Chief Inspector Sarah Johns, Exeter, East and Mid Devon area of the Devon and Cornwall Police will be in attendance, along with Inspector Steve Bradford to answer questions from the Committee.
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed Chief Inspector Sarah Johns and Sector Inspector Jane Alford-Mole to the meeting.
The following questions were put to the Inspectors;
What impact did the potential demands on regional police resources to help nationally in response to terrorism threat or attack, have on local policing?
Inspector Mole explained that there was a National Counter Terrorism Network. All regions had specialist officers so when there was an incident they would be drawn on first. This could result in an impact on local policing depending on the skills required and local reassurance work needed. However local impact would be small as the specialist officers would be used.
Given that resources were already stretched in Devon and Cornwall due to the increase in activity of organised crime gangs, child sexual exploitation, and scammers all of which posed a serious threat in the rural counties, were we in an era of risk of increased petty/ conventional crime which would not be investigated?
The Inspector reminded Members that a lot of funding had been taken out of Policing in recent years which had caused forces across the country to look at what they did and how it was delivered. Devon and Cornwall was clear in its mission to safeguard vulnerable people, to deal with crimes that caused the most harm to people and they were, as a force, now recognising crime that would have been unnoticed in the past, such as child sex abuse and exploitation. These crimes had all been happening previously but were not being reported or dealt with. Dealing with these crimes, which caused the most harm, did mean that some other crime might not be investigated. However, the Inspectors stressed the importance of crime reporting in order that trends could be identified. New shift patterns were being introduced, having looked at demand data over the previous 4 years, to ensure that officers were working at the times that crime was most likely to be reported. Overnight shifts would look at intelligence over the previous 2 weeks to help identify crime trends. A lot of recruitment had taken place within Devon and Cornwall and there was an uplift of 120 officers. There was also good use of Special Officers in the force and in the previous year they had contributed 19500 hours. Continued training for Special officers was encouraged.
Is there not value in having local policing on the streets? Surely it would have potential to pick up local intelligence which may assist in resolving more serious crimes?
The Section Inspector responded that intelligence was about smarter working and that the Police Community Support Officers and Neighbourhood Teams still worked in their local areas, building relationships with the public.
I am, almost on a daily basis receiving complaints about the speed of traffic and dangerous driving on the Silverton to Killerton Road. Would it be possible to address this problem?
We also have a problem at the end of Park Road where there is a bollard; people are driving on the wrong side of the bollard. Highways have looked at the problem but are unable to suggest anything that might help. In such situations would it be possible to install a camera for a short period?
The Section Inspector informed the Committee that incidents such as those mentioned in the question needed to be logged. They had checked records and had been unable to find any reports regarding this matter. Recent major accidents in Devon which had resulted in death on the roads would take priority on officer time so it was imperative that the public made note of incidents, with registration numbers, and reported this.
Last week I attended Mid Devon Children's Centre Advisory Board meeting at Tiverton, which focussed on Domestic Abuse. It was really well attended by most agencies - except for the local Police, Social Services and the Courts Service.
I welcome the opportunity for the Police to restate their policy on attending, reporting and referring incidents of Domestic Abuse in families in Mid Devon where there are young children living with and witnessing such abuse.
Unless all these agencies adopt a well meshed, inter-disciplinary reporting approach to this issue, young children will fall through the net in an adult world. It was upsetting that the three non-attending agencies had accepted the invitation to attend, yet none of them sent apologies or substitutes.
Sector Inspector Alford Mole agreed that it was disappointing that an officer had failed to attend and that apologies had not been sent. She asked for further information in order that she could look into this matter. She informed the Committee that the police took these offences very seriously with robust policing and there was a specialist unit in Exeter in place to deal with these matters on a daily basis.
What is the policy on domestic abuse and how information is shared with other local agencies, when there are young children in the family?
The Inspector explained that when officers attended a domestic incident there were certain forms that had to be filled in which collected information regarding the family such as children, schools and GP. Officers would use this form to make recommendations and ensure that all organisations that need to be informed were. Significant matters would be dealt with at the time and as a last resort officers would get a Police Protection Order to take children from the address there and then. Regular multi agency meetings were held and a new initiative was in the pipe line which would result in police making contact with the school of any child involved, or at home, during a domestic incident.
A local controversy had developed as a result of an ex police officer claiming that a potential proposal to remove fencing in need of significant maintenance around children's play areas as an economy measure would be an invitation to paedophiles and represent a danger to children. There was also new Government guidance on play to encourage more outdoor and adventurous activity by children. Any such proposals would only be taken following local consultation, but have the Police any concerns in this respect?
Chief Inspector Sarah Johns was in receipt of an email from the Designing Out Crime Officer regarding this matter. She explained that his response had stated that where there was an obvious need for fencing such as a road or river nearby, each play area should be considered on its own merits. The view of officers was that it was a good idea to fence areas for protection from dogs when possible but that no evidence had been found to suggest that fencing would make any difference regarding sex offenders. Offenders were managed in a specialist way and there were powers in place to control them. The Chief Inspector offered to circulate the email following the meeting.
How do forces operate across the border?
The Chief Inspector informed Members that they worked closely with neighbouring forces and there was constant interaction. If necessary officers could go over the border to apprehend. ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras allowed the force to know when a flagged car had entered the area and specialist teams could be tasked to deal with specific crime types.
Why don’t the police promote trackers from the NFU on farm equipment?
The Inspector was not aware of this scheme but informed Members that organisations such as Farm Watch were promoted by the force and a national register was kept for stolen farm equipment. Officers concentrated on crimes that caused most harm and this might result in less support for rural areas. The Inspector stressed the importance of reporting crime.
Was domestic abuse investigated at the detriment of other crime, such as burglary and why was the Police Station not open to the public?
The Chief Inspector responded that domestic abuse was at the top of what they dealt with. It blighted lives and had been suffered behind closed doors for years. It had a devastating effect on children and there was evidence that brain development was affected. As an organisation Devon and Cornwall Police were giving total support to this crime and more officers were dealing with it than previously with expertise from a dedicated team. There had been a huge increase in historical reports.
With regard to officers on the street, as previously explained, officers were deployed to meet demand. Some areas had seen a reduction in officers but Mid Devon remained fully resourced.
The Chief Inspector explained that it was not cost effective to man a front office at the Police Station, when it had often only dealt with a couple of callers per day. Other means of contact such as telephone and online had been improved and these were the preferred means of contact for a lot of people.
The Inspector added that though the service was not perfect, and they would not through choice have made any reductions, they were reviewing methods of working all the time and changes such as the alliance with Dorset were saving money as well as providing positive results, allowing them to do more with less.
With regard to Tiverton specifically the Sector Inspector confirmed that the number of officers had not reduced and that the area could also call on support from the dog team, armed response and traffic officers. They could not however provide a presence on every street corner at all times.
Did the reduction in mental health provision have an impact?
The Inspector confirmed that it did.
The Chief Inspector thanked Members for the invitation to attend Scrutiny and offered to come back at any time.
The Chairman thanked the Chief Inspector and Sector Inspector for their attendance.
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