certain time in the afternoon.

RESOLVED:

That the comments set out in the paper, as revised, be forwarded to the Home Office as the Authority's response to Lord Justice Auld's review of the criminal courts, with a copy to the Association of Police Authorities.

523 FUTURE OF THE BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE - CONSULTATION PAPER

The Authority considered a report of the Clerk (Item 7 in the Minute Book) which set out a suggested response to the Government's consultation paper on the future of the British Transport Police (BTP). The paper proposed that a Police Authority for the BTP be set up on the Home Office model to oversee the management of the Force, linking it through the democratic process to proper accountability to the public that it serves. At the same time it was proposed that BTP Constables have the proper powers to act both within the railways and, when circumstances require, elsewhere.

Members welcomed the report which afforded a useful explanation of the function and purpose of the BTP and they supported the approach taken in the Clerk's report. In particular, the Authority endorsed the comments that the Members of the new BTP Authority should be able to elect the Chair and Vice-Chair from amongst their own Members who were eligible rather than be appointments of the Secretary of State as proposed. Members recalled that this had been a proposal when new Police Authorities were being established in 1994 and had been successfully resisted.

RESOLVED:

That the report be forwarded to the Government as the Police Authority' response to the consultation paper on the future of the British Transport Police and to the Association of Police Authorities to enable them to make a corporate response on behalf of all authorities.

524 POLICE AUTHORITY COMMUNITY CONSULTATION

The Authority considered a report of the Clerk and the Chief Constable (Item 8 in the Minute Book) which proposed new arrangements for community consultation following approval of these proposals by the Authority's Policy Group and the Community Affairs Steering Group.

The Authority noted its legislative requirement to consult with the public which, with the agreement of the Chief Constable, aimed to obtain the views of the community about the policing of its area. However, the existing arrangements which had been in place since 1986, were not effective in their current form nor were they delivering the quality of information required by the Authority to determine its local policing objectives. In addition, the current structure was not operating in a strategic way across the two counties and, consequently, consultation with hard to reach groups was not routinely taking place.

The Clerk explained that the new model for consultation preserved the best of the existing system within a more manageable process and provided a degree of consistency across the board. The key to this arrangement was the Core Group consisting of a Police Authority Chairman, the local Superintendent, the local Community Safety Officer, and a Core Group Administrator. Each of these Groups would be established, as far as possible, on existing district/unitary council boundaries which would aid continuity. The consultation framework in each area would be set by the groups in January and a report submitted to the Authority for approval. The groups would report again at the end of the year on the outcomes of their consultation arrangements. He stressed that it was not the intention to abandon public meetings as a method of consultation but to provide a broader based approach involving both targeted and innovative methods.

Whilst the Authority endorsed the overall approach, some Members expressed concern about the limited membership of the Core Groups which excluded key community groups such as Neighbourhood Watch who, in some areas, were making a significant contribution on the existing Police and Community Liaison Groups. Whilst acknowledging that the smaller Core Groups proposed were likely to be more effective, it was felt that each Group should be able to co-opt a limited number of key individuals who the core members considered would make an effective contribution to its work. In any event, the Authority agreed that the repositioning of the current PCLG structure should be handled sensitively and with respect for all of the current members of those Groups who had contributed to their work over many years. It was noted that preliminary letters had already been sent out to all PCLG Members informing them of the likely changes and care would need to be taken in delivering the right message as the Authority moved from one system to another, particularly in areas where existing arrangements were working relatively well. Particular thanks were recorded to the current PCLG secretaries whose efforts under the current structure were greatly appreciated.

The Deputy Chief Constable added, with regard to divisional boundaries, that these were aligned with local authority boundaries wherever possible, but that, in some areas, this was not the case. He also suggested that there was a need for close co-operation between the Authority and the Police who also consulted with the community outside of the Authority's areas of responsibility.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the role of the Police and Community Liaison Groups be brought within the proposed new arrangements as of 31 March, 2002.

      (b) That Core Groups in each local authority area be established and put in place as of 1 April, 2002 with a consultation programme for the coming year approved by the Police Authority at its meeting in February, 2002 and that, should be it considered necessary, Core Groups be permitted to co-opt a limited number of key individuals able to make an effective contribution to their work.

      (c) That Secretaries of PCLGs be informed of the proposed changes at their next meeting.

      (d) That each PCLG be required to hold an extraordinary Committee meeting prior to January, 2002 at which the relevant Police Authority Member will brief the Group on the new consultation structure for their area.

      (e) That Police Authority Members be appointed to Core Groups.

      (f) That steps be taken to fill the new posts of Administrator and Core Group Members.

      (g) That the new Groups be named Police Authority Community Consultation [for the appropriate area].

525 POLICE AND COMMUNITY LIAISON GROUPS

The Authority considered a report of the Clerk (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on meetings of PCLGs which had been held during September, October and November.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

526 MINUTES OF THE CRIME PREVENTION PANEL

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Crime Prevention Panel held on 25 October, 2001 be received (Item 10 in the Minute Book).

527 MINUTES OF THE FINANCIAL AFFAIRS PANEL

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Financial Affairs Panel held on 30 October, 2001 be received, and where necessary, adopted (Item 11 in the Minute Book).

528 MINUTES OF THE PERSONNEL PANEL

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Personnel Panel held on 6 November, 2001 be received, subject to the inclusion of the name of Councillor Mrs. J. Rayment in the list of those present (Item 12 in the Minute Book).

529 NOTES OF THE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS STEERING GROUP

RESOLVED:

That the notes of the meeting of the Community Affairs Steering Group held on 7 November, 2001 be received, and where necessary, adopted (Item 13 in the Minute Book).

530 MINUTES OF THE BEST VALUE AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PANEL

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Best Value and Performance Management Panel held on 15 November, 2001 and circulated at the meeting be received (Item 14 in the Minute Book).

531 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:

That, by virtue of the Paragraphs of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as set out below, the press and public be excluded from the meeting.

Minute 532 - Paragraph 12
Minute 533 - Paragraphs 7 and 9
Minute 534 - Paragraphs 7 and 9

532 AUTOMATIC FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION CONSORTIUM - EXIT AND CLOSEDOWN UPDATE AND ARBITRATION OF BREACH OF CONTRACT BY SAGEM MORPHO INCORPORATED

The Authority considered a confidential report of the Clerk (Item 16 in the Minute Book) on matters relating to the Automatic Fingerprint Recognition Consortium.

RESOLVED:

That the current position on the contract and litigation be noted.

533 AIRWAVE PROJECT - CONTRACT NOVATION BRITISH TELECOM TO MMO2 LIMITED

The Authority considered a confidential report of the Chief Constable (Item 17 in the Minute Book) on the implications of the intended British Telecom demerge, scheduled for the end of 2001, for the Airwave Project.

Members agreed to accept the invitation extended by the General Manager of British Telecom Quadrant - Public Safety, to attend a meeting of the Authority to explain the implications in person.

RESOLVED:

That Mr. J. Parris, General Manager, British Telecom Quadrant - Public Safety, be invited to attend the meeting of the Authority in January, 2002, prior to approval being given to the novation of the contracts from BT to mm02 Limited.

534 COMMAND AND CONTROL PROJECT - LITTON'S PRC SUB-CONTRACT AND EVENTUAL NOVATION TO SERCO

The Authority considered a confidential report of the Chief Constable (Item 18 in the Minute Book) on the intended sub-contract and eventual novation of all responsibilities of the current contract between Litton's PRC/UK and the Authority, to Serco Justice.

RESOLVED:

That the Sub-Contract and novation of the current Littons PRC/UK contract to Serco Justice be noted, subject to contract arrangements, which do not disadvantage the Constabulary in any way, being agreed.

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