To invite, the Chief Constable, Simon Parr to address the Council on the future structure of the Constabulary and changes taking place within the Force.
Minutes:
The Chairman invited the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, Mr S Parr to address Members on the “Future Structure of the Constabulary and Changes Taken Place within the Force”.
The Chief Constable opened his address by reminding the Council that some 15/20 years ago, it was considered that the performance and profile of police forces was such that indicators/targets were introduced against which performance was measured. Police forces also were encouraged to work within their communities.
More recently, the Government has encouraged greater control of funding by authorising Chief Constables to administer their force as self contained business units responsible to local communities. This ethos has led to reviews of the infrastructure which existed within every county constabularly.
Mr Parr described how he had, on his appointment, faced a scenario whereby the Government had announced a £20m reduction in the Cambridgeshire budget and the force had achieved less successful results in detecting crime than it had previously. Mr Parr suggested that he had to consider how to work differently to ensure no further loss in performance. Freedom from numerical measures and performance management meant he could look differently at policing in Cambridgeshire and the challenges in particular in Huntingdonshire as opposed to those in Cambridge and Peterborough. Mr Parr explained how he had approached communities to discuss what, realistically, the Police could continue to offer and what communities considered to be the most important aspect of police work.
As a first step, he described the changes to the management structure which were being put in place and which would result in the appointment of a Chief Inspector responsible for policing in Huntingdonshire. A more senior Chief Superintendent would hold to account those officers who were responsible for district areas. He referred to the various crimes which had most impact locally and the new ways by which the police would respond to them. For example, a greater use of community speed watch schemes to monitor speeding in villages and increased liaison with schools over parking and speeding issues. Mr Parr also indicated his wish to work in a different way with young offenders and outlined his belief in “restorative justice” and his willingness to seek to engage with difficult families to solve difficult issues in partnership with other agencies.
As re-structuring also offered the opportunity to create a centre of expertise to respond to more serious crime, Mr Parr added that he was working with partner forces in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire to seek to deliver more specialist services. He anticipated delays in answering telephone calls because operators had been asked to establish how the police could best respond to any incidents that were being reported.
Lastly Mr Parr concluded by stating that the force had already identified £9m savings from rationalisation of the infrastructure and back office support, that next year’s budget had been balanced and that plans had been made for the next 3 to 4 years with the ultimate objective to retain as many operational Police Constables in the community as possible.
A lengthy period of questions followed from Members and Councillor R J West opened this session by asking whether additional funding was granted to the Cambridgeshire Force to meet the cost of interpretation services required to respond to the number of different dialects used by residents in Peterborough. Mr Parr explained that, whilst careful in their use of interpreters, the service was still a loss to bear. On a similar theme and in response to a question from Councillor J W Davies, Mr Parr advised the Council that irrespective of language or integration difficulties, the Cambridgeshire force would not change their approach to policing.
Councillor C R Hyams urged Mr Parr to consider offering support for the District Council‘s CCTV facilities given the use made of the service by the police over the last 10 years. Mr Parr made it clear that allocating funds towards CCTV could mean less police constables but he would continue to consider whether there were any alternative solutions to secure funding for this service. He accepted that loss of the service could mean an increased risk of crime, that perhaps there should be greater responsibility placed on the community for surveillance and that the circumstances discussed were just one of the many difficult choices imposed by the current financial situation. Following a further question on the same subject from the Executive Leader, Councillor J D Ablewhite, Mr Parr gave an assurance that he remained open to further discussions with the District Council to seek to achieve a solution.
In response to a question from Councillor Mrs M Banerjee regarding the limited powers available to PCSO’s, Mr Parr confirmed that those in the Cambridgeshire force had access to the maximum powers available and that whilst only able to restrain individuals for 30 minutes, he considered that this period should be sufficient to allow a police constable to attend the scene.
Councillor P J Downes thanked Mr Parr for his comments on “restorative justice initiatives” and questioned how the election of a Police Commisioner in November 2012 could affect democratic accountability given the demise of the Cambridgeshire Police Authority. Mr Parr suggested that it could be difficult for one individual to be aware of local circumstances in all the cities, towns and villages in Cambridgeshire. However, the success of the appointment would depend upon the relationship between the Chief Constable and Commissioner and willingness by both to deliver and respond to the needs of the public.
Councillor M F Shellens invited the views of Mr Parr on the A14. He replied by stating that the road was unique in terms of the volume of traffic it carried on only two lanes, the length of its slip roads and given it was the only major road link from the east coast ports to the M1. He added that further enforcement would be difficult although the imposition of a maximum speed limit had helped reduce accidents but not volumes of traffic. It might be possible to influence the Highways Agency to vary speed limits at peak times but this could have an impact on economic prosperity and criminality.
Councillor A MacKender Lawrence asked how the collaboration programme would impact on neighbourhood forums, policing panels and the level of operations in Huntingdon and further questioned how effective the Magistrate's Courts would be without the support of CCTV evidence. Mr Parr assured the Council that he had not given instructions to change the way in which the force was currently working towards the Neighbourhood Forums and Police Panels. He had just demanded that the force work differently and more coherently and that it was his intention to augment the work of the Neighbourhood Panels and not dissolve them. In terms of CCTV, Mr Parr reiterated that he would look at ways to help retain the service.
In terms of levels of support, Councillor T V Rogers commended the previous practice whereby a local PC attended Parish Council meetings and asked whether this might be reinstated. Although there had not been a decision to withdraw their attendance, Mr Parr undertook to encourage the presence of a police constable on a more regular basis and if this was not possible he would urge officers to speak to the Clerk/Chairman of the Parish Council soon after their meetings.
Regarding low level anti-social behaviour, Mr Parr confirmed, in response to a question from Councillor P M D Godfrey, that the local Police Neighbourhood Team would prefer to talk to individuals to offer help and support to avoid the escalation of problems. Councillor D B Dew welcomed the “restorative justice initiative” and commended the practice whereby a Police Constable operated within a local community. Mr Parr advised the Council that it was his intention to recruit up to 50 police constables by the end of the year, to train them to operate effectively within a neighbourhood team and to communicate with people in a tactful and considerate manner.
Attention was drawn to the use of Cambridgeshire Police in the “Cops Squad” television series and Councillor A Jennings asked whether there were plans for a second series and whether the Force had benefited financially from their involvement. Mr Parr confirmed that there were no plans for a second series and whilst the force received no remuneration, their participation raised the profile of the force and highlighted the good work being undertaken in Cambridgeshire.
Contrasting the level of resources devoted to rural rather urban crime, Mr Parr reported, in response to a question from Councillor R J West, that it was his intention to increase the number of special constables to work in rural areas and to engage with rural communities. It was not possible to harmonise support for both areas but he was hopeful that the recent census findings might illustrate the need for additional funds to enable the Cambridgeshire force to better contribute to rural areas.
On behalf of the Council, the Chairman thanked the Chief Constable for his attendance and his interesting presentation and contribution to the meeting.
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