Archived decisions

REPORT OF THE

HAMPSHIRE POLICE AUTHORITY

POLICING PLAN 2009 - 12

The Authority has approved the draft of its second three-year plan for local policing in accordance with statutory requirements. The Police Act 1996 requires that each police authority produces an annual plan setting out its objectives for the policing of its area at the beginning of the financial year. This plan was produced jointly with Hampshire Constabulary following wide public consultation including with the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and includes details of the policing priorities for Hampshire Constabulary.

BUDGET 2009/10

The Authority has approved a budget of £304.7 million representing an increase of £10.514 million or 3.6%. The government grant had increased by 2.5% for 2009/10 but this was below the September 2008 police officer pay award of 2.65% and the inflation pressure on non-pay budgets. Hampshire Constabulary reported that significant efficiency and productivity savings proposed in the budget will enable more service to be delivered with fewer resources and will allow the number of police officers to reduce without having an adverse effect on frontline performance. A number of frontline and support roles previously undertaken by police officers were now undertaken by police staff under the workforce modernisation principles. The efficiency initiatives proposed for 2009/10 focus on support services and there will be no requirement to make any police officers redundant and the police staff reductions will be made as far as possible through natural wastage and redeployment. The Authority approved an increase in council tax of 4.8%.

INDEPENDENT CUSTODY VISITING SCHEME

The Authority has received a report on the operation of its Independent Custody Visiting Scheme for the period July to December 2008. It is a requirement under the Police Reform Act 2002 for police authorities to make arrangements for detainees held in police custody to be visited by independent members of the public from the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The reason for these custody visits is to enable reports on the conditions under which persons are detained at police stations to be produced and thereby provide an independent check on the way police officers carry out their duties in an open and transparent manner to assist public reassurance.

The Authority welcomed the report which indicated that custody visitors had made the required number of visits to police custody suites despite operating with less than the optimum number of visitors. The report also advised that custody visitors had not reported any breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act Code C which governs detention in police custody. The Authority endorsed its commitment to custody visiting and recorded its thanks to the volunteers who carry out this role on its behalf.

Cllr Mrs Jacqui Rayment

Chair