Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Chief Constable Jason Hogg, Superintendent Andrew Cranidge, and Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber.

Members are asked to submit any questions on this item to committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk by the end of the day on 5 January 2024 for collation.

Councillors welcomed Chief Constable Jason Hogg, Superintendent Andy Cranidge and the Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber to the meeting.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber gave an update on the key pieces of work from his office including the development of a victims’ portal where victims could find updates on their crimes in order to reduce pressure on 101 requests, improving digital channels for reporting community intelligence and strengthening police neighbourhood teams. Matthew commented that cyber crime and fraud remained the biggest risk to residents, but there remained work to improve confidence in neighbourhood policing. The budget was due to be published in the coming weeks.

Chief Constable Jason Hogg of Thames Valley Police presented some statistics for the force, and introduced the senior management team. The force was a diverse organisation which had been recognised nationally for pushing boundaries of diversity, however there was a need to invest further in special constables and volunteering. There had been a 16% increase in calls to 999 since April 2023, and the nature of calls had become more complex than ever before. A recent inspection from HMIC had indicated that the Thames Valley Police workforce was overstretched and feeling exhausted. Retention was a struggle for the force as officers were moving to jobs in the private sector and recruitment processes had been reviewed in light of this. The organisation was being restructured to combine 11 local command areas into 5 to manage demand more effectively. The number of neighbourhood police officers was being doubled to improve the visibility of police officers.

The Chief Constable also explained the new approach to mental health, Right Care Right Person which had been developed in collaboration with the Home Office, the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England. The new approach was that the police would only deal with someone in mental health crisis if a crime had been committed, if there was a threat to their life or the individual was being threatening to someone else. Thames Valley Police had a good relationship with mental health providers and partners locally and stressed that any frontline worker who felt threatened would be supported by the police.

The Chief Constable highlighted that Thames Valley was the safest force in the country in relation to serious violence due to proactive work on knife crime and violence against women and girls.

Superintendent Andy Cranidge, Local Police Area (LPA) Commander presented some statistics on a local level. There had been an increase in crime in the last year in Bracknell, however this was likely do to the growing population and increased footfall in the town centre. There had also been an increase in domestic abuse cases, however this could be due to increased police engagement and closer work with partners and third parties rather than an increase in actual cases. The Police work closely with partners to commission services around accommodation and support services for domestic abuse.

Reductions continued around violence and knife crime, and prevention work with schools was critical to this.

There had been a 7% increase in sexual offences during the year, largely due to an increase in child to child sharing of images which would be addressed through education.

The LPA reviewed key indicators including hate crime on a daily basis, to identify trends and patterns and use resources from across the LPA or wider force.

The increasing trend around dwelling burglaries had slowed down and was on track to have a reduction in Bracknell in the current year. Officers were working on attendance at burglaries to discuss crime prevention with victims, as some perpetrators were from crime groups and some were opportunist offenders.

Drug dealing hotspots at Great Hollands and Birch Hill had been identified through discussion with partners and the public, and work was ongoing to tackle these hotspots. County Lines feedback from perpetrators was that organised crime groups tended to be caught if they came to Bracknell, and one current County Line in the area was being tackled. Officers were working with housing associations on cuckooing. 

Councillors noted some Police case studies relating to retail theft from Marks and Spencer’s on Bagshot Road and anti-social behaviour at the Meadows in Sandhurst.

Questions

Councillor Bailey asked about information on complaints against the police, and whether the press coverage had had an impact on recruitment. In response, it was noted that the force would not hesitate to sack more officers to address the crisis of confidence in the Police and every opportunity would be taken to remove officers who didn’t support Police values. There were emerging themes arising from complaints about victims of crime not being kept up to date, and officers not taking sufficient action when a crime was reported. There were plans to launch measures to assess public perception of Thames Valley Police.

Councillor Bidwell asked about what was being done to deter the use of cycles and e-scooters in the Lexicon in order to prevent accidents. In response, it was noted that there was a gap in legislation around Police response to e-scooters. Thames Valley Police had launched a new approach for frontline officers to engage with those e-scooter users who were stopped, as e-scooters were illegal to ride on the road or pavement unless covered by a Council scheme.  More signage had been installed in The Lexicon and officers were making use of CCTV to identify individuals using e-scooters. It was noted that behaviour while using e-scooters was perhaps more key to tackle, as it was likely that they would be legalised in some form in the future.

Councillor Wright asked about specific data rather than percentage change headlines, and all Councillors were invited to contact the Police for any information they need as lots of local level data was available.

Councillor Virgo asked a question about the increase in unsocial behaviour such as graffiti, bad parking and speeding, and whether the increase in police officers would result in more police on the streets. It was commented that although there was no evidence that increasing the number of police officers drives down crime, it was understood that residents feel safer with a police officer presence. The number of neighbourhood officers would be doubled, and it was down to LPA Commanders to decide where they should go. In Bracknell and Wokingham, it was hoped that there would be an identifiable officer in each parish.

Councillor Forster asked a question about whether the Police were satisfied with the levels of public confidence. It was noted that the only data available was the Crime Survey of England and Wales which showed that the public had a higher level of satisfaction in Thames Valley Police than the national average. The Police and Crime Commissioner’s officer were looking into securing a private company to gather information on public confidence on demographics.

Councillor Forster asked another question about the engagement with Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust and whether the Trust could meet the demands of the Right Care Right Person policy. It was commented that Julian Emms, Chief Executive of Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust was engaged with the programme and was meeting with Police on a strategic level to discuss plans for the policy.

Councillor Forster asked a final question on whether the force had the resource it needs to meet the Policing Plan and residents’ expectations. In response, it was commented that when the budget was published it would show a growth of £50m, and the Police and Crime Commissioner was lobbying government on the funding formula for police forces.