Agenda item

To receive a short verbal update from Councillor Richard Wilson, as the Council’s representative on the Police and Crime Panel, on the Panel’s activities within the last year.

The Committee received a verbal update from Councillor Richard Wilson, who was the Council’s representative on the Surrey Police and Crime Panel.

The panel’s primary aim was to scrutinise the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner and support the Commissioner as a critical friend. The panel had 14 members, and met approximately every 2 months. The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) was required to produce a Police and Crime Plan, which was a primary vehicle to form the basis of scrutiny. The panel also scrutinised revenue and capital budgets of the Office of the PCC.

The Chief Constable was responsible for operational policing matters; and was held to account by the Police and Crime Commissioner, rather than the Police and Crime Panel. However, it was good practice to understand the issues affecting the Chief Constable, who privately met with the Police and Crime Panel on an annual basis.

Members of the Committee asked for further detail on the effectiveness of the Police and Crime Panel’s Scrutiny and the following points were noted:

·         Whilst the majority of issues in relation to policing were Surrey-wide, the Panel had made representations and discussed the shortage of PCSOs, and the significant increase in shoplifting, in relation to Surrey Heath specific issues.

·         The Police and Crime Panel provided critical friend scrutiny to the PCC, which recently included a recommendation on the inclusion of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the Police and Crime Plan, and various recommendations on call-handling which featured at its meeting on 2 February 2024.

·         There were contrasting opinions on the overall performance of policing in Surrey, with significant reference to metrics featured in the Peel Report, and it was perceived that whilst performance under these metrics were not entirely sub-standard they had dropped in recent years.

·         There were concerns in respect of how frontline contact with Surrey Police had changed in recent years; and on contact with the PCC, the PCC’s limited scope had been reemphasised and that it was not the PCC’s place to get involved in operational matters. 

The Committee thanked Councillor Wilson for his update and his continued representation of Surrey Heath on the Panel.