Archived decisions

    AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE POLICE AUTHORITY held at The Castle, Winchester on Tuesday 23 July, 2002

PRESENT:

    Councillor S.A. Hayes (Chairman); Mrs. R. Atkinson; Mr. M.J. Attenborough-Cox; Mrs. C. Barratt; Mrs. L. Cawsey JP; Councillor A.P. Collett; Councillor D. Gillett; Mrs. J. Griffin JP; Mr. R.J. Gully; Mr. G.M. King JP; 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. P.R. Kernaghan (Chief Constable); Mr. I.R. Readhead (Deputy Chief Constable); Mr. J. Pittam (Treasurer); Mr. M. Coombes (Director of Finance); Chief Supt. J. James; Chief Insp. M. Cooper (Hampshire Constabulary); Ms. J. Simms (Corporate Services); Mr. A. Dobson (Estates Practice); Ms. S. Jackson; Ms. C. Vagg (Clerk's Office).

604 APOLOGIES

An apology was received from Councillor D. Gillett who was arriving late to the meeting.

605 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Authority held on 11 June, 2002 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman subject to the deletion of the name of Councillor A. Collett from the list of members of the Best Value and Performance Management Panel as set out in the Appendix to the Minutes.

Matters arising:

Minute 586(a) - Adoption of Model Code of Conduct for Members

Mrs. Barratt confirmed that she had received a copy of the advertisement published in newspapers circulating in the Authority's area stating that the Code had been adopted and that it was available for public inspection and that she had been impressed with the coverage achieved.

606 CHAIRMAN'S REPORTS

      (a) Informal Session

      The Chairman referred to the revised timetable for the informal session of the Authority.

      (b) Letter from Alan Gordon, Police Federation

      The Chairman indicated that Alan Gordon would be standing down as Chairman of the Police Federation on 27 July and that he would write on behalf of the Authority thanking him for his contribution to the continued good working relationship between the Federation and the Authority during his period as Chairman. It was hoped that a new Chairman would be in place by September.

607 HAMPSHIRE POLICE AUTHORITY ANNUAL REPORT 2001/02

The Authority considered a report of the Clerk (Item 4 in the Minute Book) which set out the arrangements, including content, format and timetable, for the production and publication of the combined Annual Report and updated Annual Policing Plan and Best Value Performance Plan.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the report be noted.

      (b) That, for the second year the Annual Report be merged with an updated version of the Annual Policing Plan and Best Value Performance Plan.

      (c) That the combined Annual Report 2001/02, Annual Policing Plan 2002/03 and Best Value Performance Plan 2002/03 be circulated in final draft format to the Chairman of the Community Affairs Steering Group and the Chairman of the Best Value Performance Management Panel for approval on behalf of their Group or Panel.

      (d) That responsibility for approving the Annual Report 2001/02 be delegated to the Clerk and the Chairman.

608 POLICE AND SUPPORT STAFF STRENGTH

The Authority considered a report of the Chief Constable showing police and support staff strength against budgeted strength as at 30 June, 2002 (Item 5 in the Minute Book).

Members noted that an additional 101 police officers were in post at 30 June, 2002 compared with the same period in the previous year. In addition, it was noted that the current forecast for recruitment was very encouraging and it was likely that the Force would be up to full strength, including all Crime Fighting Fund posts, by the end of November this year.

Members continued to express concern about the long-term sickness figures and were pleased to note that the Personnel Panel and the Best Value Review Team were focused on this issue and examining it in depth.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

609 POLICE AUTHORITY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FIRST QUARTER REPORT - APRIL TO JUNE, 2002

The Authority considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the first quarter report on the progress of the 2002/03 Annual Policing Plan.

The Chief Constable introduced the report and highlighted the most pleasing results which included house burglary crimes which were down by 6% and the increased detection rates for vehicle crime and racially-aggravated crime. He also drew particular attention to the improvement in the number of 999 calls answered within 10 seconds which, having fallen to 70% early last year, had risen to 88.8% in the latest quarter and had actually met the 90% target in June.

Members noted that, due to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS), there had been a 5% increase so far in 2002/03 in the number of offences recorded and that, whilst NCRS would improve the consistency of crime recording across forces, such increases could be expected although the full extent could not yet be established.

In response to questions from Members, the Chief Constable explained the more notable variances in the detection rates for certain divisions including Gosport and New Forest. In addition, he believed that the high numbers of homophobic crimes and incidents were not due to a sudden increase in offences but as a result of the hard work of his officers to instil confidence amongst the hard to reach groups affected by such incidents to come forward and report these crimes.

The Chief Constable also responded to concerns with regard to the presentation of some of the information contained within the report and undertook to address this for the future.

The Authority acknowledged the significant continuing work being undertaken by the Force to meet the recruitment target for the year.

Finally, the Chief Constable undertook to respond to an apparent discrepancy raised by Members concerning data contained within the report in relation to PACE searches for which no corresponding target/data existed under the list of Best Value Indicators.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

610 HAMPSHIRE CONSTABULARY - RACE EQUALITY SCHEME

The Authority considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 7 in the Minute Book) which attached a copy of the Constabulary's Race Equality Scheme which had been published on 31 May, 2002 and was available on the Force website.

Members noted that a publicity leaflet was being prepared for distribution to the public which set out the main points of the Scheme in the context of the Force's approach to race and diversity issues and would also contain information about the Police Authority Scheme. The leaflet would also be distributed with the Authority's Annual Report and Annual Policing Plan.

In addition, Members supported the inclusion of an Authority Member on the proposed Consultative Panel to be established as a resource for consultation to advise on the likely impact of proposed policy and changes to existing policy on any particular group or community.

RESOLVED:

That the report and the existence of the Race Equality Scheme be noted.

611 CRIME AND INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM RECOVERY PROJECT

The Authority considered a report of the Chief Constable (Item 8 in the Minute Book) which outlined the current position of the Constabulary's computerised crime recording and intelligence systems which were currently failing to meet the needs of users in terms of providing timely, current and continually accessible information in respect of recorded crime and criminal intelligence. The report outlined, in general terms, planned activities to improve system performance through the work of a dedicated recovery team and also highlighted the urgent need to plan for system replacement.

The Chief Constable referred to the current Automated Crime Recording (ACR) System which had been introduced in a phased roll out commencing in July, 1996 and completed in September, 1998. However, whilst ACR was suitable for some small forces, it now did not meet the needs of the Hampshire Constabulary and, in the absence of a national product, it was necessary to identify and implement a range of technical and process solutions to restore system operations to acceptable levels. The recovery team had been established by the Force to work full-time to address these issues and provide recommendations to the Force by 30 September.

Members noted that there was provision in the budget for the next financial year for system replacement costs but they were, nonetheless, concerned that the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) was not exercising a proper role to ensure the timely provision of a national solution with the result that individual Forces were now having to provide their own systems. The Authority stressed the need to ensure that any new system provided in Hampshire was able to meet the future needs of the Force.

In conclusion, the Authority agreed that approaches should be made to PITO and Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) to ascertain the position with regard to the development of a national system and its compatibility with other systems. The Chief Constable indicated that, once responses were received from both PITO and HMIC, a joint approach to representations could be agreed.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the contents of the report be noted and the work in progress to:-

        · Improve the performance of CIS (Crime) and CIS (Intelligence)

        · Identify options for system replacement

      (b) That agreed representations be made to PITO and HMIC concerning the urgent need for a national crime and intelligence system.

612 MINUTES OF THE FINANCIAL AFFAIRS PANEL

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Financial Affairs Panel held on 16 July, 2002 be received and, where necessary, adopted (Item 10 in the Minute Book).

Matters arising:-

Minute 206 - Urgent Business - Local Government Finance : Formula Grant Distribution

The Chairman of the Financial Affairs Panel drew particular attention to the Government's new proposals for formula grant and the significant implication for the Authority's 2003/04 budget and beyond. Members discussed the key issues and, in particular, the significant potential losses in Government grant from proposed changes on resource equalisation and the area cost adjustment, which recognised the higher costs of policing in the South-East, the results being that Shire Police Authorities would lose grant support, whilst the Metropolitan Police and Metropolitan Authorities would be the main gainers.

Members noted that the loss of grant could be as much as £10.4m and could result in a council tax rise of over 20%.

It was agreed that urgent representations should be made direct to the Government and through the Association of Police Authorities (APA). In this respect, it was agreed that the Chairman, Mr. Attenborough-Cox, and Councillor Mrs. Rayment should seek an early meeting with John Denham MP to outline the Authority's concerns prior to the expiry of the consultation period on 30 September, 2002. In addition, Members felt that the public needed to be alerted to the likely effects of the Government's proposals on the council tax at the earliest opportunity through a sustained media campaign.

613 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:

That, by virtue of Paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting.

614 POLICE AUTHORITY ACCOMMODATION REQUIREMENTS - FUTURE NEEDS ANALYSIS

The Authority considered a confidential report of the Clerk (Item 9 in the Minute Book) which set out an analysis of the Authority's future accommodation requirements as it related to the current agenda of policing and the potentially more proactive role that the Authority will be expected to take, the current office and pressure on space, and the opportunity to acquire additional space at Staple Gardens.

Members also noted that, in view of the continuing increase in workload in the areas identified in the report, it would be necessary to reinforce the existing staffing complement to provide greater capacity to undertake work in the key growth areas and provide more support to members. This would mean, in the short-term, that at least two additional members of staff would be required.

Members acknowledged the shortage of existing accommodation space and the pressure that this, together with the increase in workload, had placed upon existing staff. In this respect, it was noted that, with regard to freehold, the existing market was unable to offer immediately a property of the size and quality required by the Authority. In addition, there were advantages in respect of negotiating terms with the current landlord for additional space at Staple Gardens. In conclusion, Members favoured the option of pursuing a lease for the available space at Westgate Chambers, with an option to sub-let the second floor, it being noted that provision would need to be made within the Authority's budget to cover the costs identified in the report. Members also acknowledged the advantages of maintaining its office in Winchester and of pursuing the opportunity presented to it to acquire the additional space. However, given a longer timescale, Members would have preferred to have been given the opportunity to consider a wider variety of costed options and a more detailed assessment of potential workload.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the lease of additional space on the first and second floors at Westgate Chambers on final terms and conditions to be negotiated, subject to contract, and in accordance with the outline terms set out in the Estates Practice report previously circulated be agreed, and that the Clerk be authorised to progress the matter to completion, subject to (c) below.

      (b) That the length of lease negotiated reflect optimum rental terms and landlord's contribution to the cost of works.

      (c) That final terms be agreed by the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Financial Affairs Panel.

      (d) That Members of the Authority be kept informed of progress.

615 FAILURE OF THE BRITISH TELECOM 999 SYSTEM

The Authority considered a confidential report of the Chief Constable (Item 12 in the Minute Book) on the circumstances surrounding the failure of the British Telecom System in the Southampton area on 25 April, 2002 and the actions which had been taken since that event.

Members noted that Oftel, the regulatory body of the telecommunications industry, had instigated an investigation into the events of 25 April and would be publishing a report by the end of August, 2002. In this respect, Oftel and BT had agreed to attend a meeting with the Authority to discuss the report. The Authority was also informed that the Force would be pursuing recompense for costs incurred in relation to this matter.

The Deputy Chief Constable then referred to concerns which had been expressed about the impact that a BT failure might have on the Airwave service and to responses from MMO2 in relation to the enquiries of the Airwave Project Team in this respect. It was accepted that further reassurance was required and steps were being taken to endeavour to achieve some transparency with regard to the network configuration. Members noted that the Force had also written to Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) and the Chairman of the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) raising their concerns about the resilience of the system in the event of such a failure in the future. It was noted that a workshop involving British Telecom and Airwave would take place on 25 July, 2002 specifically to look at the resilience of the Airwave radio network and Members asked for an update in due course.

In conclusion, the Chief Constable undertook to circulate the Oftel report to Members as soon as it was received and that an update report on the Airwave project would be presented to the next meeting of the Authority.

RESOLVED:

      (a) That the report and the current progress be noted.

      (b) That Oftel and British Telecom address the Police Authority following the publication of the Oftel investigation report.







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