WHAT: Monthly Performance & Accountability Meeting (PAM)
WHEN: Friday 22 January @ 13:00
WHERE: Watch in the archive here
SOCIAL MEDIA: Join the conversation on Twitter using #SusPolScrutiny
This week sees the first of Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne’s monthly Performance & Accountability Meetings (PAMs) for 2021.
Due to current lockdown restrictions Mrs Bourne will be holding her monthly accountability meeting with the Chief Constable remotely. The meeting will not be webcast live but will instead be recorded and uploaded into the archive after. Detailed minutes of this meeting will also be shared on the PCC website here.
On Friday 29 January, Mrs Bourne will be presenting her 2021/22 financial plans for Sussex Police at the Police & Crime Panel meeting, including any proposed increase in the police precept (the amount you pay for policing in your council tax bill).
The first item on the agenda at this month’s PAM will therefore focus on finances, specifically how Sussex Police has spent previous increases in investment. Mrs Bourne will also consider the Chief Constable’s investment case for this year and her analysis of the demands on local policing, investigations and the need for tougher enforcement.
In a recent survey and ‘policing challenge’ game, Mrs Bourne asked Sussex residents if they would pay more for policing in Sussex and nearly 4,500 people responded.
The public’s feedback collected throughout the year and the requirements of Sussex Police, to be discussed on Friday, will help inform the investment case Mrs Bourne will present to the Police & Crime Panel for approval at the end of this month.
Mrs Bourne says: “This month’s PAM is an opportunity for Sussex residents to hear the improvements that have been made to Sussex Police from previous investments, including remaining on track to recruit an additional 250 police officers, 50 specialist staff and 100 Police Community Support Officers despite the pandemic. These numbers are on top of the 129 extra police officers for Sussex provided by the Government uplift programme.
“At this meeting, Chief Constable Shiner will make her case for investment into 2021/22 and outline her detailed plans for further enforcement, more investigation and an even greater presence in our towns, villages and online.”
Also, at the top of the agenda this month, Mrs Bourne will seek reassurance from the Chief Constable about the recent reports of a loss of more than 400,000 crime records in England and Wales due to a coding error.
Mrs Bourne wants to know how many of these crime records relate to individuals from Sussex and what impact this will have on the ability of the police service to identify matches between crime scenes and offenders.
Other topics under discussion include:
Reassurance to Sussex communities - Coronavirus
IOPC – complaints statistics for England and Wales 2020/21
Operation Dragonfly – Christmas drink and drug driving campaign
The launch of the new Specialist Enforcement Unit
Taser usage in Sussex and Surrey
The next PAM is on Friday 19 February at 13:00.
