1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting.

 

2. Operational Update

 

CC updated the PCC on operational policing issues.

 

CC reported that response times are showing significant improvement over the last three months. This is due to improvements in the FCR and in the supervision of patrol teams along with a steady increase in trained response drivers. Officers and staff are clearer about what is expected of them

 

PCC asked what the trajectory is for continued improvement on the response times. CC said that this is likely to continue improving.

 

PCC also asked how the current case loads of patrol teams was potentially hampering response times and what is the right balance of responsibilities for patrol teams. The CC said that this was under continuous review. PCC mentioned that he was going to spend the day with a patrol team in Luton the following day. CC said his own sampling through talking to officers were that workloads were manageable and the key to that is sergeants having a good understanding of workload at an individual level.

 

CC said he started talking to the workforce about the importance of improving performance in tackling of domestic abuse at the start of the year, and there has have been an increase in arrests for DA. This is being done by Patrol teams who on the whole are doing a very good job.

 

The PCC asked about community cohesion and hate crime. He was aware that there can be a gap between reported crime and levels of anxiety. These matters are being made more concerning as a result of populist right politics and international events.

 

The CC said that additional support was being given to places of worship and that all hate crime is monitored and allocated for investigation by the community cohesion sergeant.

 

The CC and PCC agreed to keep these issues undern constant review.

 

PCC reported that the underperformance by the current ISVA provider is being addressed and should be resolved by the end of the week.

 

PCC reported that he had held a retail crime event with the Chamber of Commerce and Bedford Borough Council last week and noticed that the working relationship with between the community police team and the Bedford Council community safety team is very good. CC agreed.

 

3. Drug testing on arrest

 

PCC has stopped funding a ‘drug testing on arrest’ post on the basis that PCC no longer funds operational policing from the Community Safety Fund.

 

At the Serious Harm Board partners had raised concerns about the lack of this provision and the CC agreed that this needed addressing and funding need to be found. The PCC thanked him for this and agreed to discuss funding if necessary.

 

4. HMICFRS Areas for Improvement and upcoming PEEL inspection

 

The PCC asked about signoff of outstanding AFIs from the previous PEEL inspection and the debrief from HMICFRS following the recent QSR review.

  

CC and PCC agree that HMICFRS will be looking closely at supervision during the inspection.

 

CC is confident that processes are in place, investment in internal culture will deliver improvement and CC has oversight of all areas, challenges and plans to demonstrate to the inspectorate. PCC said that he continued to be concerned at supervision, performance management and CPD. The CC said he agrees that these are areas for focus, but he is not concerned as he is content that plans are in place to develop and support leaders and that performance was continuing in a trajectory of steady improvement.

 

CC said that early positive feedback was coming out of the inspection on how the forces safeguarding arrangements. PCC asked if the issues previously reported by Ofsted in respect of police data sharing with CBC and BBC had been addressed. The CC replied that they have been through local safeguarding boards.

 

CC reported that Bedford Borough Council and the police are making good progress on the intent to pilot the use of Nectar for multiagency safeguarding.

 

5. Government’s police reform

 

PCC and CC discussed the current position on reform especially the Force Mergers Review. Both had and were due to have further meetings with the Review’s chair Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe.

 

They will continue to speak about the reform agenda and its implications and opportunities for Bedfordshire, and ensure where possible to have a common voice to government and the reform programme teams.

 

6. New Police Operating Model

 

PCC asked CC for an update on how improvements in performance demonstrated by the merging of the Emerald (DA) and CID investigation units.

 

CC reported that the new shift pattern will now be in place from July. CC expects the new team will be much more efficient and harmonious. Drugs Focus Desk are still producing drug expert statements and caseload has been shared across a broader number of investigators to ensure they are manageable.

 

Solved crime over last 12 weeks was 13.8%, and 13.4% YTD.

 

PCC welcomed this and asked for regular updates, and on the other operating model changes.

 

7. New development at Tempsford, Bedfordshire.

 

PCC said that he wants to co-ordinate an approach to MHCLG about the future new town at Tempsford to make the case to design it as a low crime and healthy town with the right infrastructure from the start.

 

He said that the case to government, the development corporation which will be responsible for planning the new town, and future developers is about more than finance and infrastructure. The creation of a new town should be built in ways that promote community and cohesion, minimise the impact on the environment by reducing the need to excessive local car use and having community efficient and sustainable energy supplies, and design out crime.

 

The CC said that Bedfordshire Police’s Designing Out Crime Officers have just won their first ever award for designing out crime of a healthcare system. They are involved in planning meetings for Universal, Tempsford, Luton Town football stadium (which they have had a big impact on) and London Luton airport. They will be involved in the design of Tempsford as they work closely with all 3 local authorities.

 

CC said the police will be seeking to bid for funding as all the planned major developments across Bedfordshire whilst welcome will increase demand for service.

 

8. Use of conditional cautions for domestic abuse

 

PCC met with Chief Crown Prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern to discuss expanding the use of conditional cautions for DA into Bedfordshire. She is positive about this and will explore how to progress this. CC will discuss with her when he meets her.

 

9. Government Knife Crime Plan

 

PCC said that the government Knife Crime Plan which has been launched this month is an important and impressive plan. It will require collaborative action by the police and other partners. He intends to drive the implementation of the plan in Bedfordshire through the Serious Harm Board which he also intends to reshape.

 

The CC referred to the Knife Crime Concentration Fund and emphasised that it is less than the previous Hotspot funding which it replaces. It will focus on four hotspot areas in Luton as well as Bedford town centre.

1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting.

 

2. Operational Update

CC updated the PCC on operational policing issues. A series of indecent exposures in Luton has led to planned operations seeking to apprehend the suspect.

CC reported that the last 12 weeks have seen high performance in terms of both solved crime rate and attendance rate at incidents. Solved rate is now at 13.3% overall. When the PCC took office, this was around 10%. PCC asked to be assured that the trajectory would continue, and the pace of improvement would gain further momentum. The CC said that he was confident that they would.

Response time for ‘immediate’ incidents over the last twelve months is over 49% within the 15-minute target however he was clearl that this is an average for the financial year and he expects to start off the new performance year with much stronger performance than this time last year. More recently this has been over 50-60% but not over a sustained period. CC has now set a stretch target for the time taken between receipt of call to dispatch and is reviewing actions taken during this time. He said that the control room should only be classifying a call as an ‘immediate’ incident if there is an immediate threat to life or property, a crime is in progress or if there is an offender present.

PCC welcomed this but said that 49% is below expected levels so would want to be assured that the higher performance is sustainable and there will be continuous improvement. CC said the performance continues to improve quarter on quarter and he expects this to continue over the medium to long term. PCC asked what the driving factors are for the improvement. CC is focussing on speed of receipt to dispatch in the control room, gradual increase in capacity of the front line as more student officers gain experience and become police drivers. There is also on-going leadership drive to ensure that response, community and JPS resources are assigned and responding as efficiently as possible.

 

3. Live Facial Recognition

The PCC said that he understood that Essex Police had paused the use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology, following some concerns about possible disproportionally in the facial matches. PCC asked for CC's view on the issue and sought assurance that the Bedfordshire LFR arrangement was not subject to the same concerns,

CC replied that Essex utilises a different supplier and system to Bedfordshire. The nationally procured system used in Bedfordshire utilises NEC software, this software and associated algorithm have been through National Physical Laboratory (NPL) testing to assess for any bias within the algorithm used in this system in 2023. He is satisfied that this system meets the necessary standards.

The PCC said that was reassuring and that he is supportive of Bedfordshire Police’s deployment of LFR. However, public trust and confidence in the efficacy of its use was very important.

The PCC said that he has asked his new AI Ethics Advisory Panel to review Bedfordshire police’s use of LFR. He would publish the results of this review

 

4. BCH Firearms and Explosives Licensing Unit

The PCC asked for an update on performance in light of the HMICFRS accelerated cause for concern

CC reported that progress continues to be made in improving the performance of the unit, including against the HMICFRS recommendations.

The new operating model of the unit and new dedicated senior leadership are now in place, and the backlog is being managed better, with older cases prioritised.

A new software system, FELix, is implemented. Bedfordshire’s Nectar system will be applied to speed up the search for risks across all systems for Bedfordshire’s applications and renewals

Additional officers are currently being trained by the College of Policing and will be in position from April 2026.

The PCC noted that a regular monthly review would take place on 30^th March with the three PCCs and CCs.

 

5. Antisocial Behaviour Strategy

PCC asked about the ASB plan that had to be submitted to the Home Office and that he had to be assured that it was appropriate. The PCC has read and approves the Plan.

CC reported that the ASB plan has been submitted after detailed review and sets out the partnership approach to tackling antisocial behaviour, with an ambition to deliver safer neighbourhoods.

There are six designated hotspots including the two main town centres in Luton and Bedford as well as Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Whilst the plan will focus on these areas other areas across the county will benefit from the plan  

The seasonal period for peaks in retail crime is approaching, whilst street crime is reducing overall. The plan focusses on repeat victims, locations and offenders as well as the maximised use of hotspot policing, civil powers, problem solving plans, youth and intervention work, design-out-crime teams, and partnership working with other agencies and communities.

CC said this prepares the partnership better for tackling ASB at peak times. CC is seeking a sustained intervention approach instead of short-term enforcement, as well as a crackdown on retail crime. CC will report back to PCC through the usual mechanisms including Performance and Governance Board.

PCC asked if CC is setting targets for the reduction of ASB. Instead of this, CC wants to increase number of prevention plans in place, respond quicker to calls which is a broader target, and solve more crime – aiming for 20%.

PCC asked, in terms of partnership working, if there has been buy-in from all three local authorities. CC said there has been buy-in but to different degrees. CC is maintaining a relationship with all partners on this issue.

PCC asked if there are other hotspots that are more unlikely but if they relate to specific crime types, such as seen last year with Sainsbury’s in Bury Park, Luton. CC said there was, and that this hotspot has seen a massive reduction in retail crime thanks to the focus on it.

PCC said he was supportive of the plan but would wish to see equitable application of police resources to address ASB and related crimes. He would wish to see a greater emphasis on neighbourhoods as well as town centres; that local authorities step up and contribute and on prevention.

 

6. New Police Operating Model

CC reported that in addition to changes within the control room mentioned above, CC has extended the pilot of the Initial Triage Assessment Unit to capture more data.

PCC asked how the changes to the Emerald (DA) and CID investigation unit staffing is going, CC said they are finalising shift pattern alignment but already this change is demonstrating an improvement in investigations and outcomes. The fact that we have merged two teams on different shift patterns was a short-term challenge but this would be resolved once the new patterns was implemented. The new pattern would respond to public need and would give officers more protected time to get on top of existing investigations.

PCC welcomed this and asked for regular updates

 

7. HMICFRS Areas for Improvement and upcoming PEEL inspection

CC reported that three further areas for improvement set out by HMICFRS in the 2023 PEEL inspection report have been signed off as completed. The following areas for improvement are signed off as complete:

• The force should improve its governance of and approach to managing suspects and wanted people
• The force needs to make sure that officers and staff have sufficient skills and experience to carry out quality investigation
• The force needs to make sure it complies with the Victims’ Code
• The force should increase its use of preventive orders and make sure it monitors compliance to keep victims safe

PCC said he is very pleased to hear this and that it puts the force in a stronger position for the next PEEL inspection. PCC will be meeting both the HMICFRS Force Liaison officer to discuss progress against the AFIs as well as being interviewed by HMICFRS for the next PEEL inspection.

PCC is concerned about progress against the AFIs relating to response times, victim support and solving crime. He asked for regular updates.

CC said in preparation for the inspection, he is continuing with a clear message of prevent, respond and solve, focussing on how improvements can be made within the workforce. When speaking to the Inspectorate, CC has demonstrated improvement of resources, leadership, response times and solving crime. He has explained operating model changes, better management of resources and economies of scale. PCC agreed these changes are beneficial.

 

1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting.

 

2. Operational Update

 

CC updated the PCC on operational policing issues. Bedfordshire Police are working with the NPCC national coordination around the Epstein files and flights of relevance through London Luton Airport

 

PCC said that this was appropriate and would expect updates.

 

3. New police operating model

CC updated the PCC that this week the internal communications will be released on the changes being made to the operating model in the police force. The Emerald (DA) and CID units will be combined, and the joint unit will be dealing with all domestic violence from low to high risk. There will be some leadership changes and some challenges around shift patterns in the initial stages. The Emerald brand for DA work would be continued

 

PCC asked what the feedback from teams has been? CC said it has mainly been mixed as we are in the early stages of a change, but we have two highly capable Detective Superintendents located at each hub with the teams, and there has been no issues with external partner feedback. This change will help the service to manage DA volume better, but there is still some frustration around the lack of ability to use conditional cautions as other services can. CC intends to write to the DPP to seek agreement for Beds to use these.

 

PCC said he would expect improved performance once the new arrangements have bedded in.

 

PCC asked how the newly formed Initial Triage Assessment Unit (ITAU) is performing. CC reported that so far, the unit has reviewed 1172 crimes, processed 160 themselves, filed 65 immediately due to there being no lines of enquiry, and the other 947 were allocated to the correct team for investigation. Evidence of improved efficiency is demonstrated by the reduction in time being taken to allocate crimes – this used to take 4-5 days with the average time for them to allocate being under 12 hours.

 

CC- The Drugs Focus Desk which will remain alongside CID, will provide expert assistance to CID investigators and expert statements were needed. This will ensure a consistent standard investigations more thorough and help to identify repeat offenders, but the FDC officers would have reduced caseloads.

 

CC -There has been in increase in the use and implementation of Domestic Violence Protection Orders, the enforcement of which is now managed by the local community policing teams.

 

4. Partnerships with Local Authorities

 

PCC noted that Bedford Borough Council have confirmed that CCTV will remain in use, and maintenance of average speed cameras will continue to be budgeted for in 2026/27. This demonstrates that effective communication and influencing activity between the partners has been successful. There are concerns around the level of operability of speed cameras across Central Bedfordshire and the impact this could have on road safety and revenue.

CC agreed and noted the progress being made on the data sharing initiative for a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub between the police and Bedford Borough Council.

PCC reported that the Borough Council CEO had expressed to him how she is encouraged by this partnership work.

 

      There is a positive initiative in terms of safeguarding and community policing, but partnerships need to be more proactive in terms of prevention. PCC hopes that the model will be replicated with the other local authorities.

 

 

5. Finance

 

CC notes the approved budget and plan for next year. PCC notes that budget aligns with both police service objectives and the police and crime plan. Still await announcement of Special Grants which continues to be a risk to financial sustainability.

 

 

6. Hotspot Fund

 

CC reported that the previously named ‘hotspot fund’ has been replaced with the ‘Knife Crime Concentration Fund’ and has been significantly reduced. There are six high harm areas - five in Luton and one in Bedford. Delivery against current hotspot commitments will continue through patrols across the previously assigned 13 hotspots but reporting relating to that fund will be reduced.

 

PCC said that he was pleased that funding for ASBOs in Bedford would continue until October 2026.

 

Deployment of Live Facial Recognition and visible local community policing teams however will be across the entire county.

 

 

7. Firearms and Explosives Licensing Unit

 

CC reported that the 5 actions required by HMICFRS following the inspection of the FEL are completed and the others are being progressed

 

PCC would want to see the impact and consequences of these completed actions- demonstrating improved performance and reduced timescales, especially considering the significant uplift in staff.

 

CC said performance is improving. FEL unit have now eliminated the first two years of the backlog and should have eliminated 2024 backlog soon.

 

PCC said that he and his colleague PCCs from Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire are holding monthly review meetings and he would be holding the CC to account for improved performance.

 

8. Police reform

 

Both PCC and CC have reviewed the government white paper and proposals for police reform and the opportunities within it for Bedfordshire and are keen to be in the forefront, but whilst plans develop, Bedfordshire Police continue to operate with business as usual.

 

CC is now part of the Police Reform Design Authority, combined with the Home Office, looking at the design of the key pillars such as workforce data, National Police Service and more.

 

The PCC sites on the Home Office Performance Board and the Police Performance Monitoring Group and the Home Office Data Reform Board.

 

Bedfordshire is well represented at the national level.

 

 

9. Officer Safety Training

 

CC reported that Bedfordshire Police are part of the pilot through the College of Policing to carry out more condensed hours of Officer Safety Training, whilst providing the same qualifications but there is still a process to review individual needs.

 

END

Minutes: PCC and Chief Constable Accountability Meeting
Date	Tuesday 12 January 2026
Time	11.30- 12.30
Venue	Bedfordshire Police HQ, Kempston
Name	Position
John Tizard	Police and Crime Commissioner
Trevor Rodenhurst	Chief Constable
Lara Lewis – in attendance	Staff Officer to the PCC (Minutes)

 

 

1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting.

 

2. Firearms Licensing Update

 

PCC and CC discussed the recent HMICFRS letter regarding the accelerated cause for concern on the Firearms and Explosives Licensing Unit. They both accept the findings and recommendations within the letter and noted that their opposite numbers in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire do too. An extraordinary meeting that evening of BCH strategic summit board with all CCs and PCCs was scheduled for later that day to receive an update on the BCH initial response the letter.

 

PCC said that he was disappointed but not surprised by the letter and would now expect a detailed action plan from BCH which would include targets, milestones and risk analysis for all recommendations. He said that he had raised concerns about performance of the unit over many months.

 

CC said action plan would be available for consideration by PCCs by the end of the month ahead of HMICFRS submission.

 

In the short term, CC said that additional resources would be deployed by the three police services, and he had committed an additional 11 officers from Bedfordshire to join the team.

 

CC said that urgent action was being taken to address the risk factors identified by HMICFRS.

 

PCC said he would want to understand what financial and cost to other service activities would be from this additional deployment. PCC said that although additional people are required in the short term, it would be unsustainable to maintain these high level of resources for too long. Changes in leadership, governance, (which are in place), culture, systems, processes and procedures are essential and need to be in place as soon as possible.

 

CC said he would seek to minimise impact on core services.

 

PCC said that when there is an action plan, progress should be reported to Performance and Governance Board.

 

PCC and CC speaking to key stakeholders

CC agreed that NFU rep can join FEL IAG and that FEL CSU should attend PCC’s rural conference on 26 February.

 

 

3. Finance

PCC and CC are still awaiting the final financial settlement from Home Office. Until this has been received, final decisions on the budget cannot be made.

 

PCC’s consultation on precept increase ends Friday 16 January but PCC still awaits response from Home Office or policing minister on his request for precept flexibility.

 

CC said he still expects that the outturn for 2025/2026 will be an overspend of just over £1m.

 

 

4. Custody

 

PCC raised a concern that following the decoupling of the custody function from Hertfordshire, there may be a strain on police officer and staff resources in in custody in Bedfordshire.

 

CC provided reassurance that there is a regular oversight group chaired by an Assistant Chief Constable to ensure that this is a smooth transition and that resources are prioritised and used effectively.

 

 

5. Operating model

 

PCC asked how the development of the new operating model is progressing.

 

CC reported that a small team is being put in place to work closely with those that allocate crimes to ensure if ones with limited or desk based lines of enquiry could be conducted at source rather than allocating to a patrol officer. This will be piloted initially to assess impact and will be fully operationalised this year. The aim is to reduce frontline work loads ensuring that assigned crimes are ones which afford officers good lines of enquiry to pursue offenders and deliver better outcomes for victims

 

CC said operating model is developing and will be further finessed over next few months.

 

CC and other senior officers visiting other forces to understand more about how they may operate such as Cheshire to hear about their approach to solving crime.

 

PCC welcomes that CC seeking to learn from other services, and wanted assurance that the operating model would address current performance and lead to a more efficient and effective police service.

 

 

END

Minutes: PCC and Chief Constable Accountability Meeting
Date	Tuesday 09 December 2025
Time	11:00 - 12:00
Venue	Bedfordshire Police HQ, Kempston
Name	Position
John Tizard	Police and Crime Commissioner
Trevor Rodenhurst	Chief Constable
Lara Lewis – in attendance	Staff Officer to the PCC (Minutes)

 

1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting.

 

2. Operational Update

 

CC updated the PCC on operational policing issues, highlighting the general high level of demand at current time.

 

3. HMICFRS PEEL Areas for Improvement progress

CC reported that good progress is being made against all areas for improvement (AFI). HMICFRS have recently visited the police service and the PCC has spoken with the inspector responsible for Bedfordshire and a report on its of progress is expected by early January.

It was noted that there will be a full report on progress against all AFIs at the meeting of the Performance and Governance Board on 22 December.

 

4. Changes to Bedfordshire Police Operating Model

 

The Chief Constable provided PCC with an update on the progress being made in the review of the current operating model of Bedfordshire police service, reporting that senior leaders are currently examining the detail and focussing on how to implement a technology-led change process that will seek to reduce overall demand on policing teams by triaging crime reports more effectively and seeking to utilise new capabilities and alternative outcomes for victims. This should ultimately improve response times, solved rates and victim care and support.

 

PCC asked what timescales can be expected in terms of progress of the change programme. CC said the first step will be to pilot the centralised triaging system and identify resources for this, but the full operating model will not be embarked upon until after the next inspection by HMICFRS. This also needs to work alongside the new victim’s portal in order to improve victim experience and timescales.

 

      This will in part be addressed by the governance partnership architecture review which the PCC has commissioned. It was noted that good progress has been made on a pilot scheme with Bedford Borough Council on data sharing to improve safeguarding and this could be the foundation for a single approach to data sharing across the three local authorities, NHS and the police; and consequently the basis for a single ‘MASH’.

 

5. Progress against Angiolini Report Recommendations

 

PCC asked what progress Bedfordshire Police has made against the recommendations outlined in the Angiolini Report. CC reported that all bar one of the recommendations have been implemented and that Bedfordshire is one of the few police services that has demonstrated sufficient progress not to have to make any further reports.

 

The outstanding recommendation relates to home interviews prior to recruitment of all police officers and CC said he is currently examining the implications including resourcing of introducing of home visits, subject to the findings from some pilot forces.

 

6. Victims review

 

PCC will be undertaking a review of how victims are supported throughout the criminal justice system. This review will commence in the new year. It will be driven through the local criminal justice board in order that it addresses system wide issues.

 

CC keen for OPCC policy team to work closely with those working on the operating model reform to ensure that victims are put at the heart of the system. The new victim’s portal will be core to this.

 

PCC said it is clear from evidence he has seen that victims are being let down throughout the whole system. CC agreed and also raised the importance of looking at out of court resolution where appropriate.

 

CC has a good working relationship with the Chief Crown Prosecutor and has been seeking CPS agreement on use of conditional cautions for appropriate medium-risk domestic abuse cases to enabling the use of educational programmes for offenders and immediate outcomes for victims.

 

7. National police reform

 

It was noted that the white paper on police reform will be released in the new year.

 

8. Finance

 

CC reported that the planned savings as a result of the rationalisation of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire non-operational collaborative functions will be fully realised for the next financial year.

 

The police funding settlement for 2025/26 is expected to be released the following week.

 

9. Enquiry offices

 

PCC observed that the police enquiry offices are increasingly not open at advertised times. CC said this is due to number of staff factors leaving only 6.5 members of staff and a need to recruit more which is ongoing.

 

PCC wants to know footfall and purpose of people visiting enquiry offices and how crucial it is that there is an open office for them to visit.

 

Police complaints team is now based in the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and will be taking over all complaints directly from mid-January 2026.

 

10. Right Care Right Person

 

      CC has some concerns that RCRP approach is slipping into some previous demand shunts that needs to be addressed as a system. Police resources and time are increasingly being taken up undertaking functions which should rest with the NHS. The strategic governance under Assistant Chief Constable Jaki Whittred have been reinstated and the CC is meeting appropriate executive at ELFT.

 

 

END

 

1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting.

 

2. Operational Update

 

CC updated the PCC on operational policing issues.

 

3. Firearms and Explosives Licensing improvements

PCC reported that he had visited the FEL unit at Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire the previous week. He had met the Chief Superintendent and Chief Inspector responsible for the service. He expressed his view that whilst progress is being made to improve the business process and outcomes for applicants there was still a long way to go. He expects the rate of change to improve and for better communications with applicants.

 

He recognised that new regulatory guidance has required deeper vetting and more investigations including for renewals.

 

CC has spoken further with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire CCs about the urgency needed to be seen in improvements to the FEL department. The Bedfordshire Deputy Chief Constable has met with the Chief Superintendent leading the department and has reported that he has confidence that it is going in the right direction and but much more remains to be done. The DCC will regularly review progress. When the processes are improved Bedfordshire’s AI system will be applied to further increase effectiveness and efficiency. CC has already deployed 2 extra officers and has recently committed to providing 3 additional Beds officers into this business area to focus on speeding up and increasing decision making for firearms licensing applications and renewals.

 

CC noted that the new guidance was adopted by BCH early and there were some applicants who were eligible for a license previously but are now ineligible since the guidance has changed, this means that a renewal is not a straight forward admin process but needs to be fully assessed.

 

PCC requested a full review of the department and its processes with a report to the next BCH Strategic Alliance Summit. This report should include a risk review so that PCCs can better understand the risks involved and not simply numbers of applications. CC agreed.

 

 

4. Community cohesion

 

PCC had attended the launch of the ‘No Place for Hate’ campaign in Luton the previous evening. This was well attended and included a presentation from police and community safety partnership on the new hate crime strategy and law.

 

PCC asked when CC expected to start to see positive results from the new strategy?

 

Aware that Bedfordshire statistics show a fall in number of recorded hate crimes whilst nationally the numbers are increasing. He asked if this is this due to victims having less confidence to report or due to there being less crime?

 

Whilst there may not be issues directly in Bedfordshire people are feeling anxious and worried. The flag raising campaign has caused concern

 

The PCC, police, local authorities and others must keep focused and responsive to communities.
 

CC noted that crimes committed in the virtual space will contribute to sentiment but not be classed as Bedfordshire based crimes. The police have been urging public to report if people are victims or witnesses to this type of crimes as there is a commitment to respond appropriately. He also emphasised that he has moved the ownership of hate crimes to local community teams and that solved rates for this type of crime continue to increase.

 

PCC has observed that the cohesion team have a very good attendance at events but both PCC and CC want to make sure that the rest of the police service also own the responsibility of engaging with all faiths and communities. CC agrees that all leaders have a role in connecting with communities but its still important to have a small capability dedicated to this.

 

PCC said that community cohesion and reassurance and protection where necessary was a key issue for himself at this stage.

 

Action: a detailed update on hate crime to come to Performance and Governance Board in due course.

 

5. Finance

 

CC reported that the police service is currently tracking a projected overspend of £2.5m but aiming to reduce this significantly. CC would like to reduce this to a position where there is no need to use a significant amount of reserves but notes that this is a challenging financial context. Priority Based Budgeting process is underway but there have been no central decisions made on funding settlements as yet. Over the next three years there could be a possible funding gap of around £10m.

 

The PCC said that he and the CC had written to the policing minister about funding and drawing her attention to Bedfordshire’s specific crime profile and demand on services.

 

He asked for a further update to Performance and Governance Board on the financial situation for 2025/26 and for the next three years. He wanted to understand the options for curtailing expenditure and the implications for performance. CC agrees that this will be formally discussed once we have the detail.

 

6. Delivery model

 

PCC asked about the current review of the policing operating model.

CC said work was continuing on reviewing the model and he would discuss with the PCC at a future meeting. PCC said that the model should reflect his Police and Crime Plan and reflect financial realities. CC outlined the approach which is to brigade, flatten, simply and organise the operating model over the course of the next 18 months.

 

7. Local policing

 

PCC has now submitted all returns to Home Office on the Safer Streets Summer Initiative. He asked CC how the police service intends to continue this over the next few months, without having to stop and then restart deployments. There are lessons to be learned from the summer plan which will feed into the planned Winter of Action. Home Office guidance on the latter is still awaited.

 

CC reports that policing teams are focussing on problem solving and crime prevention in challenging areas such as town centres that will continue to require resources throughout the winter. There is the intention of deploying Live Facial Recognition deployed twice a week.

 

The PCC agreed to work through the three community safety partnerships and directly with the three local authorities and other partners to seek genuine collaborative approach to making town centres safer on a sustainable basis. He cited the partnership working with Luton Borough Council.

 

 

 

8. Enquiry offices

 

      PCC noted the change of hours in the enquiry office and asked for reassurance on what that might mean from the public in terms of access and risk it might put additional pressure on the FCR. CC updated the PCC that this change is temporary due to moving staff across to the OPCC in readiness for the change to the complaint handling process. Due to a vacancy freeze these gaps have not been filled but there is an imminent meeting to look at whether there is an exception to this position to enable some posts to be recruited to resume service levels. CC was also clear that he wants the communications team to continue to inform the public on how they may self-serve for many things which do not require an in person visit to an enquiry office. PCC said he would want regular updates on the impact of these changes and impact on public.

 

END

Date	Monday 22 September 2025
Time	11.30 – 12.30
Venue	PCC’s Office
Name	Position
Trevor Rodenhurst (CC)	Chief Constable
John Tizard (PCC)	Police and Crime Commissioner
Lara Lewis – in attendance	Staff Officer to the PCC (Minutes)

1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting.

2. Operational Update

CC updated the PCC on recent major incident and some upcoming operations.

3. Live Facial Recognition

Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology is now used by Bedfordshire Police for the purpose of locating wanted offenders and safeguarding vulnerable people.  

Live Facial Recognition (LFR) compares a live camera feed of faces against a predetermined watchlist in real-time. It is used to locate persons of interest by generating an alert when a possible match is found. It analyses key facial features and generates a mathematical representation of these features. It then compares them against the mathematical representation of known faces in a database, generating possible matches. 

LFR was successfully deployed on Friday 19 September in Bedford Town Centre and gave three indications of matches to the watchlist and led to one arrest. There were no false matches. PCC attended pre-operation briefing and spent time in the town centre. PCC was impressed by the operation and specifically by the supporting comments from the public.

PCC said that the governance and scrutiny arrangements agreed with the CC are being implemented.

Next deployment will be in Luton town centre as part of ongoing town centre efforts, working with both partners and the media to inform the public. PCC and CC agreed there has been a positive reaction both locally and nationally. As the usage of LFR continues, the watchlist will be expanded to drive more outcomes.

4. Firearms and Explosives Licensing improvements

PCC is very concerned by the failures of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Firearms Licensing Unit to process renewals and applications efficiently and to reduce the backlog.

PCC will be demanding a plan for improvement at the BCH Strategic Board next week. He has the support of the Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire PCC on this. They want a significant turnaround within the next three months

CC agrees that the performance of FEL unit is unacceptable and reports that he has agreed with the other two Chief Constables that this must be a priority to resolve. There is a need to simplify the process and then the use of powerful technology to significantly reduce the time researching disparate systems to identify any potential risk. A new Chief Superintendent is in place within the unit to oversee this.

CC has also stood up Bedfordshire officers in the short term who will tackle the Bedfordshire backlog, they will work separately but alongside the joint team and will reduce the backlog which is the least of the three forces.

The PCC wants to improve communications with the public to help the understanding of the process, and what is required from license holders and applicants. CC in agreement.

5. Community cohesion

Both PCC and CC will be attending a meeting with Luton community leaders and MPs on 24 September and will be listening to their views around social cohesion, racism and online hate crime.

PCC and CC are committed to supporting all communities in the current national political climate. PCC sought assurance from CC that any risks were being continuously assessed and responded to. CC responded that that was the case and said that Operation Faversham was designed to protect the community and those attending places of worship and any intelligence around perceived risk must be reported. Bedfordshire remain the only police service with a community cohesion team and will continue to see full benefit from it. There are some similar concerns in Bedford.

6. Finance

PCC asked for an update on the current financial position of the police service. CC responded that the forecasted overspend has been reduced to circa £1.5m. Both CC and PCC had been briefed respectively by APCC and NPCC on national financial position for policing which is concerning. Although the financial settlement for 2026/27 has not been agreed, it is expected to be very tight based on the comprehensive spending review.

The Home Office have allocated funding for policing to cover the gap between the 2.8% budgeted and 4.2% pay award actually awarded, but it not known how that will be allocated in the current financial year however this is concern this will still result in a gap.

PCC and CC are meeting later in the week to discuss finances and the basis for setting the 2026/27 budget. PCC and CC agreed a strategic approach was needed.

PCC asked what forecasting can be done but CC believes it is difficult to know exact budgets without confirmation and details of additional pockets of funding and grants.

PCC met with UNISON who feel that members may be feeling impact of freeze on police staff recruitment and additional demand on individuals as well as overtime restriction.

There has been an impact on morale and PCC is concerned about undue pressure being put onto police staff.

CC and PCC will be writing to new policing minister about finance and requesting that the special grants are incorporated into core grant and that the funding formula be reviewed as part of the wider police reform agenda.

7. Delivery model

As part of the development of a new delivery model for Bedfordshire Police, CC is reviewing how all teams work together, response times and service, working alongside intelligence, prevention and investigation to ultimately to deliver a more efficient and effective service.

PCC asked how soon CC expects to be firming up plans for what the delivery model might look like. CC hopes to end the priority-based budgeting process with some steps to move in the right direction. PCC observed the need to take into account countywide development and look ahead to 2030.

CC confirmed that the demand modelling shows that demand will increase at a very rapid pace. and the new local policing strategy will drive the delivery model as well as inform the new estates strategy. There is consideration being given to a future third main operating base for patrol to help improve service across the whole of the county

The PCC confirmed that this fits with his Police and Crime Plan.

8. Safeguarding arrangements

CC reported that discussions continue with the three local authorities about the potential to establish a more efficient MASH, utilising Bedfordshire Police’s technological capability.

A Pan Bedfordshire audit has taken place regarding police referrals which has provided recommendations to take forward. Representatives have come together to work through a revised police threshold document which will prevent the unnecessary volume going through to MASH. This will enhance quality which was another key area of improvement.

 

PCC raised the concerns identified by Ofsted about the police service’s engagement in children’s safeguarding in both Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough councils and asked for reassurance that this has been addressed.

9. AOB

Referencing a case raised at the Police and Crime Panel meeting of an overturned murder conviction, the CC gave the following update.

Justin Plummer was jailed in 1998 after a jury found he had fatally attacked Janice Cartwright-Gilbert at the building site of her future home near Wilden, Bedfordshire, the previous year.

 

Mr Plummer had his first murder conviction quashed as the evidence used in the conviction was found to be unreliable. He was convicted again following a retrial at Aylesbury Crown Court in 2023 and this was quashed again on the basis that hearsay evidence had been presented to the jury.

CC noted that Bedfordshire Police will be doing full review of all exhibits in this case however he wishes to be clear this was a legal challenge into the admissibility of evidence which had been previously accepted at trial and is not a reflection on the quality of the investigative effort by his teams.

END

1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting.

 

2. Operational Update

CC reported that summer demand continues to add pressure to daily operations and that as a result, on some days call handling targets had been narrowly missed in the control room. A full analysis of demand and volume around numbers of calls on both 999 and 101 is being carried out to understand if more resources are needed. 9 new radio operators have started training last week.

CC updated around a serious knife incident in Luton.

He also said that there has been a series of robberies targeting home delivery vans across various counties including Bedfordshire and Thames Valley. A cross-border police approach is being adopted to deal with this effectively.

The JPS ACC is meeting with National Highways to discuss the management of traffic on the A1/A421 associated with the Black Cat works.

 

 

3. PEEL Improvement Plan

PCC said that following the most recent meeting of the Performance and Governance Board, he is looking for reassurance that the next report of improvement against the Areas for Improvement in the PEEL report will be robust and in line with his previously agreed template so that it shows actions against the AFIs with clear measurable , targets and milestones, and timescales with clear progress shown for each one, particularly in the areas of ‘responding to the public’ and ‘solving crime’.

PCC said that he recognised that much work is being undertaken but wished to be assured that there was a clear and manageable improvement process in place. He acknowledged the work being undertaken and being led by the DCC.

CC said that he is confident that good progress is being made. He hopes that some of the AFIs will be removed by HMICFRS soon given then progress being made.

The PCC’s CEO attends the police service task and finish group chaired by the DPCC to oversee and drive the improvement plan.

He agreed to provide a detailed report on progress and any problems on a quarterly basis but would present a monthly updates by exception to Performance and Governance Board.

Both the PCC and CC recognised that some of Bedfordshire’s challenges including detective solve rates are being experienced across policing in England and Wales.

Subject to be revisited at the meeting of the Chief and his Chief Officer Group on 8 July which the PCC and his CEO has been invited to attend. In addition to this, it was agreed that this meeting would cover the local policing strategy, police reform and finance including budgeting. The PCC said that all these issues are interlinked.

 

 

4. Police reform

The PCC and the Chief discussed recent national media articles on views that there should be a whole scale changed to the structure of police forces with them being reducing in number to 12-15. The CC’s view was that this would require significant funding and any future consideration to changes should take account of existing collaborations and devolution.  The PCC view was that such a change would weaken police performance, local accountability and would be both costly and disruptive.

They accept that the government plans to establish a National Centre for Policing and are both involved in various discussions with the Home Office on this. This will form part of a much wider reform programme. The White Paper is expected is in early Autumn.

 

 

5. Sexual Assault Referral Centre - Accreditation

PCC said that it has been brought to his attention that no Sexual Assault Referral Centre has been accredited so far anywhere in the country, and asked what position Bedfordshire is in with this?

CC said that the SARC accreditation comes in 2 parts – the estate and the service.

SARC in Bedfordshire is currently provided by Mountain Healthcare which is procured by the seven eastern police services collectively. This provider is going through an accreditation process.

 

 

6. Child Sexual Exploitation and the Casey review

PCC had a meeting with ‘Link to Change’ which provides support to victims of CSE. PCC is concerned that provision of services by local authorities is not consistent and that some victims may be being failed.

CC reported that Bedfordshire Police have a dedicated CSE team under the same leadership as the Missing Persons team but will take concerns away and come back to PCC to address them.

PCC said that he wanted to review the pan-Bedfordshire services and strategic and operational partnership arrangements.

PCC said this may fit into the safeguarding partnership review being undertaken and led by Bedfordshire Police. PCC has had good conversations with both police leaders and partners and knows that the review is seen as an area of opportunity.

 

7. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Live Facial Recognition

PCC is supportive of the use of AI including LFR subject to effective governance, clear reasons for its use and reports on outcomes and continuous review

PCC and CC agreed that there is a need for an effective ethical policy in place around the use of AI including LFR to ensure compliance with both APP and NPCC guidance and to ensure communities have confidence.

PCC proposes an ethical panel for scrutiny that gives the public confidence without over engineering it. PCC says this should sit within the OPCC and OPCC and police service must work together on this to ensure transparency and governance. He plans to have the panel in place in the autumn.

PCC and CC agreed that LFR can be very effective in assisting the Safer Streets Summer Initiative and CC will bring a proposal to the PCC for strategic agreement on how this will be used, in accordance with the NPCC guidance.

PCC said that a communications plan was required to explain when LFR will be deployed, why and the safeguards built into the system. CC reassured him that that a good communication plan would add to public confidence and that he would ensure that such a plan would be in place prior to deployment.

He also said that he is supportive and proud of the leadership that Bedfordshire Police have shown on the use of AI to improve productivity and outcomes. He said that government recognises what has been achieved and sees Bedfordshire as a role model.

He looks forward to Nectar and other systems being applied to areas such as multi agency safeguarding and is encouraged by the progress being made on this with the local authorities.

 

8. Safer Streets Summer Initiative and Antisocial Behaviour

CC reported that there have been good outcomes so far.

PCC said that he had had positive feedback from the three local authorities.

He will be monitoring outputs and outcomes before he makes the monthly return to the Home Office on performance

PCC said that a letter received from the policing minister suggests that there will be a role for the PCC in leading cross agency work on and submitting data on ASB.

PCC had attended an excellent multi-agency conference on ASB organised by Bedfordshire Police last week.

He and the CC hope that Bedfordshire will be selected by the Home Office to pilot the proposed new respect orders. A decision is expected from the Home Secretary in the autumn.

 

END

1. Welcome

PCC opened the meeting. He asked for any operational updates that CC may have. CC reported that solved crimes in May were the highest since October, and performance is on a three-month upward trend, with solved crimes 3% higher than in May last year and year-to-date is also higher than the previous year. The volume of all solved crime has also increased with 1395 offences so far solved compared to 1168 this time last year.

In addition, the current solved rate for dwelling burglary is 26%. CC said that these are encouraging developments. The PCC agreed but asked if this would be sustainable. The CC said the summer period was always challenging as demand across the board is predicted to rise but this was a very positive start to the performance year.

This has all been achieved despite spending around £100,000 less on overtime compared to May last year. Crime is rising in the same way that it did last year between March and May in almost every crime type. There is predicted to be a high demand summer based on trends from previous years. This would coincide with the Summer Town Centre Safer Streets programme. The PCC asked if the CC was confident that the police service would manage the anticipated summer demand on resources. The CC said they are had a summer policing plan to ensure the demand could be met.

Two recent stabbings in Luton have been met with significant police response to ensure effective enforcement and police presence. There are also a number of investigations related to knife and drug crime across the county.

PCC is looking forward to working with the new dedicated Chief Superintendent on the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub. CC and PCC have been speaking with local authority and ICB Chief Executive and leaders/chair/mayor about the need for more effective and efficient data sharing and a move towards a single MASH for the county. There is growing support for the approach being pursued by the CC and PCC. The PCC said that he is about to commission an independent review of county wide governance and partnership architecture across safeguarding, community safety and tackling and preventing crime.

 

2. Comprehensive Spending Review

PCC said he is awaiting detailed decisions from the Home Office on how they will allocate the money identified in the CSR for the Department to individual police services

PCC said policing, especially in Bedfordshire has been underfunded for many years. Bedfordshire Police received the biggest ever funding settlement from central government for this financial year including additional new money for neighbourhood policing. PCC could not expect the government to compensate for over a decade of underfunding immediately, but he thought that as a result of the CSR the next few years will be challenging financially.

He said that the government’s proposed police reform agenda and other factors will have a major impact on funding for Bedfordshire and every police service. There are many unknowns- Future decisions in respect of police pay, the allocation of funding between police services, wider police reform, and the creation of a national policing body and support services will impact on long-term financial position.

The headline numbers from the CSR are seemingly disappointing. However, the allocation for policing is better than that for many other services and is an actual increase. That said more is needed to meet demand and additional costs.

There is scope to increase productivity though the necessary investment and change may take more than a year to realise significant savings and improved outcomes. Bedfordshire is leading the way in areas such as the use of AI.

PCC is pleased that the government has reaffirmed its commitment to local policing in line with its mission to keep our streets safer and enhance community policing by 13,000 officers over four years thought funding is not yet announced.

The CC said his team were still working through the detail of the CSR however based on growth of 1.7% against a likely pay award for the workforce of more than 3.5% he was planning on the basis of reduced budgets in real terms.

PCC and CC discussed:
• PCC to write to Minister arguing for special grants to be built into core grant

• PCC to prepare a briefing for MPs
• to recognise that police did better than some other public services and system wide finance is essential to better outcomes not solely police finance – they welcome for example the increased funding for the Probation Services
• to meet to agree a plan for a three/four-year strategy including managing the 2024/25 overrun
• to agree PBB approach for 2026/27 and future years to reflect the PCC’s Strategic Direction and the financial environment.
• to explore efficiencies from the deployment of AI and other IT

3. Letter received from Ofsted

PCC asked the CC about a letter from Ofsted about Central Bedfordshire Council’s safeguarding services and the quality and timeliness of data from the police. He sought reassurances that any inadequacies are addressed.

The CC said that the report lacked specific detail and that his team were going back to seek clarity and that he was having the recommendations reviewed and he felt that Ofsted may be reporting on historic system performance. The recommendations were being managed along side the HMICFRS recommendations.

The PCC requested a further update on this.

 

4. Summer Policing Strategy

The submission for the Safer Streets Summer Initiative has been submitted to the Home Office by the PCC.

The PCC thanked the CC for his and the police service’s commitment to the programme. He said that he recognised that not all the three local authorities had committed the same level of resources to what the government expects to be partnerships between the police and local government.

The PCC said he wanted to see a baseline for each of the six town centres in the programme so that quantitative and qualitative data can be used to measure progress and outcomes, in addition to the returns he will be making to the Home Office monthly.

CC wants to capture metrics to be able to demonstrate the efforts being put into the Safer Streets Summer Initiative and wants to capture the involvement of partners. It was noted that despite the expectation of partnership contributions, the pressure is primarily put onto policing.

PCC will be monitoring and scrutinising police performance and that of partners on a monthly basis and at Performance and Governance Board and through the three CSPs.

END

1. 1. Welcome

   PCC opened the meeting. He asked for any operational updates that CC may have. CC reported that Bedfordshire Police has launched an investigation in Luton after a woman in her 40s sustained serious injuries. The woman was taken to hospital on 4 May where she remains in a critical condition. Four people – two men in their 40s, and a man and a woman in their 30s - have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the incident.  Three are currently in police custody for questioning, the fourth has been released on police bail.

    

               He said that he would brief the PCC as necessary. No other updates at this stage.

    

   2. Patrol function

   PCC asked for an update on the progress being made to improve the patrol function, including response times, caseloads and supervision. He said that there has been a recognition of the challenges for some time and that although plans were in place improvement was slow.

    

   PCC wants to see, through Performance and Governance Board, a clear plan with milestones put in place to show progress. PCC wants ambitious but not unrealistic plans and targets.. PCC is aware that this is an important issue for the public.

    

   CC reassures that this will be covered in Performance and Governance meetings and an update will be brought to the May meeting under the local policing thematic update. Updates will show that police service is following similar approach to that used successfully to secure sustainable improvements in the control over the last 2 years. The Gold group chaired by Deputy Chief Constable Dan Vajzovic will pull in resources and bring assistance to improve a very pressurised area. This will include numbers of officers, skills required such as numbers of response drivers required along with upskilling on investigation/case build. It will also include a review of the types of crime investigations held onto by patrol and ensuring that we correctly classify what incidents are immediate and what are not as there is a view we currently over classify. We are also understanding how some teams perform better than others with the same levels of resourcing as there will be good practice that can be shared.

    

   3. Local policing strategy

    

   PCC said he is awaiting sight of an overarching local policing strategy that shows a holistic approach to both Patrol and Community Policing. PCC wants to see more innovation and evidence that the police are looking “outside the box” and at practice elsewhere to understand what the best approach is for the future. He sees this as fundamental to his Police and Crime Plan.

    

   PCC said that there might be ways in which the local police function could take on more case work as numbers of officers increase though he recognised that this is an operational decision for the CC.

    

   CC agreed that there were opportunities for change not least as result of the NPG funding. The strategy must involve reviewing available resources and an estate strategy as well as ensuring that it takes into account the population growth and demand pressures across Bedfordshire.

    

   Action: CC will bring discuss the progress of the strategy to Chief Officers Group on Friday 09/05 and will feed back to PCC that things are on track for this to be brought to P&G later this month.

    

   PCC will meet and discuss with CS Local Policing

    

    

   4. Summer Policing Plan – Keeping Town Centres Safe

    

   PCC has to submit a system wide plan endorsed by CC to the Home Office by 6 June.

   PCC has met with senior management in Local Policing - Chief Superintendent Whittred and Superintendent Hoque, to discuss the emerging plan.

    

   PCC has raised this issue at all three Community Safety Partnership Executives this month.

    

   CC and PCC agreed that the Luton Town Centre Partnership was a good model to develop and build on across the county, but they have concerns that not all the three local authorities will commit appropriate level of resources to tackle the causes of the antisocial behaviour in town centres effectively. PCC is having conversations with Integrated Care Board on how the NHS will contribute

    

   CC agrees that there needs to be effective provision in all towns for addiction treatment referrals, mental health care and more in order to effectively deal with those who are perceived to be the most prolific criminals. CC is meeting local authority CEOs and the ICB on 13 May and will feed back to PCC who is meeting local authority leaders/mayor on 15 May.

    

   CC views PCC role in pulling together the summer policing plans as important as it helps to position the PCC as a system influencer over pan-county activity. This also shows the summer policing plan needs to be a partnership plan with a system approach including local authorities and the NHS.

    

   Action: CC to feed back via staff officers to PCC on summer policing plan owners/actions/timeframes with a view to complete HO submission by 06/06. This plan to be shared and agreed with the PCC for him to submit to Home Office. This will be part of previous action.

    

   Action: Both CC and PCC to speak to CEO/Mayor of Bedford about CCTV use.

    

   5. Live facial recognition

   Live Facial Recognition technology and policing techniques will be introduced on a regular basis very soon

    

   PCC said he supported this but would require assurance that this use will comply with national standards. He wishes to see a clear communications plan and clarity on where and when and the crime groups to be targeted. PCC and CC agree use of technology will be reviewed regularly.

    

   Action: CC will provide an update on the arrival and deployment plans for live facial recognition. This will include a briefing on the approach to explaining this to the public as the there is very clearly defined guidance in the form of approve professional practice for the deployment of this capability.

    

   6. Collaboration and partnership working

    

   CC updated that a new dedicated chief superintendent will be starting a full-time role leading on partnership working and the drive towards building a single Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub. This role be looking at joint child protective services and more. The PCC welcomed this initiative.

    

   PCC has commissioned CREST Advisory to undertake a review of all collaboration governance arrangements relating to criminal justice, safeguarding and community safety architecture with a view to rationalising it and focus more on outcomes. This will not be a review of any internal meetings at any individual agency. All local authorities and ICB are signed up to the process and PCC has asked CREST to explore what might be best undertaken on a countywide basis. CC is pleased with these developments.

    

   Action: PCC to share CREST’s plan with the CC following initial scoping meetings.

Date	Thursday 6 March 2025
Time	12.30 – 13.30
Venue	CC Office, HQ
Name	Position
Trevor Rodenhurst (TR)	Chief Constable
John Tizard (JT)	Police and Crime Commissioner
In attendance Lara Lewis	Staff Officer (PCC)
Minutes: 1:1 PCC John Tizard & CC Trevor Rodenhurst

Open Session

1.   Welcome

2.   Review of format and reports for Performance and Governance Board meetings

 PCC said that the new arrangements were bedding in well but there needs to be further consideration to

• ensuring the reports and analysis are aligned with the Police and Crime Plan and its missions
• spotlight reports to provide sufficient data and commentary without being too operationally focused
• presenting senior officers to understand and appreciate the role of the PCC and the Board

This will strengthen governance and enable him to hold the CC to account whilst also ensuring that he is fully briefed and understanding of policing issues and challenges, performance and plans

The PCC thanked the CC and senior officers for the reports and their commitment to make the governance arrangements effective.

3.      Improvement Plan in response to the HMICFRS PEEL Report

The CC said that the DCC is leading the task and finish group to produce an improvement plan to address the findings and recommendations of the HMICFRS PEEL Report. He explained that he had accepted the report’s findings and recommendations and was committed to addressing them in a timely and effective manner.

The PCC set out his expectations and requirements in terms of how he will hold the CC to account for addressing the report’s findings and recommendations.

This will include a detailed report to the quarterly Performance and Governance Board’s meetings on police performance with a RAG assessment of progress against an agreed improvement plan. This would allow the PCC to be assured of progress and to understand the risks and challenges of its implementation with opportunities to deep dive into specific areas based on risk.

The PCC is meeting the HMICFRS Force Liaison Officer on 12th March and had had a conversation with the Chief HMICFRS a few weeks previously.

He said that he was assured of the approach being taken by the CC.

The CC explained that the report format coming to the P & G Board would contain an overview on progress against the individual areas for improvement (AFI’s) and a paper which would be a deeper dive into particular elements of the question sets focusing initially on the areas where progress has been prioritised based on the HMICFRS assessment.

4.    Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee

CC said that in 2025-26, Bedfordshire Police will increase the number of officers working community policing by 20, including one inspector plus 8 additional PCSOs.

This is expected to be the first instalment of a four year programme of additional government funding.

The PCC said he wishes to have agreed a five year strategy for developing local policing within six months. This should reflect his Police and Crime Plan. The PCC acknowledged that it will take time to move to evolve the model but a strategy and visible progress were required to meet his, the public’s and the Home Office expectations.

CC stated he was supportive of this approach and the early phases of this would focus building capacity in community policing but would include a future look to the deployment model and would be complemented by the work on the estate strategy.

5.    Police and Crime Plan 2025-28 : Strategic Direction

PCC updated CC that he is currently developing the key objectives for 2025-28 to formulate the next stage of the police and crime plan.

This will set out s strategic direction building on Stage One of the Plan. It will have a strong focus on system and cross sector change and collaboration.

The PCC will work through the mission boards to evolve the strategy and agree annual delivery plans.

He is committed to working with and taking into account the CC’s views on the strategy and the development of the delivery plan.

The CC welcomed this approach.

PCC to share objectives with CC next week for comment.

The Strategic Direction 2025-28 will be presented to the Police and Crime Panel on 1st April.

6.    Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire Collaboration

At the recent BCH Strategic Alliance Summit it had been agreed to

• review the strategic objectives and strategic plans for BCH collaboration
• explore further possible areas for collaboration or review if all areas of collaboration as currently configured is the best model for the 3 forces. Scoping for any further collaboration with the 7 forces of the Eastern Region was also in consideration.

CC said that the three CCs had already commissioned full reviews of the models for HR, AOJ and ICT. The PCC said the three PCCs were also speaking about this. The item will be discussed at the next meeting of the BCH Strategic Alliance Summit.

CC and PCC said they and their colleagues were very content with the JPS delivery model. CC updated that reviews of the different areas within the joint-force collaboration are being undertaken with a view to act on any recommendations agreed over the next few years.

 

END

Minutes: 1:1 PCC John Tizard & CC Trevor Rodenhurst

Date: Tuesday 28 January 2025
Time: 1100hrs - 1200hrs
Venue: PCC Office, HQ

Attendees

Trevor Rodenhurst (TR) - Chief Constable
John Tizard (JT) - Police and Crime Commissioner
Lara Lewis - Staff Officer (PCC)

Open Session

1. Welcome

PCC welcomed CC to the meeting.

2. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services Report

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) highlighted the work of the force with Amazon Web Services to utilise technology and artificial intelligence in investigating crime and keeping people safe.

The inspectorate also commended work being done to reach young people to prevent knife crime particularly with communities in Luton, and significant improvements to its performance answering 999 and 101 calls.

The findings were part of the HMICFRS PEEL report which measures Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy inspection (PEEL). Bedfordshire Police assessed as Good in recording crime, adequate across seven areas and Requiring Improvement in investigating crime. The force was previously assessed as Good at tackling serious and organised crime following another recent inspection.

Alongside innovation, HMICFRS also praised the force for:
• Its approach to tackling Male Violence Against Women and Girls – including an increase in Clare’s Law referrals (up to 251 from 73 ‘right to know’ applications).

• Work engaging young people about knife crime which has seen workshops delivered to more than 300 people and messaging reaching a further 79,000 through social media advertising.

• Improvements in its Force Control Room answering 999 and 101 calls.

• Increased use of Sexual Risk Orders and Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (increasing from 55 to 104).

The CC said that this report makes clear that Bedfordshire is a well-led force which is on the front foot despite our financial challenges. Those challenges are documented in the report, showing our funding is at the lower end of police forces across England and Wales, despite facing the same demand of incidents and calls.

It also highlights the brilliant work being carried out and the police service continue to invest in their wellbeing and development.

The report recognises the positive work being carried out in Bedfordshire including the focus on innovation, prevention work around knife crime and the improvements in 999 response performance with calls now answered within an average of just five seconds.

Since the inspection Bedfordshire Police has already made good progress against the areas identified for improvement – such as increasing solved rates, retaining and training more detectives, and introducing new dashboards to rank our outstanding suspects in order of threat and risk.

The PCC said he welcomes the report, and as an enthusiast for objective external inspections of all public services including policing, HMICFRS have found nothing that is a surprise to either him or the Chief Constable and that are not being addressed already. This inspection focused on plans and activities already in place before John Tizard was elected in May 2024.
Although the report refers to some plans and activities in place when he was elected last May, its findings are aligned with the issues and challenges he had already identified for improvement.

He recognises that there is much work underway to improve performance and is confident that the Chief Constable has the plans and the drive for continuous performance. He said he is the joint national lead for performance for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners so has seen all reports which have been thus far published so he understands the wider context of the inspection regime and is satisfied that Bedfordshire is in a good place to make sustainable improvements.

The PCC concurs with HMICFRS that Bedfordshire Police is well led, and senior leaders have the support of officers and staff, and that these conditions are central for the improvements which are now required.

The PCC will require the CC to:
• develop an action plan for addressing the findings in the PEEL report
• report on progress at Performance and Governance Board on a quarterly basis where the PCC will scrutinise progress.

CC responded with the fact that he has know of recommendations for some time and plans have already been developed and acted. He will ensure progress is reported into Performance and Governance Board.

3. Child Sexual Exploitation – Review of Cases

PCC asked for an update on Bedfordshire Police’s position. CC reported that there has been a review of historic cases and he has no reason to believe that there are any outstanding cases. There is an operational team dedicated to CSE which focuses on ensuring the safeguarding of all individuals. PCC requested a further update on the review of historic cases and on contemporary performance. PCC is keen to explore how collaborative working with partners and other stakeholders could drive prevention and detection rates, as well as support to victims. He asked for this to be included on a future Performance and Governance Board spotlight agenda.

4. Prevent – Counter terrorism programme

PCC recognises the important work carried out by the Prevent team and the successful disruption of activity. He acknowledged that this team depends on partnership working with schools and other agencies. He said that everyone has a responsibility to report any suspected activity. He sought assurance that the Prevent programme is operating effectively. He had had an opportunity to scrutinise this performance at the Performance and Governance Board the previous day.

CC noted that the programme is being reviewed at a regional level and that Bedfordshire Police work cooperatively with others. The PCC sought reassurance that in light to the recent Southport case and the government review of the Prevent programme that Bedfordshire Police and ERSOU would be ready to respond to any changes that the Home Office introduces.

5. Artificial Intelligence at Bedfordshire Police and ERSOU

CC is working with team to continuously seek areas that could benefit from the expansion of AI in the police service. The platform used by several teams so far, called Nectar (the Palantir Foundry platform) is working well and is driving productivity.

The PCC said that he is supportive of more investment in AI and technological solutions to drive performance and productivity. He noted that the policing minister had expressed to him how she had been impressed by the presentation of Bedfordshire and ERSOU’s use of technology including AI when she visited the Bedfordshire on 20th January 2024. CC updated that the police service has recently rolled out AI to be used for Clare's Law to improve productivity and recognise potential harm in areas of domestic abuse. CC is hoping to also roll this out to tackle burglary and robbery in identify known offenders.

6. Operational Update

CC updated that suspects believed to be associated with all four of the homicides that sadly occurred in January have now resulted in suspects being charged and remanded. PCC noted that all four incidents were very different in nature and that Bedfordshire Police had responded to all very rapidly with quick arrests made.

PCC said that it was important that communications were deployed to provide reassurance to the residents of Bedfordshire and that the police were addressing serious crime including homicide effectively. He said that public perception of crime had to be addressed and that simply stating statistical evidence is insufficient. He intends to address this through the Excellence and Victims mission boards.

CC updated that there have been several arrests and a number of seizures of firearms in relation to a sperate operation in Luton which is aimed at tackling the criminal use of firearms.

7. Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee

PCC re-emphasised his and the government’s expectations that following the allocation of Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee funding by the Home Office Bedfordshire Police will increase the number of officers and PCSOs in local policing. CC is supportive and shares the ambition. Following receipt from government of terms and conditions for this funding an assessment of what this enables will be made.

The PCC and CC agreed that local policing is important but that it would not be prudent to increase officer numbers at the expense of other critical areas of policing.
The PCC stressed that his mission to reinvigorate local policing is about changing culture, behaviours and relationships not simply about more officers. PCC wants to improve communication about what policing is available in any one area at any one time. For example, the rural community benefit from a team who responds to emergencies, a dedicated community policing team, a dedicated Rural Crime Action Team to tackle specific rural crimes, as well as the range of investigative and proactive teams that work across the county tackling serious crime.

CC is in agreement. There are lots of rural crimes related to organised crime groups and we are working locally and regionally to target offenders and disrupt activity. It was agreed to review communications.

8. Responding to the Public – Patrol Function

PCC requested an update on how the Patrol function are being assessed, trained and improved in line with the needs of the public. Patrol team carries a significant caseload as well as being required to attend emergencies within fifteen minutes everywhere in the county. PCC asked if, by Patrol team carrying an investigation workload, whether this was detrimental to response times.

CC noted that ‘Responding to the public’ was graded as ‘adequate’ in the recent inspection report by HMICFRS. CC said that Patrol is a critical part of the wider police service and that his policing model was built on patrol carrying a workload. The intention is to get the basics right, answer calls quickly, get to the public quickly, and once there stay there and do a good initial response whether that’s arrests, securing evidence or safeguarding victims.

The current Leadership team is focused on making improvements in this area. Major improvements in other areas such as answering calls in the Control Room and addressing investigative capacity (since the HMICFRS report) have been made. Training is underway to equip more officers to be patrol drivers and improve their investigation performance.
CC said that improved solved rates have been achieved by some teams that are performing better than others, and the current leadership focus is to drive consistency in this area.
PCC agreed, he has met some impressive leaders who carry out effective debriefs and demonstrate good teamwork, but he still has concern about the lack of resources and overall response times. He emphasised a need for a culture where everyone is a leader and is willing to take decisions.

9. AOB

PCC will be attending Bedfordshire Police’s ‘Dragons Den’ event this week, where the workforce brings forward suggestions on ways to streamline work and improve productivity.

Minutes: 1:1 PCC John Tizard & CC Trevor Rodenhurst

Date: Monday 9th December 2024
Time: 1400hrs - 1500hrs
Venue: CC Office, HQ

Present: 

Trevor Rodenhurst Chief Constable
John Tizard Police and Crime Commissioner

In attendance

Lara Lewis Staff Officer (OPCC)

Open Session

1. Operational Update

Cleat Hill Incident

The CC said that he hoped that the police would be able to withdraw their presence at the Cleat Hill zone very soon. The PCC asked what the cost to Bedfordshire Police Service was for this operation both in financial and opportunity costs given the officer hours involved. The cost is not insignificant and there will be a report when the operation has concluded.

The operation is led by a multi-agency strategic coordinating group which includes Beds Police, Bedford Borough and Beds FRS. The agencies will jointly approach the government (MHCLG) to seek cost recovery for the protracted multi agency incident. The PCC offered to support any such representations as appropriate at a political level.

Recent firearms crime arrests

The CC reported that there had been two recent successful firearms-related arrests with weapons seized and charges secured in Luton. These relate to gang violence in Luton area and is an important step in tackling serious and organised crime.

The PCC congratulated the police for this and asked that as appropriate local councillors and MPs be informed.

2. Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee

 

The PCC spoke about the governments Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. He said that he wanted Bedfordshire to fulfil this but recognised that there will be challenges given the current financial position. He said that his mission to reinvigorate local policing is about more than having more officers on the beat. It was about how they relate to communities and communities to them; how they contribute to making the streets and communities safer; and their role in preventing and tackling serious crime. He is looking forward to the Bedfordshire share of the initial £100m allocated by the government to implement the Guarantee.

The PCC observed that community policing teams have a big role to play in the tackling of serious and organised crime and would like to explore this further in next performance and governance board when he will receive a spotlight report on local policing. CC agreed and referred to the potential in the future, of better technology being provided to neighbourhood officers to give them up to date information on crime patterns and persons of interest, including those suspected of being involved in serious and organised crime in their respective areas.

He also referred to the proposals for local policing to be core to police officers’ career pathways. It was agreed that the police should improve communications so that the public are aware that there are already named officers for every area of the county. CC reassured the PCC that he is seeking to ensure that Bedfordshire police took the necessary steps
to secure its share of the funding to support the first tranche of officers in as part of the NPG and that in some instance this would involve the redeployment from other roles; and the position will be reviewed in light of the government’s police financial settlement and the wider budget.

The PCC said that this will be discussed at the Performance and Governance Board spotlight review of local policing later in the month and at his local policing mission board.

3. Operation Olympus – Post Office inquiry

The PCC asked about the extent of Bedfordshire Police’s involvement with the investigation.
The CC explained that there are always a number of national ongoing investigations that are above and beyond the scope of normal police investigations. Op Olympus is coordinated by the Met Police but requires investigative teams to carry out enquires across the country, so requires contributions from all police services. Bedfordshire is supporting this investigation as NPCC relies on cross border force support and cooperation. However, this is low impact on Bedfordshire Police and the PCC thanked the CC for the update and asked to be kept informed of progress.

4. Finance
Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26

The PCC said that this is expected to be announced in the week of 16 December. There would be extra money but given the overall government fiscal position this may not be as much as might have been hoped for. There is much speculation about the allocation of the funding, but it was best to wait for announcement rather than causing unnecessary concerns.

The CC agreed that we should see the settlement and crunch the numbers but that he was concerned that the total settlement would leave a significant gap. He also raised the importance of maintaining the current special grant arrangements Bedfordshire Police receive to tackle gang & gun related crime and serious and organised crime.

Budget and Precept 2025/26

The CC reported that the police service Priority Based Budgeting process was near completion and that the aim was to protect services to the public, officer numbers, and to align the budget with the Police and Crime Plan. He said that there is potential gap of £2.6m - £3M on current assumptions in the police budget for next financial year but more work was being undertaken including examining savings locally through PBB, and in the collaborative budget with Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

He said that he was seeking to avoid reductions in officer numbers and couldn’t rule out any reductions in staff vacancies but would seek to minimise the impact on the existing workforce. Maintenance of services to the public would remain at the heart of any proposals.
The PCC said that his aim would be for a budget that:

• protects services that protect the public
• aligns with his Police and Crime Plan
• avoids compulsory redundancies as much as possible
but he understood that the financial position is challenging, and some difficult decisions will be required, and he would want to see the impact to service levels of any proposed changes.

The government has set a precept cap at £14 for band D council tax and the PCC said that in order to sustain services and meet the objectives above he was going to consult on raising the precept to the cap level.

The budget is being prepared on that basis for the police service and OPCC.

5. Central Bedfordshire Budget proposal to reduce community safety activity

The PCC and CC both expressed their disappointment at the proposal. They felt that it was more than regrettable that there has no consultation with the PCC nor the CC about the proposals even though they will impact on community safety and policing. Community safety is a statutory duty for local authorities and is not a police function. The PCC and CC will need to work through the implications and unintended consequences; and plan to meet the Central Bedfordshire Leader and CEO to seek to influence the Council and refer to the
government’s missions for safer streets and halving violence against women and children, which will be impacted by such cuts.

The PCC and CC are prepared to attend a meeting of CBC’s Crime and Police Advisory Panel to discuss this too. They agreed that partnership working with the local authorities on community safety and other issues is essential and they will endeavour to protect such partnership, but unilateral decisions could undermine them.

6. NARPO

The PCC mentioned his recent meeting with the Bedfordshire Branch of the National Association of Retired Police Officers. They have requested a liaison in the police service to ensure that when retiring, members have a good awareness of the offer. CC will ensure that this is provided.

Victims’ experience and support

The PCC raised questions about the support given to victims and their experience through the journey from reporting a crime to court and what victim support looked like throughout
investigations. The PCC is keen is that victims are supported throughout this journey from reporting a crime to the securing of conviction. He asked how officers and police staff are trained and what is expected of them in terms of relations with victims, providing care and support, as well as information on the case and its progress to them. He said that this is core to his mission in the Police and Crime Plan to put victims at the heart of the system.

The CC referred to Bedfordshire Victim Care Services which is no longer outsourced but is a core element of the police service. He also referenced the incredible work done by his Victim
Engagement Officers who provide specialist support to victims of domestic violence and serious sexual offences. CC is conscious that many victims’ primary interaction is with his front-line officers
and staff and that he is focused on upskilling this area of volume crime investigation.
PCC said he would wish to see the results of any work in this area and specifically how police
officers will improve services to victims. CC agrees there is a live conversation around continuing to
improve the performance of volume crime which includes the consistent offer to victims. It is
important to explore how technology can be used to enable change in this area whereby victims of crimes can be kept up to date with the progress of their crimes in an automated way.

The PCC asked for a report on this issue to the Performance and Governance Board spotlight
meeting focused on the victims’ mission. He is pleased that the CC recognises this as an important issue to be addressed.

Minutes: 1:1 PCC John Tizard & CC Trevor Rodenhurst

Date: Monday 21st October 2024
Time: 1130-1230
Venue: T/CC Vajzovic’s Office, HQ

Attendees:

Dan Vajzovic (DV) - Temporary Chief Constable
John Tizard (JT) - Police and Crime Commissioner
Suzy Collings (SC) - PA Support (Minutes)

Open Session

1. Welcome

JT opened the meeting. He asked how DV was finding the T/CC role and thanked him for
stepping up into the role and for keeping him informed of significant issues as they arose.
2. Police Race Action Plan (PRAP)

DV had attended the National Black Police Association Conference last week. At the
Conference, the Chair of the Black Police Association re-iterated his concerns that the PRAP
was not making sufficient progress and there is ongoing discussion about this taking place
within the National Police Chiefs’ Council. DV explained that, from a Bedfordshire Perspective, we have made a commitment to Abi Johnson, and others who oversee the PRAP, that we would place dedicated resource into taking this forward. Additional resources are being led by Kimberley Campbell-Lamb, Strategic Lead for Improving Policing for Black People in Bedfordshire, to take this forward.

Bedfordshire Police have also responded to a national survey indicating a desire to continue
to commit funding as part of a national effort to support the national team. Some progress has been made with our communities but there is still more to be achieved. The level of
disproportionality in respect of stop and search is improving but still needs more work. As part of the Priority Based Budget (PBB) process, the level of resource in our Engagement team is being reviewed.

JT said that The PRA is important and that he would wish to see the necessary resources
committed to the PRAP and related programmes and teams across Bedfordshire Police. This
is important work and is core to the Police and Crime Plan.

3. 2025/26 Budget

The Priority Based Budget Process (PBB) is being undertaken with DV and JT both fully
committed to ensuring we get value for money and use our resources in the most effective
way.

At this stage JT does not know what the available resources will be as he is waiting for the
Home Office to allocate finance after the Spending Review and to set out the government’s
position on precept capping. JT said that as PCC he wishes to receive a budget proposal from the Police Service which assumes a net standstill position. JT would expect a risk analysis to accompany this budget proposal as he understands the pressures across the Police Service. He would wish to understand significant proposed changes (plus or minus) to specific elements of the proposed budget. He would then expect the CC to submit proposals for him to consider for net additional expenditure underpinned by business cases.

JT asked that the overall budget should reflect the Police and Crime Plan. DV confirmed that it remains the case that our performance is good in a number of our teams but we are significantly supported by non-core grant funding. DV asked JT to continue to make the case to for the government a more reasonable long term grant settlement or provide reassurances that the exceptional grants we have are protected in some way. JT confirmed
that he is absolutely committed to this and has had a commitment from the Policing Minister him and the CC to discuss funding. He is making the case that the exceptional grants are rolled into an enhanced overall core funding grant and in the longer term for a review and reform of the national police funding formula.

4. T/CC Operational Update and Op Costello

DV reported that the jury in the Martyn Blake trial were now considering its position. Policing is preparing for eventualities depending on the outcome of the case and the impact this will have on operational policing. A decision is expected later this week. There were two stabbings in Marsh Farm over the weekend. The working hypothesis is that these are in respect of gang related activity, with no wider threat to the community. A Section 60 order was put in place in response to this (which allows officers to stop and search anyone
in a specific area without needing reasonable grounds), to prevent further incidents of serious disorder and investigation is ongoing. JT asked what was being done to communicate this to the community including councillors. There has been a press release and local community engagement (including community leaders) in relation to this whilst still working to identify those involved but JT said that he would expect direct communications with key stakeholders and community leaders not least to provide reassurance.

There was a previous episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody involving Carson Grimes. He was sexually grooming children and his case received a lot of media coverage and public approbation. He has been additionally charged with further child abuse offences in the last few days.

DV provided JT with a photo book which was a depiction of an ERSOU (Eastern Region Special Operations Unit) operation, dated 26th September, when enforcement action was carried out following an investigation into an organised crime group that was laundering money. This was a positive way of demonstrating how our economic crime team chase the money involved around criminality. This case remains sub judice but DV committed to ensuring that if the case was appropriate at the point of conclusion there would be some media releases to highlight that crime does not pay. JT expressed his thanks to the officers involved. ERSOU ACC Adam Ball has sent out a set of results to all forces in the East of England, showing proceeds of crime offences where money has been seized or constrained. This report will also be presented at the OPCC Performance and Governance Board meeting where JT will question ACC Adam Ball on RSOU’s performance and in particular its impact on Bedfordshire.

Op Costello work has now secured 500 years worth of sentences. OP Costello is Bedfordshire Polices approach to the National Crime Agencies operation which centres around the infiltration of Encrochat - the criminally dedicated secure communications platform. JT recognised this was a major achievement and demonstrates the importance of the work of the team and the importance of the funding received from the Home Office. He said that he had asked the Det, Chief Superintendent to pass on his congratulations and thanks to the officers involved with Operation Costello. Bedfordshire is safer because of their professional work and achievements.

DV provided an update to JT on the recent explosion and critical incident at Cleat Hill, Bedford. JT asked that the officers and police staff involved over the weekend and since are thanked for their involvement to secure public safety. He was reassured to learn that there had been effective partnership working between the police, fire and rescue, local authority and the HSE.

5. Monkswood

DV wished to provide an update on the specialist BCH training facility at Monkswood. This facility requires urgent and significant investment to ensure that the tri-police services have appropriate public order and other training facilities. Cambridgeshire PCC is responsible for this development but JT and the Hertfordshire PCC have provided a letter of comfort to their Cambridgeshire colleague to enable him to feel that he can proceed with the investment.

6. RTC 17/10

There was a road traffic collision with an unmarked police car last week on the A421. The pedestrian involved is improving but remains in hospital in a serious condition. The officer involved is being supported. The public are aware that the car involved was an unmarked police car. So far this has caused no heightened sense for concern. The incident has been referred to the IOPC who are considering the need to investigate further. JT has asked to be kept updated on the condition of the pedestrian, the welfare of the officer and any updates from the IOPC.

7. Bedford Town Centre and wider concerns about retail crime and ASB

JT reported that there were concerns especially from local retail businesses and residents that Bedford Town Centre is subject to significant anti-social behaviour, shop lifting and retail crime. He has met some of the businesses owners and managers, Borough Council politicians and officers, and Bedfordshire Police community officers to discuss the issues. The police have increased patrols but there is still a perception that more is required. 

It was expected that the situation should improve when the police hub opens at the bus station but there is a view from the Borough Council that there are insufficient officers in the town centre.

JT has spoken with Mayor Tom Wootton and the Deputy Mayor Cllr Jim Weir to discuss what might be done in partnership between the police and the council. The Mayor is willing to consider funding some additional PCSOs for the town centre.

DV and JT in principle support this offer but there will need to be some further discussions with the council about the conditions for any agreement for the timing, DV will ask senior officers to speak with the Council CEO and also to explore with her the possibility of the council employing additional enforcement officers who could be delegated powers by the Chief Constable.

JT reported that he had meet retail businesses across the county and there is a consistent concern about shoplifting and related crime.

This forms a core element of the Police and Crime Plan and in particular the local policing missions. He intends to set up an advisory group comprising the police, retail businesses, local authorities and USDAW.

At future Performance and Governance Board meetings he will be reviewing police performance on this issue and the implementation of the Retail Action Plan. It had also been noted by retailers that some of the shoplifters involved were regular, recognised offenders. DV explained that quite often, the resolution for a shop lifting offence would be a fine. The consequences of this were that the offender then had a debt, with little means of paying it off. DV agrees there is still more to be done. JT asked how this message could be conveyed and what is being said to shopkeepers about this needing to be a
partnership approach. Retailers need to ensure they are doing their best to prevent the crime happening in the first instance, report it on the occasions when it does happen, with Police responding positively to this. The criminal justice system also needs to respond in an effective manner having had the police investigation passed to it.

DV and JT agreed that shoplifting/retail crime is a persistent national issue which needs a system wide approach. There needs to be a decent dis-incentive to people who would otherwise commit crime, they also need to be prevented from doing so by shops having appropriate security and taking action to prevent crimes. They must report crimes every time they occur. There is also a case for a review of sentencing especially for persistent offenders.

JT will discuss this with local partners and the government.

8. Police and Crime Plan Implementation

Sharn Basra is now in post as Chief Executive in the OPCC. The mission boards will be set up over the next few weeks to drive the Plan forward. DV reported the police nominee leads as follows:

Prevention – T/Supt Alex House
Tackling Serious Crime – Detective Supt Dani Bailey
Tackling VAWG – Detective Supt Emma Pitts
Putting Victims at the Centre – Detective Supt Trevor Davidson
Local Policing – Chief Superintendent Jaki Whittred
Excellence in Policing – ACO Phil Wells and ACC John Murphy
Excellence in Criminal Justice – ACC John Murphy

JT said that he is very much looking forward to working with them, other officers and other partners.

Below is a link to the National Plan that Bedfordshire Police are working to in regards to tackling retail crime:

https://nbcc.police.uk/business-support/retail-crime-action-plan  

Minutes: 1:1 PCC John Tizard & CC Trevor Rodenhurst

Date: Monday 2nd September 2024
Time: 1100hrs -1200hrs
Venue: CC Rodenhursts Office, HQ

Attendees:

Trevor Rodenhurst (TR) - Chief Constable
John Tizard (JT) - Police and Crime Commissioner
Suzy Collings (SC) - CC PA Support (Minutes)

Open Session

1. Welcome

JT opened the meeting.

2. CC Update

TR reported on some significant operational updates. Things that have come to note at TR’s
morning meetings included some intelligence being received that there was going to be a block party in Luton where there was a threat of serious violence, in response two gang members, one with a firearm, were arrested, charged and remanded.

A further incident involved an individual with Section 2 mental health issues (which allows a
doctor to detain someone in hospital for assessment and treatment) attending a mosque with a water pistol in their waist band that was intended to look like a firearm. This individual was arrested and remanded to court. There was an impressive response from a policing aspect to something that was a concern to a large part of the community. JT asked whether this was connected to the suggestion that there was going to be some anti-Muslim action at the Central Mosque in Luton. TR said that this incident was not connected but community policing had worked closely with that mosque to provide reassurance.

In terms of serious child abuse, the Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team (ICAIT) came
across online presence of an individual in Bedfordshire who was assessed as a potential risk
to his 7-year-old child. This was responded to immediately and the individual was found alone with the child. The individual has been charged and remanded and the child has been
safeguarded whilst working closely with safeguarding partners. Two individuals were charged with rape and kidnap and both remanded after a report of rape in Shortstown.

JT was pleased with the updates and acknowledged how police teams had responded quickly
and effectively to the incidents. TR also reported that there had been a firearms discharge in Luton over the weekend that was being treated as an attempted murder. This investigation is ongoing. JT observed that this and too many similar incidents reenforce the need for the continuation of the government’s special grants to support tackling gun and gang crime.

3. Social Cohesion and Far Right Disorder/Riots

TR reported that Bedfordshire Police were one of only a few police services that did not have
any arrests in relation to the recent disorder which had taken place in a number of towns and cities across the country. TR feels this is a very positive news story for the county particularly as the with regards to the risk profile that exists here. Intelligence had been received regarding some possible disruptions and these were responded to accordingly. There were a number of meetings with different community groups to provide reassurance but also feedback loops were put in place to quickly challenge the spread of disinformation. There have been numerous messages of thanks from the community and partners.

JT attended two meetings of the Social Cohesion group at Luton Borough Council, attended
by faith groups and the wider community. The first was held in anticipation that some disorder was expected. The second meeting was to recognise that this had thankfully not happened.

JT recognised the very strong support the police had prepared, which he considered to be
testimony to the work of the social cohesion team and other members of the police teams in
gaining respect from communities.

JT had walked around Queens Park, Bedford with Mohammad Yasin, MP and local police the
Friday of the week when the threats were at their height. The following Friday he has visited
more than ten mosques in Luton with the police cohesion team and local councillors. He
reported that there was much appreciation of the support and reassurance given by the police to communities which although not directly subject to physical attack had been made very anxious by the threats on line and nationally. The threat of unrest had caused a lot of anxiety but there was reassurance from the police presence.

JT had attended an event at the weekend in Luton to mark Pakistan Independence Day and
gave a short speech where he recommitted himself, Chief Constable Rodenhurst and the
police to treating everybody, irrespective of their ethnicity, country of origin, their families
country of origin, their faith, wherever they live, they will receive the same treatment and
protection from the police. JT feels this has been widely accepted.

4. Update on Summer Pressures

The maturity of our resources has added to the pressure this summer as we still hold a
significant proportion of student officers not all of whom can be independently deployed. The
threat of disruption meant an embargo was placed on officers from booking leave and some
rest days were cancelled to be able to stand up our commitment of the national public order
trained officers.

Athena – an information system used by several police forces to manage police investigations, intelligence, custody and case preparations.

TR also reported that there was an important upgrade to Athena and due to a number of
reasons (some being remedied, some are in significant progress to being remedied) the system did not operate as effectively as it should for a number of weeks, to such an extent that TR feels it did have an impact on efficiency and inevitably some service levels. Due to this, TR and the other Chiefs in the Athena consortium have collectively signed a letter which has been sent to Andy Cook, Chief HMI, to say the system impact was really significant and ask that when considering the HMI data collection, that the relevant dates are taken into consideration.

The necessary upgrade has taken place and there is enhanced functionality with this. There
are still some defects which are being prioritised. JT asked to be kept informed of progress as this might be operational and had strategic implications.

Some student police officers will now be going into their final stages and will be posted which
will release some pressure and there should be a decrease in some demands as we move into the school term/autumn.

JT asked that, in terms of the summer pressure and the impact to officers and staff, whether
there have been any noticeable changes to morale and sickness rates. TR has spoken to
officers and knows that the pressure has been felt. However, despite these pressures there
has been some notably given significantly positive results. There has been some rise in
sickness but nothing too significant. A complete review is being carried out of those classified on restricted and recuperative duties to ensure staff are correctly supported.

JT said that he would wish to be involved in reviewing morale and sickness pressures as
officers and staff welfare was a paramount strategic concern for him. JT asked what pressure TR would expect over the next 3-6 months. TR considered the new football season/new league for Luton FC may bring some challenges. There are also certain crime types that increase during certain times of year, with particular spikes at times such as Halloween. TR reported that there is a cohort of 17 Detective DHEP (Degree Holder Entry Programme) starters from the degree/higher education programme.

JT asked what has had to ‘give’ to accommodate the summer pressures. TR explained that
as demand had increased, more crimes have been solved that this time last year. There were
almost 500 times more shop lifting incidents reported compared to this time last year. However, TR feels this is in part due to higher confidence in reporting and due to the proactivity around this.

JT would like to place on record, his thanks to officers and staff for the additional pressures
they have been under. And would wish to ensure that future budgets and plans reflect expected seasonal pressures.

5. Governance Review and Changes

JT wished to reaffirm the position agreed at the Performance and Governance Board to move
to a quarterly detailed performance scrutiny. JT has also been in discussions to consider a
different way of presenting analytical data. The monthly meetings can then be used to deal
with any issue of immediacy and for spotlights on the Police and Crime Plan missions.

6. HMICFRS - Inspection

TR feels that we are well prepared for the inspection. All data that has been requested has
been provided. TR is providing a presentation to the HMIC on Thursday morning, to which
JT is invited. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. TR’s view is that the report
is not concluded until it is written and if areas of improvement are identified but these are
demonstrated as rectified before the report is written up, TR will be asking that these are
taken account of. TR view is this is free consultancy and the service as and will continue to
work really cooperatively with the HMIC. The Hot Debrief is in early October and the final
report is due in March.

JT said the hoped that the Inspection goes well but that it should be regarded as consultancy
and review exercise that would enable lessons to be learnt for further improvement and
change. Stage two of the Police and Crime Plan will draw on the HMCIFRS report as will
future CC and PCC appraisals. It would also contribute to setting a base line against which
future performance can and will be assessed.

7. Conduct Matters Update

The TR updated JT on some recent conduct findings and the gave a broad overview of the
type of upcoming cases. TR gave a view that the positive in the majority of these cases staff
have had the confidence to come forward to report inappropriate behaviour which was giving
a sense of a developing upstander culture. JT reaffirmed his commitment to supporting tough and fair approaches to all failures by officers and staff to maintain the highest professional and ethical standards.

8. Police & Crime Plan

The plan is now complete and will considered by the Police and Crime Panel on 17th
September and publicly launched on 3rd October.

9. PCC’s Office – CEO Recruitment and Office Restructuring

JT reported that the closing date for CEO applications was last week and there were 19
applications. He has reviewed the applications and there is a long list which will reduced to a
smaller short list for interviews and appointment on 18th September.
An office restructure is also commencing to make the office capable to deliver the Police and
Crime Plan and for enable him to meet his statutory duties.

Minutes: 1:1 PCC John Tizard & CC Trevor Rodenhurst

Date: Monday 8th July 2024
Time: 1400hrs-1500hrs
Venue: CC Rodenhursts Office, HQ

Attendees:

Trevor Rodenhurst (TR) - Chief Constable
John Tizard (JT) Police and Crime Commissioner
Suzy Collings (SC) - PA Support (Minutes)

Open Session

1. Welcome

PCC Tizard opened the meeting.

2. New Government

The meeting began with discussions of the new Labour Government and the two new MP’s
now within Bedfordshire.

JT had sent a letter to the new Home Secretary congratulating her on her appointment, inviting her to visit Bedfordshire, describing the innovation taking place within the police service and making the case for reform of the funding arrangements. TR agreed this was a good starting point in addressing the lack of funding, special grants and our reliance on these along with the need for funding reform.

TR suggested writing collectively to the MP’s, explaining our position and setting up an early meeting. JT asked that the letter include that we are keen to contribute to delivering the mission of the government. TR also suggested a meeting with the Policing Minister. This would be an opportunity to show efficiencies achieved through collaboration, innovation, productivity, and priority-based budgeting.

The majority of the MP’s have been elected. Blake Stephenson MP was on the Police and Crime Panel so has some knowledge of Bedfordshire policing. JT suggested offering Alex Mayer a tailored briefing as she is new to the county. TR and JT have both written to all the MP’s congratulating them on their wins. The two new MP’s have also been invited to an introductory call with TR.

Work is ongoing to determine the baseline for community policing. TR feels that as our model evolves, we will work more collaboratively across teams to focus more to local affecting communities such as shoplift/mobile phone thefts in the street/ASB in town centres. JT has been considering his Police and Crime Plan. TR feels that as our workforce grows in capability and capacity, in the future we may be able to revisit geographically having more aligned resources that respond. This does not mean more police stations but could mean some more bases where resources deploy from.

JT stated that his police and crime plan will include the reinvigoration of local policing and that he wants community policing to be closer to and embedded in local neighbourhoods, problem solving with local communities, businesses, and councils. Local policing has to be hard edged and deployed in ways that builds public trust in policing.

JT said that the Home Secretary was concerned at the low level of public trust in policing. TR feels Bedfordshire Police have spent a lot of time with communities to increase trust, with a Cohesion team which is well embedded, and when this has been tested due to some difficult circumstances, communities have come together with the police in a positive way. There have been some significant issues nationally and some issues locally that have impacted confidence, but TR feels that a lot of work with the community has been done, to build trust locally, and we need to continue to build on that. JT concurred with this.

3. Pressures on Bedfordshire Police during Summer Months

JT asked if the summer pressures happen every year, why are these not being built into the plan, what are the risks associated with this and what would a worst-case scenario look like. TR explained that our resourcing picture, reduced over a long time and then grew acutely over a relatively short time. This means that we won’t have all the skills where we want them for some time and when you combine this with high periods of demand over a number of weeks this creates real pressures. However, the approach this year is a ‘summer plan’ with daily command and control, as we are seeing some not insignificant increases in recorded crime.

This should be considered the new normal as significantly improved 999 wait times and high crime recording standards will be behind much of the additional recording. In the current context there is daily focused grip and oversight of the use of all resources so that adjustments can be made to ensure that no one unit is unable to meet its service level. TR is hopeful that next summer it will be a case of business as usual where resourcing has been built in to reflect demand as capacity grows. TR feels that overall demand is following the projection but with higher rates than previous years. The Force Control Room (FCR) is performing considerably better and there is now no failure demand and calls are being answered quickly. A plan has been put in place to look at resourcing across the board to ensure the cover is there. This plan looks at each day, hour by hour and has mapped every
team across the organisation. It is expected to be a busy summer, but TR is content that plans ensure the best possible use of resources.

JT said that he was reassured but wanted to have regular updates and would expect a detailed report to the next Performance and Governance Board. He would expect that in future years the summer pressures were part of the plan and not regarded as an exceptional event.

JT asked what risks could tip the situation to being critical. TR explained that if there was a major critical incident, where resources needed to be surged for a period of time, this will always be possible but may have an impact – both morale and welfare - on the workforce (ie more cancelled time off) or service levels to some demand types.

JT asked about antisocial behaviour. TR said that it is not being overlooked and resources are still being targeted towards them, an operational look at the anti-social use of off-road motorbikes being one example. TR feels we will be in better place next year but there are lots of factors to consider, for example some intake programme lengths changed 2 years ago from 2 to 3 years and so training is taking longer for some officers, reducing the speed at which officers are fully deployable. However, the retention rate continues to improve with officer attrition at 7% and so this will mean we will grow increased capacity.

TR explained that another risk was around our proactivity, which in turn has a crime reduction effect, as this is sometimes reduced when resourcing pressures are acute, as some of these resources are pushed into reactive work. JT agreed it sounds as this is being addressed but if TR feels the pressures escalate, he would like to know. TR expects the summer measures to be in place be effective from now until the beginning of September.

4. Police and Crime Plan 2024-28

JT explained that public consultation on the key objectives for the plan would commence week beginning 22nd July.

The plan would then be completed by the end of August for approval by the Police and Crime Panel in September. There will be two stages – one from October 2024 to March 2025 and for the rest of his tenure in office. The plan for April 2025 to May 2028 will be published in March 2025. This would allow time for greater stakeholder engagement, to take into account the new government’s plans and spending review, and to ensure alignment with the police budget for 2025-2028. Mission Boards will be established to develop the plan and drive its implementation. These boards will involve stakeholders and will report into the current governance arrangements.

JT said the plan needs to be ambitious and stretching but needs to be achievable to be delivered. It must contain measurable outcome objectives to ensure delivery and accountability. There is a Police and Crime Panel next week which will be a workshop to discuss the key objectives.

5. People and Workforce

JT asked what impact the current pressures have on individual staff as opposed to the collective. TR explained that the response teams are the ones that feel the most impact as it will become harder to take leave and some rest days will be cancelled. There is also concern over their high workload. Quite a few of the Sergeants in Response are acting/temporary in rank but this is part of the workforce plan to improve.

TR explained that morale issues occur when some members of staff have more rest days cancelled than other members without a logical reason. Resource management can be difficult, but the workforce optimisation tool is going live this week for postings and thereafter resource management, which will enable us to ask the AI to share the load more equally.

TR reported that our overall attrition rate continues in the right direction, and this is helped by the fact that we now have the lowest number of retirees comparatively to other forces. We do have the highest number of resignations in the first two years, but we also have the highest number of people under 5 years’ service in the country and if you are going to find out that policing is not for you, it will be in the first few years.

JT ask what TR thought JT would hear if he were to speak to officers. TR said that, mainly in response, the feeling would be that there was not enough of them or enough of them for what they are being asked to do. The intention for the force vision days was to be able to update the workforce on how this picture will be improving and that their concerns are being heard.

Feedback from the vision events (having spoken to 1850 of the workforce) has been overwhelmingly positive. JT said that whilst he was not going to engage in management issues, he was going to have regular meetings with the Police Federation, Unison and the Superintendent’s Association. JT asked about sickness levels. TR did not have the figures with him, but states much has been done to grow a welfare team and that we can bring sickness detail into performance and governance board formally. JT said he would wish to see these statistics at future Performance and Governance Boards.

TR has a regular call with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire Chief Constables, and they are reporting similar feelings in their forces as it feels that demand is increasing in most areas compared to previous years.

6. Innovation

TR reports that Beds use more AI than any other force. One of the main areas of development at the moment is the workforce optimisation module which allows us to look at all the information from all the systems in one place and to be able to answer questions from this quickly. This should make a real difference to the resource management soon.

The redaction tool gave the equivalent of ten detectives back per year. JT said that he had spoken to external experts who agreed that Bedfordshire is leading on many aspects of technological led innovation and said that he would wish to set up an innovation fund to support further investment. JT had been speaking to a constable who explained that when they arrest someone it can take a good 4 hours to complete the process. TR explained that the Athena upgrade is happening this week which will mean that more than one person will be able to access the same records at the same time which should in turn speed up the case management aspect which is currently the most time consuming and arguably the least efficient element of the process.

7. Preparing for HMICFRS

TR explained that there was part to the inspection which has taken place recently before the full inspection in September, which was crime data integrity. TR had been discussing this with our crime registrar and has seen the agreed assessment of our crime data integrity which seems to show a strong performance.

The main inspection starts in September. From the last inspection there were two questions that we were judged to require improvement. One area was in responding to the public. TR believes we have made good progress to this in terms of how quickly we get to people on the phone, but improvement is still needed in how quickly we physically get to people – ‘response times’. TR believes we will be able to show a good plan of what our improvement journey looks like. Investigating crime also needed improvement. We are not currently solving as much crime as TR would like however the current workforce plan will deliver resourcing for investigations being fully up to strength for the first time in many years by spring 2025.

JT is keen to understand the correlation between TR assessment and the HMICFRS assessment. He would expect a strong correlation. TR believes we have made progress in all the areas that required improvement the test will be whether we have made enough however what we will have is a clear plan on how improvements continue to be made. JT said that he would wish to be involved in the strategic preparation for the inspection and that he regards external inspections as important for any learning organisation.

8. Closed Agenda Item

Not minuted.