Performance and Governance Board - Terms of Reference 

INTRODUCTION

• Sits within the context of Scheme of Governance, specifically sets out the formal arrangements for holding Bedfordshire Police to account.

MEMBERSHIP

• Police and Crime Commissioner
• Chief Constable

ATTENDANCE

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner:

• Chief Executive
• Chief Finance Officer
• Head of Governance and Transparency
• Staff Officer

Bedfordshire Police:

• Deputy Chief Constable
• Assistant Chief Constable
• Assistant Chief Officer
• Staff Officer

Other professional advisors will be invited to attend as required.

Principal decision makers are the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable.

Role

To hold to account the Chief Constable (and his Executive Team) for the efficient and effective delivery of the police and crime plan, including:

• Effectiveness and efficiency including utilisation of all resources.
• Performance
• Financial Control and Sustainability
• Risk (Local and collaborated)
• Police and Crime delivery

ADMINISTRATION

The board will be chaired by the Police and Crime Commissioner, or a nominated substitute in his/her absence.

An agenda for the meeting will be agreed consultatively and appropriate reports and briefings be circulated seven days in advance of each meeting. All efforts will be taken to keep bureaucracy to a minimum.

Verbal updates must be documented within the minutes.

Part One - To ensure transparency and accountability all meeting papers will be published.

Part Two - Documents classified as sensitive (restricted) will not be published.

Minutes will reflect discussions.  

Recommendations and decisions will be made public and available to the police and crime panel.

The board will be administratively supported by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

There will be a schedule that will be adopted throughout the 12-month period which will be reflected in each agenda.

Performance and Governance Board will run on the following schedule:

STANDING AGENDA ITEMS FOR MEETING

(Other items may be added to the agenda)

MEETINGS

Meetings will be held on a monthly basis at an agreed venue or electronically. Meetings will be planned for one calendar year. The meetings will normally be held on the last week of the month.

Minutes will be taken for this meeting and published on the website.

Documents will be held for seven years.

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER MEETINGS

• 1:1 between the PCC and CC
• The Joint Audit Committee will report to the board any concerns.
• Matters arising from the Strategic Alliance Summit will also be considered for this board.

REVIEW

The terms of reference for the board will be reviewed annually.

29.05.2025 Performance and Governance Minutes

Item 1:  Welcome Minutes of meeting held and for agreement and matters arising   

PCC welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced Yehudis, Head of Policy and Missions Apologies noted from Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable. Minutes from the previous meeting were agreed. 

Item 2: Actions 

Update – PCC will be writing to DEFRA and Department for Transport alongside PCCs for Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire to lobby for funding for kennelling of dangerous dogs and post-collision support on A14. Further updates on action log to come to spotlight meeting in June. 

Item 3: Local Policing                                                                

Excellence in Policing Deputy Chief Constable Dan Vajzovic presented spotlight report on Reinvigorating Local Policing. He highlighted police performance in certain areas, including community policing, public contact, Patrol, approach to innovation, operational planning and the summer policing plan to keep town centres safe. 

 A 12-month local policing plan has been implemented for 2025-2026, and there will be a longer-term one developed for 2026-2031. This will look at estates, growth and the biggest challenges that local policing will face. Crime recording is currently in a strong position with accurate data and there is an action plan in place for ASB recording.  999 call handling also remains strong with a slightly different resource model in place from April. On some days the control room is performing less well but it is generally above 90%. It was recognised that Bedfordshire Police’s approach to innovation is very good, but not as effective as it should be in Patrol attendance, so DCC has set a task to understand the driving forces for what needs to be improved when responding to the public.  The Patrol function have made some improvement in arrival times and continue to aim for all arrivals within 15 minutes. The detection rate for Patrol officers is improving on some teams more than others. Training and upskilling are now the focus as well as triaging caseloads. 

The PCC   has been working with the police on the development of the summer policing plan for town centres and ensuring the metrics will allow for a measure of effectiveness.  Work is ongoing to understand officer abstraction data and ensure it is consistent. The police are investing in drones and live facial recognition to carry out effective public order operations.  

PCC asked what the drop-off rate for 101 call is, considering that 40% of 999 calls that come through do not require an immediate response.

DCC is looking into the journey of a caller and trying to understand reasons for repeat calling. The average waiting time across all police services is 30 seconds, and Bedfordshire it is 2 minutes. 

PCC fed back that public often report clunkiness of online reporting, and asked how much exploration is being done into innovation and to educate the public on making the right call.

PW responded that they are running communications campaigns and looking into what is used elsewhere such as voice bots which are used in the West Midlands.

 PCC asked when he should expect to see a noticeable improvement in the Patrol function, namely in terms of investigations, problem solving and victim-centred culture. DCC assured that investigation improvements will be seen this calendar year, but that the problem-solving approach is difficult to measure. The self-assessment that Bedfordshire Police will carry out for the next HMICFRS inspection will reveal more. 

PCC asked how exactly live facial recognition will be used in the summer, wanting to make sure the public will have a full understanding.

PCC will have a role in speaking about ethical approach and remit of LFR in helping the police to keep people safe and identify prolific offenders. Police will share the details of the facial recognition policy. 

Action: Goal for 101 call response to be reported at the next full performance meeting Action: report on Patrol investigations, problem solving, abstractions (to and from the Patrol function) and culture/victim approach to be brought to next Local Policing spotlight meeting Action: Police will share the details of the facial recognition ethical and communications policy, which the PCC would expect to sign off.

Action: There will be regular updates to P&G on the progress of the Summer Policing Partnership Plan for Keeping Town Centres Safe.  

Deputy Chief Constable Dan Vajzovic presented spotlight report on Excellence in Policing. He highlighted police performance in certain areas, including Stop and Search, Use of Force, Improving Policing for Black People, Professional Standards, and management of the workforce. 

DCC highlighted: There are fewer stop and searches being conducted but they are having a more positive impact, which shows an increase in effectiveness.  A strategy is now in place for improving internal communication around scrutiny panels.  The data around the use of taser is under review There has been a rise in cases around public contact in recent years but in the last 6-9 months it has halved.

DCC is reassured that this is as a result of improved conduct and culture Bedfordshire Police are currently above full establishment PCC asked what learning and guidance is available for officers, including supervisory officers around Stop and Search and Use of Force. DCC is satisfied that there is good operational learning at all levels of the organisation and an internal culture of self-referral.

PCC said that it was important that systematic lessons are learned and applied. 

PCC wishes to see a move towards a more diverse workforce that is representative of the community it serves.  

PCC asked how many Black leaders are in the service and how this is going to be improved. The goal is to improve trust and confidence and therefore engagement and recruitment. PW confirmed there are 3 Black sergeants. 

Item 4: Risk (Change in risk OPCC and Force) 

No risks to report. 

Item 5:  Quarterly Reporting

Efficiency  Budget / Efficiency 

PW reported that he will be producing a year-end financial report for the next meeting of P&G.

PCC would like to see a 2026/2027 budget plan that demonstrates what the return on AI investments would be and maps out how to return to financial stability within 2 years. Next year’s budget may be tight, but PW will be reviewing what the objectives and parameters are with the PCC and will be bringing the medium-term financial plan forward. PCC wishes to be involved in 2025/26 priority-based budgeting process. 

Action: PW to year-end budget report and an update on the medium-term financial plan at the next meeting. 

Action: PW, PCC, CC to meet to discuss financial planning, control and PBB. 

Item 6: AOB 

No AOB 

REPORT FOR THE POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER FOR BEDFORDSHIRE - PERFORMANCE & GOVERNANCE BOARD 

Thursday 29^th May 2025

Report title: Police and Crime Plan – Excellence Spotlight Report

Executive overview

• This report centres around the Excellence mission in the Police and Crime Plan and presents an assessment of the Force’s effectiveness in delivering against the Plan.
• This report assesses the different elements within this theme to demonstrate how effectively the Force is delivering the Excellence priority.

Stop and Search – Performance Overview

During financial year 2024/2025, a total of 4417 searches were completed. This is a reduction of 9% from the previous year.
Positive outcomes during this period were recorded at 38% which is an increase of 3% from the previous year. The National average is 31%. The arrest rate was 18%, which is an increase from the previous year. The National average is 14%.
Find rate during searches is 31%, and a total of 1078 drugs and 153 weapons have been seized. The National average find rate is 23%.
Proportionality rates during last year, are as follows:

• Black self-defined ethnicity (SDE) – 3.5 times more likely to be searched than White SDE (480 searches). Previous financial year was 3.1 times more likely (516 searches). The National average is 5.52 times more likely.
• Black officer defined ethnicity (ODE) – 3.1 times more likely to be searched than White (746 searches). Previous financial year was 2.9 times more likely (817 searches).
• Asian self-defined ethnicity (SDE) – 1.6 times more likely to be searched than White SDE (645 searches). Previous financial year was 1.3 times more likely (631 searches) The National average is 1.63 times more likely.
• Asian officer defined ethnicity (ODE) – 1.7 times more likely to be searched than White (843 searches). Previous financial year was 1.5 times more likely (860 searches).

Use of Force - Performance Overview

During financial year 2024/2025, a total of 7106 Use of Force records were created. This is a 5% reduction from the previous year.

BWV compliance was recorded at 94%, which was in increase from 93% the previous year. The main reason for BWV not being captured is when the Use of Force occurs in Custody.

Proportionality rates during last year, are as follows:

• Black self-defined ethnicity (SDE) – 3.02 times more likely to have force used than White SDE (794 records). Previous financial year was 2.86 times more likely (829 records). The National average is 3.2 times more likely.
• Black officer defined ethnicity (ODE) – 3.95 times more likely to have force used than White (1305 records). Previous financial year was 3.66 times more likely (1312 records).
• Asian self-defined ethnicity (SDE) – 1.1 times more likely to have force used than White SDE (800 records). Previous financial year was 1.03 times more likely (755 records) The National average is 0.8 times more likely.
• Asian officer defined ethnicity (ODE) – 1.23 times more likely to have force used than White (1094 records). Previous financial year was 1.12 times more likely (1019 records).

The single biggest area of disparity is Use of Taser, which has a disproportionality rate of 5.97 for Black ODE, compared to 4.92 for the previous year. Disproportionality rate for Black SDE is 5.24, compared to 4.24 for the previous year.

76% of all Use of Force is used on male subjects. This is a reduction from 78% the previous year. The National average is 79%.

46% of all Use of Force records related to those aged between 18 – 34 years. This is a reduction from the previous year of 48%. The National average is 48%.

Current Approach in Force – Stop & Search and Use of Force

The Force was highlighted for promising practice by HMICFRS in terms of safeguarding approach to juveniles. All searches reviewed by PVP team to assess immediate safeguarding steps taken, and whether onward referral was made to MASH. Where missed opportunities were identified, feedback has been issued to officers to capture organisational learning.

A new information card has been produced which will be issued to members of the public who are subject to a Stop and Search. This provides all information in terms of their rights whilst also providing an opportunity to provide individual feedback. The card also provides details of the community stop and search panel and how to join.

Annual CPD has been arranged for all frontline officers in relation to Stop and Search, identifying national and local themes as areas of focus.

BWV pre-record functionality enabled capturing preceding 30 seconds of footage from point officer activates BWV to improve transparency and accountability.

Data analysis and data sharing with community panels highlighted as promising practice by college of policing. Power Bi platform is intuitive and detail enables trends in the short, medium, and long term to be understood.

What is going well? – Stop & Search and Use of Force

Positive outcome rates year on year are improving in relation to Stop and Search, including arrest rates which demonstrate the force is effective in its use of this power.

Establishment of tactical leads for all Use of Force powers, with monthly tactical meetings. Strategic Police Powers Board launched with Stop and Search, Use of Force, and S163 stops all feeding into this.

Supervisor dip sampling process embedded for Use of Force and Stop and Search, demonstrating enhanced scrutiny and oversight of Police powers.

All Sergeants receiving additional training input relating to best practice for supervision of Police powers.

Amendment to EIP search authority to Inspector for juveniles, with all EIP searches now audio recorded, and best use guidance document produced to ensure officers are using effectively, and with compassion and empathy.

What are the gaps and barriers? – Stop & Search and Use of Force

Gap - Effective communication to the wider public of Bedfordshire to amplify the excellent work of the community scrutiny panels to increase public trust and confidence in the use of Police powers in Bedfordshire.

Gap - Clear communication to the public via force website of Use of force statistics in a format that is easily understood and accessible to the wider communities of Bedfordshire.

Gap - Analysis of factors contributing to proportionality rates across Bedfordshire to support strategic objective of improving understanding of proportionality and seeking to eliminate disproportionality that cannot be explained.

Barrier - Allocation of analytical support (this has been requested and is being progressed).

Barrier - Improvement to the Stop and Search review portal. The system requires improvement including an automated escalation process and improved management reports. The ICT change request has been submitted.

Strengths and weaknesses of partnership engagement – Stop & Search and Use of Force

Community scrutiny panels for Stop and search, Use of Force, and S163 Road Traffic Act stops have been established and are considered a strength for the force in terms of oversight, scrutiny, and accountability through the community. A data panel for each has been established which ensures the community are assessing data and asking questions of the force specific to trends and patterns.

We recognise the need to improve communication to the wider public in relation to Police powers, the internal and community scrutiny and accountability measures in place.

Partnership approach to subject matter expert reviews for higher levels of Use of Force including Baton strike, Spit hood, and PAVA with Cambs, Herts, and Essex being launched where PST trainers from other forces will review and assess Use of Force from another force.

What’s next / Future Plans – Stop & Search and Use of Force

An academic study is being completed in relation to disproportionality, this is being completed by two leading academic figures who have previously completed similar studies for the CPS. The report is expected in June 2025.

An internal monthly analytical product has been commissioned which will support tactical meetings in terms of understanding proportionality rates, whilst seeking to reduce and eliminate disproportionality that cannot be explained.

There needs to be an amendment to the Force website in terms of the presentation of Use of Force data to replicate the presentation style of Police.uk (Stop and Search data presentation) to ensure communities have visual data that shows use, and patterns of use in Bedfordshire.

Force pilot seeking to utilise artificial intelligence in support of supervisory reviews of Stop and Search, to further enhance quality.

Scrutiny of police powers to be placed on quality assurance app to provide a central point for the storage of all dip samples, and reviews including the launch of new Section 32 PACE dip sampling. QA app has improved management reporting tools which will increase analysis and understanding.

Improving Policing for Black People in Bedfordshire

Improving Policing for Black People in Bedfordshire – Overview

To address issues of data disparity and disproportionality, the Legitimacy and Public Safety portfolio is prioritising the following areas of activity:

• PRAP Maturity Matrix: Baseline activity undertaken at both national and local level
• Recruitment of under represented groups: Review undertaken and recommendations submitted to Recruitment Gold chair
• Promotion process review: Review undertaken and recommendations submitted
• Staff Network Development: Framework has been launched, peer group for Chairs has been established. Staff Network Forum meetings have been set up.
• National Culture and Inclusion Strategy and Local Policing Strategy Alignment: Performance management and evaluation framework discussions currently underway, in support of a new Police Culture and Inclusion Strategy and Beds Local Policing Strategy.

Interim findings from baseline of PRAP National and Local Maturity Matrix identified several opportunities: streamlining deliverables, enhancing focus of qualitative and quantitative measures, clarifying ownership and accountability, and embedding critical enquiry and benchmarking into qualitative assessments.

Workforce Representation - Improving Policing for Black People in Bedfordshire

Positive Action: Operation Hendrickson shows strong outcomes in re-engaging candidates and supporting vetting processes.

Community Engagement: There has been mixed feedback on the need for qualitative indicators, and National guidance may be required.

Exit Interviews: Current qualitative indicators may be too narrow; broader exploration of retention drivers is recommended.

Ethnicity Pay Gay, Data Challenges: Privacy constraints limit analysis; recommendation to consolidate related standards for a holistic view.

Black Workforce Survey Action Plans, Low Visibility: Minimal engagement with OBWS findings; national promotion and accountability mechanisms needed.

Culture, Impact, Data and Accountability – Improving Policing for Black People in Bedfordshire

Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) agreed via BCH consultation are now implemented. EHRC’s 10-Step Guide has been recommended for integration and has been circulated.

System Gaps and Culture Barriers have been identified with Data Quality. There are continued National and local issues with data entry, system and policy limitations and inter-agency sharing. Concerns have been identified about rapport with internal and external communities, and timing when collecting sensitive data.

There is a need for broader data analysis across protected characteristics.

What’s Next & Future Plans – Improving Policing for Black People in Bedfordshire

Focus groups are being conducted throughout the organisation to evaluate the force’s implementation of the Police Race Action Plan on a procedural basis.

Further focus groups will be planned with individuals across the organisation to assess how the Police Race Action Plan is being delivered on a personal basis.

Bluebell/PSD

Blue Bell Overview

Historically, ‘Bedfordshire also has the highest proportion of workplace sexual misconduct across the tri-force. This needs to change and Blue Bell exists to support colleagues who have been impacted by this’.

Bedfordshire continue with clear governance internally, with the Blue Bell Board sitting Bi-Monthly chaired by a Strategic lead.

A more recent cultural review has shown more sexual wrongdoing is recognised as a critical issue within the force with a strong commitment to addressing it. Blue Bell is well known and provides clear points of contact for reporting and support, cultural shifts. Misogyny has been recognised as an issue.

The report identifies areas of improvement which will form part of the 25/26 delivery plan including enhancing clear definitions and guidance, training and awareness re-roll out, consistency in PSD assessments, awareness of enhanced support systems, and public transparency.

A clear Terms of Reference has been devised between Blue Bell and PSD with a clear understanding of reporting mechanisms and information sharing contained.

All Blue Bell Supporters are Peer Support trained and aware of the pathway and when to notify PSD when conduct/criminal behaviour is a concern.

There is a strong relationship between Blue Bell and PSD ACU- ensuring checks and balances are completed in relation to information and intelligence regarding issues and/or people which on first review doesn’t breach the conduct space. The pathway from Blue Bell into PSD is utilised more than the reverse which illustrates that Blue Bell is building confidence and enabling reporting and often is the primary reporting method.

The PPDA Policy applies to all police officers and police staff of Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire Constabulary. All cases are reviewed through the PSD DMM and where required (specifically for Beds) they are referred into Blue Bell for support.

PSD Performance

There has been an increase in reporting in the last 2 years, however, more recently there has been a decline. Surveys by PSD show that of the most recent report, 90% of people who responded said that they would now report sexual harassment in the workplace and 88% would report Domestic Abuse if they experienced it or witnessed it.

612 intelligence reports were recorded by PSD in 2024/25, averaging 51 records per month. The fourth quarter saw the highest number of submissions in the year. In the same period, there were 88 intelligence reports recorded relating to PSD Control Strategy priorities, averaging 7 records per month.

106 potential conducts were recorded in 2024/25. These volumes have remained consistent throughout the year with an average of 9 recorded per month.

The average time to finalise PSD Complaint Investigations throughout the year was 418 days. In the 4^th quarter of 2024/25 this number fell to 353 days. This is below the annual average of 415 days. The time to finalise Conduct investigations throughout the performance year averaged 19 days. However, there was an increase from 175 days in the third quarter to 264 days in the fourth, rising above the annual average of 246 days.

Workforce

Workforce Reporting

The service monitors its people data through Peoples and Postings Board and reported into the Force Executive Board. Whilst the analysis at the People and Postings Board is considered at Team level the focus at Force Executive Board is delivery against the Maintenance Grant requirement and the new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. In conjunction with both of these there is a specific focus on the reduction in attrition, management of sickness absence and a workforce that represents the Communities it serves.

At this stage the Service is on track to deliver against its Maintenance and NHPG targets, attrition is tracking and the same reduced level as 2024/25 and work is being undertaken through the attraction and engagement teams alongside the Legitimacy and Public Services portfolio to place extra focus on increasing the diversity of the workforce.

Local Policing Spotlight

Full Report

Present:

John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)

Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable – Police Service (CC)

In Attendance:

Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service/OPCC (PW)

John Murphy, Assistant Chief Constable (JM)

Sharn Basra, Chief Executive – OPCC (SB)

Lara Lewis, Staff Officer – PCC (LL)

Fiona Dawson, Staff Officer – CC (FD)

Katie Beaumont, Head of Governance and Transparency (KB)

Item 1: Welcome Minutes of meeting held and for agreement and matters arising  

PCC welcomed everyone to meeting. 

Apologies from Deputy Chief Constable. 

Minutes from previous meeting were agreed.  

Item 2 : Actions 

Actions from previous meeting were agreed as completed or will be brought forward to April meeting. 

Item 3 : Performance

3.1 Prevention

M presented spotlight report on prevention and problem solving, highlighting areas of strength as well as where improvements need to be made.

Training and Development:

Bedfordshire Police has implemented comprehensive training programmes at all levels

New SharePoint toolkit for staff in Prevention and Problem-Solving, with ongoing maintenance and upgrades.

The rollout of THRIVE+ (Threat Harm and Risk, Investigation, Vulnerability and Engagement) is ongoing, embedding prevention and intervention prompts across various departments.

Problem-Solving and Prevention Initiatives:

There have been a number of collaborative operations

Aligning efforts with national best practices, engaging partners in key forums, and developing initiatives like the Philomena Protocol and Herbert Protocol for vulnerable individuals.

Community Engagement and Education:

The Education and Diversion Team has engaged with over 43,000 children and young people, delivering educational inputs and supporting partner events.

Innovative projects like the use of Virtual Reality Headsets for knife crime education and the development of a bespoke Bedfordshire Knife crime package are underway.

Integrated Offender Management and Innovation:

Integrated Offender Management team is working with Youth Offending Services, Probation, and other partners to manage offenders and address the causes of offending.

Bedfordshire Police is pioneering the use of Artificial Intelligence to assist with problem-solving approaches, aiming to save officer time and reduce harm.

Performance Management:

There is a need for more robust oversight and performance management of problem-solving plans at all supervisory levels to promote consistency and effectively measure performance.

Sustainability and Long-Term Approaches:

Ensuring sustained approaches to long-term persistent problems is crucial. Taking learning from other areas.

Cultural and Structural Barriers:

There is some resistance to engaging in problem-solving and prevention work, with a tendency to favour response-focused approaches.

This indicates a need for cultural change to support innovative problem-solving.

Partnership Engagement:

While there are strong partnerships and collaboration, some silo working persists, requiring better mapping and coordination to ensure joined up working and efficiencies.

The PCC thanked JM for the report and asked questions about prevention and problem solving.

PCC – What would ‘good’ look like in prevention?

CC – Have been working with HMICFRS and the College of Policing for guidance on this and know that having a dedicated Superintendent to lead on the area is a big step forward. A whole system approach is vital to success, with dedication from several agencies in order to address the causes of crime sustainably.

PCC responded by agreeing that a whole system approach is vital, however he is keen to understand what it is aimed to have achieved within 12-36 months.

PCC – More investment is needed, how would the police measure return on investment and expect to see results?

CC – Police are seeking to address the causes of crime which takes time and many repeat offenders have some complex needs which need to be addressed including housing, addition etc.

PCC - How can partners be persuaded to join PCC and police on this journey? It is important that they also see benefits from investment.

CC – A lot of work is going on in respect of safeguarding, and multi-agency working is getting better all the time. Improved data sharing is an important way to be able to show the impact of effective collaboration, and a single Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub would be helpful.

PCC said that the new Strategic Direction is committed to greater data sharing with the ambition of creating a single MASH.

PCC – expect prevention and problem solving to be core to the forthcoming local policing strategy – is this the case?

CC - Community policing is the number one factor in improving public trust and confidence. Prevention and problem solving must be a shared responsibility of all policing teams. This is the shift the police service are looking to make in response to a comprehensive approach to prevention.

PCC - Is the Education and Diversion team making efforts to engage with young people not in education?

CC – The team have been tasked to improve work in this area. Focusing diversionary efforts where it will make the most difference will be our approach.

Action: PCC said he would expect a further report. 

 PCC – How can successful programmes be replicated in other areas of the county? For example, the joint project with Luton Borough Council, Luton BID and the police to reduce crime and improve safety in Luton town centre? 

CC – It would be possible to replicate, but this would require partners to commit in the same as Luton Borough Council have done. LBC have a highly effective disruption team that work very closely with community teams. 

PCC agreed and said that he was having conversations with the other two local authorities on this basis 

PCC said that prevention is a core mission in the Police and Crime Plan: Strategic Direction 2025 – 2028 and underpins other missions such as Protecting Women and Children, Tackling Serious Crime and Reinvigorating Local Policing. He would expect the local policing strategy which is currently under development to address the enhancement of prevention and problem solving. 

PCC said that given that many interventions, particularly early intervention, will not show benefits to policing for many years, it is important to identify shorter term benefits across the system – for example, better school attendance and reduced exclusions. 

3.1 Tackling serious crime 

JM presented the report highlighting Bedfordshire Police's efforts and progress in addressing serious crime, areas needing further development, and potential risks. 

Proactive Engagement and Enforcement:  

Bedfordshire Police have dedicated teams using proactive tactics to manage serious crime threats through engagement, intervention, and enforcement. Notable successes include seizing firearms, knives, and other weapons, safeguarding children, and disrupting serious offenders. The BOSON unit, established in 2019, has been effective in protecting life and preventing serious injury, with a high solved crime rate of 55% for all recorded crimes. 

Addressing Organised Crime Groups (OCGs):  

Bedfordshire faces unique challenges due to its transport links and the presence of OCGs. The force has mapped 17 OCGs, 14 Urban Street Gangs, and over 60 County Lines, making it the 6th highest nationally.  

Tackling Drug-Related Crime:  

Bedfordshire Police has identified significant issues with drug supply, including the use of synthetic opioids. Efforts to disrupt the drug market include the discovery and dismantling of cannabis factories and targeting enablers of drug supply. 

Firearms and Related Weapons:  

There has been an increase in firearms discharges, with half linked to gang or county lines issues. The BOSON unit has seized multiple firearms, indicating the prevalent threat faced by the community. 

Preventative Orders:  

Preventative orders are not commonly used for drug, serious youth violence (SYV), and knife crime matters due to reactive demand. There is a need for a more proactive approach in using these orders to prevent crime. 

Safeguarding Vulnerable Associates:  

Young and vulnerable individuals are being used to hold weapons and drugs for elders. More focus is needed on safeguarding these associates and exploring their links to serious crime. 

County Lines Demand:  

The demand around County Lines is vast, with over 60 lines currently operating in Bedfordshire. Further analysis and resources are required to address this issue effectively. 

Complex Gang Violence:  

Gang violence is becoming more complex, and there is a need for enhanced strategies to address this evolving threat. 

Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs):  

The capacity to monitor and proactively flag opportunities for SCPOs is limited. Increasing resources and training for the Offender Management Unit to manage SCPOs effectively is essential. 

Funding and Resource Constraints:  

The reliance on special grant income and the need to absorb inflationary pressures pose significant risks to long-term planning and resource allocation. Ensuring sustainable funding is crucial for continued success. 

Service Provision:  

The number of teams dedicated to dealing with drug and Serious Youth Violence threats is small compared to the demand.  

Partnership Engagement:  

While there are strengths in multi-agency referrals and interventions, there are gaps in engaging older victims and addressing complex gang violence. Strengthening partnerships and ensuring comprehensive engagement is vital. 

Public Confidence:  

Maintaining public confidence in the police's ability to tackle serious crime is essential. Any perceived failures or gaps in service provision could undermine trust and cooperation from the community. 

PCC thanked JM for the report and asked questions about tackling serious crime.  

PCC - recognised that Bedfordshire experiences a disproportionate level of serious crime and asked that statistical evidence is available to demonstrate this 

CC – Compared to similar sized counties, Bedfordshire has a particularly high number of mapped organised crime groups, a high number of

nominals in serious organised crime related activities and are the sixth highest exporter of county lines.  

Action – PCC asked for detailed comparative data with explanatory commentary which can be used both to explain the position to the public and to inform representations to government for funding. 

PCC – How would you describe the distribution of crime geographically in the county? 
CC – The divide of serious organised crime between the north and the south of the county is not all concentrated in Luton as is sometimes suggested. As you would expect Luton followed by Bedford is where the highest concentration of threat exists but there is a spread across all three areas. 

PCC – How can partnership working in this area be improved? 
CC – There are a lot of examples, particularly in town centres and hotspots of partnership working being effective as a matter of routine. Interventions for diversionary provision in relation to drug addiction could be improved, and drug-related intelligence needs to be mapped out geographically. 

PCC – What are the advantages and disadvantages of the ‘clear, hold, build’ approach? How can partners be persuaded to invest in ‘clear, hold, build’? 

CC – The approach has been proven to be highly effective if it has the correct investment from all agencies. Improved data from across the system would help to show the demand and potential impact of ‘clear, hold, build’. The ‘clear, hold, build’ approach reduces demand and all agencies in the medium to long term and certainly improves the lives of residents within the area. 

PCC - agreed to work with the police to persuade partners, particularly local authorities, to commit to supporting ‘clear, hold, build’, with specific focus on the ‘hold’ and ‘build’ phases. 

PCC – Aware that a lot of serious crime is underpinned by or related to drug crime. Therefore, tackling both the supply and demand is essential. He asked whether the police have sufficient resources for this? 

CC – There is a commitment both from Bedfordshire Police and ERSOU to tackle drug-related crime, especially that which leads to serious violence and the establishment of the Drugs Focus Desk is important to this approach.  
 
PCC – What does the drug market profile in Bedfordshire currently look like? 

CC – The last drug profile conducted for the county suggested that up to 9% of Bedfordshire's population will have some use of illicit drugs. There is

no drug use that cannot be linked back to serious criminality or exploitation. 

Action - PCC asked for a breakdown of this statistic by age, gender, ethnicity and location. 

PCC – What diversion and intervention in schools is ongoing? 

CC – Police have a good relationship with schools but need more data and shared demand partners including 3rd sector have considerable efforts ongoing with schools particularly in relation to the risks of county/drug lines including the methods that are used to pressurise and coerce young people into offending. More data sharing across the system could help really focus this effort to specific years in specific education settings. CC pointed out the efforts commissioned by the VERU as contributing to this. 
 
PCC – For many years, hotspot locations for gang activity have been consistently the same. How can Bedfordshire Police get on top of it? 

CC – The nature of serious violence has changed and is not as related to specific postcodes as it used to be. There is some direct correlation with social deprivation, and the data reflects that acting upon intelligence along with targeted hotspot policing is successful at disrupting activity. 
 
PCC – Are the police exploring ways to increase the use of Serious Crime Prevention Orders? 

CC – police service has begun to use these but need more legal resourcing and police resources to deal with any breaches that may occur. The effectiveness also needs to be better understood. Prevention orders are likely to be integral to community policing in the future. 
 
PCC – How well are the teams resourced considering reliance on special grants? Is there any risk around capability and skill sets? 

CC – the force has invested considerably in its capability and capacity to tackle serious and organised crime, and this is recognised by its ‘Good’ grading by HMICFRS for this area. However, this is very reliant on both the special grants it receives, the key area of effort to reduce demand on the service in this area is highly effective prevention. This is where the police want to see a real shift through place-based activity like ‘clear, hold, build’ and target interventions. 

Item 4 - 4.1 Risk (Change in risk OPCC and Force) 

No risks to report. 

Item 5 - AOB

No AOB

---

Executive Summary: Bedfordshire Police's Delivery Against the PCC's Mission on Serious Violence

Overview

The Police and Crime Plan 2024. outlines the PCC's mission on tackling serious violence, emphasizing a zero-tolerance approach to serious crime, including drug, gun, and gang crime. The plan calls for a focused effort on disrupting the supply of drugs, arresting those responsible, and providing appropriate sentencing and treatment for users. It also highlights the importance of community involvement and collaboration with other agencies to effectively tackle serious crime[1].

The Serious Crime, P&G Spotlight report provides a detailed account of Bedfordshire Police's efforts and progress in addressing serious crime, aligning with the PCC's mission. This summary reviews Bedfordshire Police's delivery against the mission, identifies areas needing further development, and highlights potential risks.

Delivery Against the Mission

1. Proactive Engagement and Enforcement: Bedfordshire Police have dedicated teams using proactive tactics to manage serious crime threats through engagement, intervention, and enforcement. Notable successes include seizing firearms, knives, and other weapons, safeguarding children, and disrupting serious offenders. The BOSON unit, established in 2019, has been effective in protecting life and preventing serious injury, with a high solved crime rate of 55% for all recorded crimes.
2. Addressing Organised Crime Groups (OCGs): Bedfordshire faces unique challenges due to its transport links and the presence of OCGs. The force has mapped 17 OCGs, 14 Urban Street Gangs, and 68 County Lines, making it the 6th highest nationally. The COSTELLO unit, formed in response to the NCA operation VENETIC, focuses on disrupting high-harm serious and organised crime, particularly drug and firearm supply.
3. Tackling Drug-Related Crime: The force has identified significant issues with drug supply, including the use of synthetic opioids and the involvement of taxi drivers in transporting drugs. Efforts to disrupt the drug market include the discovery and dismantling of cannabis factories and targeting enablers of drug supply.
4. Youth Violence and Gang Activity: Bedfordshire Police have observed complex gang violence, with gangs forming alliances and using social media to advertise drugs and taunt rivals. The force has made strides in addressing serious youth violence through multi-agency referrals and interventions.
5. Firearms and Related Weapons: There has been an increase in firearms discharges, with half linked to gang or county lines issues. The BOSON unit has seized multiple firearms, indicating the prevalent threat faced by the community.

Areas Needing More Development

1. Preventative Orders: Preventative orders are not commonly used for drug, serious youth violence (SYV), and knife crime matters due to reactive demand. There is a need for a more proactive approach in using these orders to prevent crime.
2. Safeguarding Vulnerable Associates: Young and vulnerable individuals are being used to hold weapons and drugs for elders. More focus is needed on safeguarding these associates and exploring their links to serious crime.
3. County Lines Demand: The demand around County Lines is vast, with 82 lines currently operating in Bedfordshire. Further analysis and resources are required to address this issue effectively.
4. Complex Gang Violence: Gang violence is becoming more complex, with gangs forming alliances and using social media for criminal activities. There is a need for enhanced strategies to address this evolving threat.
5. Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs): The capacity to monitor and proactively flag opportunities for SCPOs is limited. Increasing resources and training for the Offender Management Unit to manage SCPOs effectively is essential.

Risks

1. Funding and Resource Constraints: The reliance on special grant income and the need to absorb inflationary pressures pose significant risks to long-term planning and resource allocation. Ensuring sustainable funding is crucial for continued success.
2. Service Provision: The number of teams dedicated to dealing with drug and Serious Youth Violence threats is small compared to the demand. This imbalance could hinder the force's ability to address serious crime effectively.
3. Partnership Engagement: While there are strengths in multi-agency referrals and interventions, there are gaps in engaging older victims and addressing complex gang violence. Strengthening partnerships and ensuring comprehensive engagement is vital.
4. Public Confidence: Maintaining public confidence in the police's ability to tackle serious crime is essential. Any perceived failures or gaps in service provision could undermine trust and cooperation from the community.

Conclusion

Bedfordshire Police have made significant strides in delivering against the PCC's mission on serious violence through proactive engagement, enforcement, and multi-agency collaboration. However, there are areas needing further development, particularly in preventative measures, safeguarding vulnerable associates, and addressing complex gang violence. Ensuring sustainable funding and strengthening partnerships are critical to mitigating risks and achieving long-term success in tackling serious crime.

[1]: Police and Crime Plan 2024

References

[1] Police and Crime Plan 2024

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Executive Summary: Bedfordshire Police's Delivery Against the PCC's Mission on Prevention

Overview

The Police and Crime Plan 2024 outlines the PCC's mission on Prevention, emphasizing the importance of societal benefits, collaboration, and data sharing to address long-term causes of criminality. The plan highlights the need for joint efforts from public sector partners to reduce crime through effective prevention strategies. The Prevention P&G Spotlight document provides a detailed account of Bedfordshire Police's current initiatives, achievements, and areas requiring further development in alignment with the PCC's mission.

Key Deliverables Against the PCC's Mission

1. Training and Development:
• Bedfordshire Police has implemented comprehensive training programs at all levels, including Senior Management, Problem Oriented Policing (POP) training for analysts and managers, and NVQ 3 qualification training for all PCSOs.
• The rollout of THRIVE+ (Threat Harm and Risk, Investigation, Vulnerability and Engagement) is ongoing, embedding prevention and intervention prompts across various departments.
2. Problem-Solving and Prevention Initiatives:
• The Force has developed and launched an online toolkit for staff in Prevention & Problem-Solving, with ongoing maintenance and upgrades.
• POP Operations such as Salus, Octans, Highgate 2, Metal, Mercury Blade, and collaboration with the Home Office's Accelerated Capability Environment are in progress.
• The Force is aligning its efforts with national best practices, engaging partners in key forums, and developing initiatives like the Philomena Protocol and Herbert Protocol for vulnerable individuals.
3. Community Engagement and Education:
• The Education and Diversion Team has engaged with over 43,000 children and young people, delivering educational inputs and supporting partner events.
• Innovative projects like the use of Virtual Reality Headsets for knife crime education and the development of a bespoke Bedfordshire Knife crime package are underway.
4. Integrated Offender Management and Innovation:
• Integrated Offender Management (IOM) is working with Youth Services, Probation, and other partners to manage offenders and address the causes of offending.
• The Force is pioneering the use of Artificial Intelligence to assist with problem-solving approaches, aiming to save officer time and reduce harm.

Areas Needing More Development

1. Performance Management:
• There is a need for more robust oversight and performance management of problem-solving plans at all levels to promote consistency and effectively measure performance.
• The lack of scrutiny and peer reviews of Problem-Solving plans is a gap that needs addressing to ensure effective evaluation and sharing of learning across the Force.
2. Sustainability and Long-Term Approaches:
• Ensuring sustained approaches to long-term persistent problems is crucial. The Force needs to seek improvements in maintaining consistent efforts over time.
• Establishing an operational POP Team similar to other forces could help accelerate progress and improve performance in problem-solving and prevention work.
3. Cultural and Structural Barriers:
• There is some resistance to engaging in problem-solving and prevention work, with a tendency to favour response-focused approaches[1].
• Analyst's recommendations often get ignored in favour of traditional responses, indicating a need for cultural change to support innovative problem-solving.

Risks and Barriers

1. Partnership Engagement:
• While there are strong partnerships and collaboration, some silo working persists, requiring better mapping and coordination to ensure joined-up working and efficiencies.
• Partnership austerity may lead to the withdrawal of supportive functions, potentially putting additional burdens on policing resources.
2. Resource Allocation and Funding:
• The Force faces challenges in ensuring equitable allocation of resources across the county, especially in areas with high demand[1].
• The PCC's plan highlights the need for additional funding and resources to support prevention initiatives, which may be impacted by budget constraints and funding shortfalls[1].
3. Operational Challenges:
• The Force needs to improve the way it supports and uses problem-solving plans, addressing resistance to change and ensuring prioritisation of prevention efforts.
• Ensuring consistent approaches and alignment with national best practices is essential to maintain the effectiveness of prevention strategies.

Conclusion

Bedfordshire Police has made significant progress in delivering against the PCC's mission on Prevention, with notable achievements in training, problem-solving initiatives, community engagement, and innovation. However, there are areas requiring further development, particularly in performance management, sustainability, and overcoming cultural and structural barriers. Addressing these gaps and mitigating risks will be crucial to achieving the long-term goals of the PCC's mission and ensuring a safer and fairer Bedfordshire.

[1]: Police and Crime Plan 2024

References

[1] Police and Crime Plan

Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office Performance and Governance Board

Monday 26^th February 2025

Welcome

Present:   

John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)    

Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable – Police Service (CC)        

In Attendance:

Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service/OPCC (PW)

Zara Brown, Detective Chief Superintendent - Police Service (ZB)        

Umme Ali, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (UA)          

Sharn Basra, Chief Executive – OPCC (SB)        

Lara Lewis, Staff Officer – PCC (LL)       

Fiona Dawson, Staff Officer – CC (FD) 

Katie Beaumont, Head of Governance and Transparency (KB)

Agenda Item     

Item 1:

Minutes of meeting held and for agreement and matters arising PCC welcomed everyone to meeting and welcomed both Detective Chief Superintendent Zara Brown and Deputy PCC Umme Ali to their first meeting of the Performance and Government Board.

Apologies from Deputy Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable. Minutes from previous meeting were agreed.

Item 2

Actions from previous meeting were agreed as completed or will be brought forward to April meeting.

CC noted that Respect Orders, as highlighted in the recent Crime and Policing Bill, are being further discussed with local authorities.

Action:

Review of pan-Bedfordshire governance to be coordinated by OPCC, rationalising arrangements in line with best practice.

Item 3 Performance          

3.1   Protecting women and children

ZB presented report on Bedfordshire Police performance in the areas of tackling violence against women and girls, highlighting areas of strength as well as where improvements need to be made. Notably, a focus on the specialist units working more proactively around intelligence has helped the police service to perform better in the area.

• Bedfordshire Police are leading on training for tackling violence against women and girls (VAWC).
• frontline staff are being trained on initial response to rape and serious sexual offences – 568 so far.
• Investigation staff are completing rape investigator’s specialist development programme training.
• Increasingly VAWC crimes are being reported which reflects a boost in public confidence. Bedfordshire Police have now had over 1000 disclosures around Clare’s Law which has helped to reduce repeat victimisation to 28.6%.
• all rape offences are subject to a review by a dedicated inspector.
• the police are looking to improve referrals to out of court disposal services, such as in domestic abuse.
• the police are looking to invest in a street-working liaison officer for on-street sexual exploitation.
• ZB has seen improvements in data sharing through the Pathfinder process, but a single MASH would be better.

Challenges:

• the data shows that domestic abuse victims are less likely to withdraw if offender is arrested within 7 days. This needs to be improved, seeking to commission bespoke research on investigation standards.
• Data sharing in child protection area, this is a national issue. There is a need for a single MASH and at minimum full data sharing between Bedfordshire agencies
• RASSO has a low number of outstanding suspects.
• Other teams need to make improvements on speed at which outstanding suspects are identified.

PCC thanked ZB for the report and asked if the government proposed national centre for VAWG would leave less room for local responsiveness? ZB – Bedfordshire Police has already tailored approach to VAWG including children, with a unique approach highlighting the prevalence of male offenders. Now looking to align data across Bedfordshire and across three local authorities.

CC – concurred

PCC asked if victim attrition could be reduced using out of court disposals? ZB – survey results show that victims are satisfied upon first contact but then are being during investigation stage. This is being prioritised.

PCC asked if the service explores the use of Outcome 22.

ZB – This needs to be looked at further to understand what it is showing.

PCC asked how meetings and partnership arrangements can be streamlined?

 CC – An agreement from main partners is needed to streamline pan- Bedfordshire arrangements. All agencies conscious of the time spent in meetings. PCC said that this was a key objective for him in 2025

PCC asked if the CC is satisfied with balance of internal governance structures?

CC – they all feed into the executive board, but these are constantly reviewed

PCC asked at what stage victim attrition occurs, and what is the attrition rate pre- and post-charging?

ZB - This can be due to court delays, but they are prioritising VAWG offences through CPS. Police have a very good working relationship with CPS. There is keen engagement across the partnership to understand the delays in the process, this is being reviewed in the next 6 months. Police must be upfront and honest with our victims and witnesses. PCC said that was a key objective for him through his CJS mission and through the CJB.

CC – Any delay in the system will lead to attrition. There needs to be regular updates from people with the right expertise. Major cause of delays is a system wide failure, with all agencies contributing to them.

PCC asked about the solve rate standing at 9.9% for VAWG offences and asked what a realistic target would be? He said that the public understandably might consider this low. He asked how Bedfordshire’s solve rate compared with the national position

ZB –. ACC is looking to set realistic KPIs around crime types including VAWs. It requires more qualified officers but there is now an increasing number of qualified people and there is a very stable team. There are VAWG crimes being dealt with by many different teams in the organisation and all teams need to have appropriate training – this is happening but will take some time to be fully rolled out. She highlighted a recent example where 3 stranger rape offenders have been identified within days of the crime being reported

PCC asked about progress relating to domestic abuse training for Patrol and control room staff.

CC – this is being rolled out across the teams. There are now Raneem’s law DA advisors in the control room. The PCC expressed his pleasure that this had happened, and that Bedfordshire is one of the five police services piloting this approach. He looked forward to evidence of the impact.

ZB – Police now deploy rape investigators out to respond to incidents to make initial contact with victim.

PCC asked if ZB is satisfied about the quality of data from across the criminal justice system under Op Soteria and is it consistent?

ZB – Police need to look at the use of different systems. Now have data coming into the force but some agencies are reluctant to share data.

PCC asked if victim contact compliance is better in RASSO because of the role of victim engagement officers?

ZB – victim contact is better in RASSO and domestic abuse team, but police are looking at improving this for CID. Also improved by IDVA and ISVA. Victims need a single point of contact.

CC – VEOs are a very valuable asset. PCC and DPCC concurred with this

PCC asked how effective communications initiatives are at increasing reporting?

ZB – measuring this can be challenging but work is underway.

PCC asked about the impact of increase in Clare’s Law disclosures Is Emerald is resourced well enough to be able to deal with this. When he and the DPCC met the Emerald team it was clear that they are doing some excellent work in both promoting and applying Clare’s law.

CC – In the recent past overtime was used to process ‘the right to ask’ and ‘right to know’ notifications due to the level of research required. However there has been a step change with the force now using its Nectar AI tool to do the research in a fraction of the time, hence the rapid improvement in productivity and performance in this area.

PCC asked what the reduction in domestic abuse reoffending is due to? ZB – More information on the impact of the Chrysalis centre is needed. However, the reduction could be likely in part to be due to the proactive work done by the domestic abuse team in prioritising repeat offenders and the significant increase in Clare’s Law referrals.

PCC asked about inexperience at PC and DS level – how many PIP2 investigators would CC like to have?

CC – Number of investigators always improving. By December 2025 police will have 213 detectives PIP2 qualified, out of an in force (excluding collaborative units) establishment of 233 which is great progress compared to where the force was a couple of years ago.

PCC asked about file quality, understanding that this is an issue across the organisation, not just in VAWG specialist teams.

CC – file quality has and continues to improve however we need to be more efficient to reduce delays to submission. There is a lot of checking that occurs at various stages which has improved quality but not necessarily speed and we need to ensure we are efficient at all stages of the process.

DPCC asked if there is sufficient resource to tackle online abuse and exploitation?

CC – ICAIT have high workloads, but Bedfordshire Police are more invested than some other forces of similar sizes and team’s output is strong. The online threat is significant nationally (and internationally) and more should be done at a national level to ensure that we prevent perpetrators using the internet and online platforms as a method to identify and potentially gain access to potential victims.

3.2 Putting victims at the centre of the criminal justice system

PCC thanked ZB for report on Victim Support, recognising that the police service has made a lot of progress in this area but has a long way to go. He said that treating every victim from the point of reporting the crime to sentencing was core to his Police and Crime Plan, and should be a police service key objective too

ZB presented the report, highlighting:

• there is currently no metric framework agreed to measure compliance against VCOP but there is a dashboard that is helping to monitor it. Now looking at the quality of initial victims needs assessments, victim statements and understanding attrition.
• Looking to launch further surveys to measure victim satisfaction in areas of domestic abuse and rape and serious sexual offences.
• have introduced victim champions across the organisation – aware that initial victims needs assessments are poor quality.
• The survey shows that there is initial victim satisfaction, but this then decreases once the case is passed onto investigation teams. This is due to staff not updating victims and a lack of clear strategy and guidance on how often to update victims.
• Police service is now setting standards for continuous improvements.
• Looking into investing in developing a victim’s portal so a victim can see the progress of their investigation and leave messages for the officer in the case.

PCC asked what the targets and milestones are being set to improve victim support?

ZB - More evidence needed which police hope to have by the summer. PCC said he would expect a positive report at the Victims spotlight meeting

PCC asked what good look would like in terms of satisfaction?

CC – every victim being satisfied is clearly what we should aim for however where cases have not progressed due to insufficient evidence or being unable to identify a suspect a victim is likely to be unsatisfied. PCC said he would expect to see targets and milestones at the next Victims Spotlight meeting

PCC asked what had been done to compare Bedfordshire performance against national statistics

 ZB - Victim commissioners survey shows that 40% were dissatisfied due to lack of investigation/attendance and communication. PCC asked for more comparative data together with details of what is planned to close any gaps

PCC asked how police are improving victim support awareness and practice through training?

CC – Bedfordshire Police are taking it back to basics in terms of training victim contact and looking at other forces for research. Bedfordshire Police have a young workforce with lots of new people and need to keep retraining to set a culture of excellent victim service. The use of technology has helped to make improvements.

PCC asked how police are improving referrals to Bedfordshire Victim Care Services?

ZB – pushing out communications on the BVCS offer will help. Staff need a better understanding of what they do, and BVCS need a closer working relationship with the police service.

PCC asked how police are looking to improve Language Line and explore other options for this service?

CC – the force is currently looking at technological solutions.

Item 4 Risk (Change in risk OPCC and Force)     

CEO reported: Firearms licencing – BCH has an improvement plan in place to eliminate the backlog within 6 months with 11 additional staff and the deployment of the Bedfordshire AI Nectar system

PW reported on Finance – budget position is healthier than reported at the last Performance and Governance Board - £1.4m has now been allocated by the government for Hotpot policing. An announcement on special grants is still awaited but there is cause to be optimistic of a rollover figure

OPCC restructure to be complete in next couple of months. Currently recruiting for vacancies and redundancies being managed.

Otherwise, the risk position is as reported to Joint Audit Committee.

Item 8 AOB   

Action:

PCC said that he and the CC are agreeing how the HMICFRS PEEL Inspection improvement plan and progress against it will be reported to and scrutinised by the PCC at future Performance and Governance Board from April 2025. He would expect robust scrutiny to hold the CC to account

Action:

Future spotlight reports and meetings to be better aligned with police and crime plan.

PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNANCE BOARD

Monday 27 January 2025

Agenda

Present:
John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)
Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable – Police Service (CC)
In Attendance:
Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service/OPCC (PW)
Dan Vajzovic, Deputy Chief Constable – Police Service (DV)
John Murphy, Assistant Chief Constable – Police Service (JM)
Adam Ball, Assistant Chief Constable – Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit (AB)
Ian Simmons, Detective Chief Superintendent – Joint Protective Services (IS)
Sharn Basra, Chief Executive – OPCC (SB)
Lara Lewis, Staff Officer – PCC (LL)
Emma Punter, Staff Officer (EP)
Katie Beaumont, Head of Governance and Transparency (KB)

Item 1: Welcome, Minutes of meeting held and for agreement and matters arising

PCC welcomed everyone to meeting.
Apologies from ACC Karena Thomas.
Minutes from previous meeting were agreed.

Item 2: Action Log

Outstanding actions from previous meeting were agreed as completed.

Information document

Information document agreed as ready for publication. PCC noted that future documents will be more aligned to the police and crime plan missions, keeping those that are a statutory requirement.

Victim satisfaction survey

PCC noted the new victim satisfaction survey is now live.

PCC raised questions regarding victim satisfaction and asked about progress in understanding victim dissatisfaction.

JM - The service has introduced a new victim satisfaction survey and has a dedicated Inspector leading the area of work.

PCC asks what feedback is being received about the service victims receive, and what the data is being used for?

JM – Dedicated teams are pushing the use of the feedback survey. There will be a report presented on this next month. There is some dissatisfaction with the Patrol function, where there is a focus on upskilling officers and training first line leaders, recognising that there is a lot of demand carried by this function.

It was agreed progress will be subject to a spotlight feature in February under the Victims Mission.

Item 4: Scheme of Governance

Revised scheme of governance was presented. The only significant change being that the PCC can delegate responsibility for dealing with Pension Forfeiture cases (stage 1) to OPCC CEO. CEO will declare any conflicts of interest.

The scheme was agreed, and an action was taken for the Scheme of Governance to be published on OPCC Website.

Item 5: 3.1 Bedfordshire Police crime performance

JM presented report on Bedfordshire Police performance, covering highlights from Patrol and responding to the public, robbery and burglary, serious violence and homicide, and intelligence.

He highlighted:

• Over 90% of 999 calls are answered in the Force Control Room within 10 seconds.
• The average wait time for a response to 101 calls is under 4 minutes, with priority 101 calls being answered within 1 minute 45 seconds.
• Recorded crime for shoplifting, rape and serious sexual offences has increased. These are all crimes that the police have actively been encouraging the public to report on so this is a positive.
• The long-term trend for overall solved crime rate is showing a slow upwards trajectory which is better than short sharp spikes that are not sustainable.
• Outstanding suspects - decrease of 105 in December and have introduced a new which has gone live this week with expected good results. Have now got past big spike seen in the summer months.
• Bedfordshire Police is driving down response times to attend robberies, and a Detective Sargent now reviews all files to ensure no opportunities are being missed.
• There was a 20% reduction in recorded residential burglaries this quarter compared to the previous year. This year there was no seasonal spike due to a combination of factors, including prevention work and work on prolific offenders.
• In 2024 Bedfordshire Police recorded 2 more homicides than in 2023, but equal to number in 2022. Would not currently be considered an outlier nationally. There were reductions in both the severity and volume of knife crime incidents towards the end of last year.
• Bedfordshire Police is one of the leading forces for disruptions, seizing drugs and safeguarding children and adults.

PCC thanked JM for the report and asked how Bedfordshire Police are seeking to improve public understanding of the improvements in response times to 101 calls, to encourage the public to utilise this service further.

The PCC commented that he is still told about long waiting times in answering 101, which dissuades the public from using this facility and that this should be communicated better with the public.

The CC understands the need to tackle this as 101 is now much more effective. The average time to arrive at immediate graded incidents remains at around 12 minutes. However efforts to drive up consistency of response times will take time due to the number of drivers in the workforce, amongst other factors.

The PCC reported his concerns regarding the caseload of the RASSO Team following a meeting with them.
JM confirmed there has been an increase in victims reporting multiple offences.
PCC asked if the Patrol function is experiencing an effective rotation of training and turnover?

CC – Trend shows there will be increased driver numbers with a forecast for a steady growth in capacity overtime. Slow progress but moving in right direction.

PCC asked if the Chief Constable is confident that the trajectory for solved crime rate is likely to continue upwards.

CC – There is still improvement to be made in some areas, so it is difficult to say. Benchmarking data recording against other forces to ensure it is being calculated consistently. Resources are stretched but making investments in innovation to increase productivity.

PCC asked if there are plans to extend the remit of the dedicated burglary unit – Operation Maze - to include robberies?

CC - this is something that has been looked at however robbery is core business for the CID and front line responders. The is considerable scrutiny at the moment on our response to personal robbery.

PCC asked if there is anything OPCC might be able to assist with in terms of prevention of burglaries and robberies?

CC – Bedfordshire Police are currently recording roughly one offence per day, but these differ in location and items stolen. Bedfordshire Police remain completely focussed on driving this down, as one a day is too many. Many offences are related to drugs, and highlighted that he had invested in a drugs focus desk to enhance the response to arrested for drugs trafficking offences.
PCC asked how it is being communicated to the public that Bedfordshire is safe, despite the serious incidents in January.

CC – 2 of the 4 homicides that occurred in January were very sad and rare circumstances that could arguably have occurred in any location. We are looking at how to better monitor signs and patterns. Stakeholders and partners are highly supportive of our work, and this is demonstrated by the PCC’s mission boards. They are aware that police are doubling our efforts in Bedford town centre for example.

PCC noted that Patrol caseloads have decreased, the solved crime rate has also declined but response times have not improved. He asked when CC thinks this will improve.

CC – More work is being done to make improvements and this will be reported at a future meeting of the board. However, this is not an overnight fix as ultimately is about building experience and capacity.

PCC observed the north of the county is more effective in managing caseload.

CC – There is less complex demand so more time to investigate, and some teams are performing better than others with the same resource hence our focus on leadership as this will drive performance and consistency. Now looking at this to get a consistent performance.

PCC asked if the newly available data with regards to disparity is being used effectively.

CC – There is disparity evident in most crime types recorded and work is being undertaken lead by of Director for Legitimacy with other stakeholders, to understand the true picture of disparity in the system. The intention is to eliminate, reduce or explain all areas of disparity.

It was agreed that this would be returned to for further discussion as part of the Spotlight report on Excellence. PCC added that many partners attended the Prevention mission board, and they have collected data around deprivation in Bedfordshire.

PCC noted customer support report.

A further report on the performance of the Patrol team was requested for presentation at the Spotlight Board for local policing.

Item 4: 4.1 Risk (Change in risk OPCC and Force)

The Joint Audit Committee completed a full review of risk registers last month and were satisfied with them.

Item 5: 5.1 Collaboration updates

IS presented report on Joint Protective Services, covering highlights including armed policing, roads policing, dog unit, major crime and others.

He highlighted:
• Bedfordshire has more presence from armed policing unit out of the three policing areas.
• The roads policing unit carried out over 3500 drink-drive stops over Christmas period.
• There are currently 51 police vehicles off the road.
• There is a delay in being able to get fully licensed and accredited dogs into the dog unit, as well as a continued concern around kennelling dangerous dogs and the drain on funding this incurs. This is a national issue, and funding is being made available gradually. So far Bedfordshire Police have spent £73k on kennelling dangerous dogs.
• Major Crime Unit have had positive court results and are exceptionally busy in Bedfordshire in terms of live work and trials. Absolute peak of demand but 95% detection rate in terms of homicide and 87% for all crimes. 92% conviction rate for homicide and 91% for all crime.

PCC thanked IS for the detailed report and asked why there are so many vehicles off the road in the roads policing unit? Is the specification of vehicle required becoming detrimental to the effectiveness of the service?

CC – there needs to be a national conversation on the police requirement on the specification and procurement of vehicles. Police driver behaviour is improving with fewer avoidable collisions. But sometimes they have to use vehicle tactical contact options to protect the public. Vehicles are becoming more advanced with more technology but this means that when they are damaged the repairs take longer and cost more. There is an ongoing review of the BCH fleet requirements.

PCC asked why the attendance by the Dog Unit was low in 2024/25.

CC – This is due to having fewer dogs deployable over the course of the previous year, for the reasons outlined in the report.

PCC asked how close Major Crime Unit’s workload is to reaching capacity? What are the possible implications on Bedfordshire Police?

CC – Bedfordshire is the lead force for MCU and this is monitored very carefully and closely. The MCU are stretched due to recent demand on this capability across the 3 forces and at the moment due to these pressures in the event of new cases in the near future the 3 forces may have to support MCU with local resources. There are regular honest conversations and flexibility across the three forces.

Eastern Region Serious Organised Crime (ERSOU) update

AB presented report on performance in the Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit, following on from the executive update given at the ERSOU board in

December which the PCC attended.
• Great working relationship with Bedfordshire teams continues, working together to tackle serious organised crime and organised crime group networks.
• The volume of disruptions at the end of last year tripled with impressive results. 54 major disruptions in Bedfordshire.
• Lots of prevention work ongoing including in Clear, Hold, Build sites where partnership working is ongoing.
• Currently 26 live operations in the Regional Organised Crime Unit in Bedfordshire.
• Operation Cyclone - Over 100 firearms recovered. Longest ever sentence - 30 years 6 months and entire OCG got over 70 years. National communication piece
• Financial Investigator secured £132k cash forfeiture in one operation.
• Op Topaz - Class A OCG convicted 18 months ago secured cash forfeiture
• Op Recursive - 7 guilty with sentencing in February for supply of Class A drugs
• Op Lioness - 6 years 9 months for supply class A

PCC thanked AB for report. The work done to disrupt is really impressive and the relationship is clearly working well between Bedfordshire Police and ERSOU.

PCC said he would like to have a further discussion at the board about Prevent when the outcome of the government’s review is available.

AB - ERSOU are working both regionally and nationally to share updates and work collectively, and are well positioned to be able to respond at pace to be able to respond to the centre. The DCC will be tasking each police service to review repeat referrals in light of Southport learning.

DCC - Now seeing a number of these cases having an absence of ideology.

Item 6: 6.1 Chief Constable Complaints

No Chief Constable complaints to report.
Nothing to report relating to reviews.

Item 7: Quarterly Reporting Efficiency

The PCC thanked the Chief Finance Officer, the Chief Constable and all staff that had made the work on the budget possible. He further referred to the importance of the Priority Based Budgeting process.

PCC has had opportunities to discuss the budget with both the Chief Constable and Chief Finance Officer at length.

PW presented the proposed revenue budget for 2025/26.

PCC approved the budget and will be recommending a precept increase of £14 for Band D to the Police and Crime Panel on 4 February 2025.

PCC said his expectation would be that the £930k allocated by the Home Office would result in an increase in police officers and PCSOs in the local community policing teams.

CC said he awaits clarification of the terms and conditions associated with this grant to be in a position to determine how to use the grant and allocate resources.

The PCC observed that it was not about police numbers alone and about activity.

PCC asked for formal assurance that a reduction in overall staff establishment numbers through the Priority Based Budgeting process will not diminish the ability to deliver an effective service.

CC – The process ensures that there will be the most minimal impact on service.

PCC is also reassured from other conversations with the Chief.

PCC asked if, in the medium term, the CC and ACO are comfortable that a prudent use of reserves is being taken?

PW- confident in approach for 25/26, but need to cut back some expenditure for this current year to eliminate the need to use further reserves. But confident that further reviews of BCH/ERSOU budgets that are being undertaken over the next few months, will result in a reduced requirement to use reserves for 2026/27.

PCC asked if overtime spend will be reviewed.

CC – There are many reasons to use overtime such as specific operation surges, scene guards, and sometimes the time taken to provide cases to CPS when decisions are needed whilst prisoners are in custody. There will always be a need for some use of overtime, but leadership oversight is key to making the best use of this and this will be a focus for leaders this coming year.

CC - Incredible amount of work gone into PBB to put Bedfordshire Police in a good position considering the difficulties faced by funding.

PCC thanks the CFO and CC for the work carried out on the budgeting process, confirms he approves budget and notes the report on the capital programme.

Item 8: PEEL report by HMICFRS

The PCC requested that the CC bring forward a report on a quarterly basis to the Board on his plans for addressing the findings in the HMICFRS report.

Item 9: Capital programme

PW presented the report which was noted.

Item 10: Treasury management

PW presented the report which was noted.

AOB

None.

PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNANCE BOARD

THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2024

Agenda 

Present:
John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)
Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable – Police Service (CC)

In Attendance:
Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service/OPCC (PW)
Dan Vajzovic, Deputy Chief Constable – Police Service (DV)
Katie Beaumont, Head of Governance and Transparency OPCC (KB)
Sharn Basra, Chief Executive – OPCC (SB)
Lara Lewis, Staff Officer – PCC (LL)
Fiona Dawson, Staff Officer – CC (FD)
Sharn Basra, Chief Executive – OPCC (SB)
Lara Lewis, Staff Officer – PCC (LL)

Item 1: Welcome and Apologies
PCC opened the meeting and welcomed the attendees.

Apologies were received from ACC John Murphy

Item 2: Information report
The report was received and approved for publication. It was resolved that future versions of these reports would be designed to be consistent with the Police and Crime Plan and its missions.

Item 2 Spotlight Report – Excellence Mission
Race Action Plan - PW presented the report and highlighted the importance for building public trust and confidence. He reported that the National Police Race Action Plan Team led by T/DAC Alison Heydari had recently visited Bedfordshire Police and had been complimentary about progress being made PCC asked that his thanks to be passed to the team led by Kimberley Lamb (Legitimacy and Public Service Director).

PCC said that this was good but he wished to understand more about the impact of Plan’s implementation on the public especially the black communities in Bedfordshire. He noted that there were disparities in areas such as stop and search and use of force. He asked for further reports to P&G Board on action being taken to address these disparities.

He also requested more data and an action plan in respect of the impact of crime on black and other communities. He noted that progress is being made in recruiting black officers but asked for further progress reports. CC notes that all communities need to have trust and confidence in their police service. One means of addressing this will be to co-produce a framework in order to drive recruitment and trust and confidence. PW reported on the establishment of a Police Legitimacy Board within the police service. It was planned that this would initially focus on the development and implementation of the Police Race Action Plan.

PCC welcomed this but said he would expect this Board to focus on wider legitimacy and ethical issues for policing. He asked for a further report on this. He stated that enhancing legitimacy is core to the Police and Crime Plan and his approach as PCC. DV presented report on Bedfordshire Police’s performance in terms of Use of Force.

He said that:
• this is now being led by an experienced Superintendent who had previously led significant improvements in the use and practice of stop and search. His mandate was to do the same in respect of the use of force where considerable improvement is required.
• work is being undertaken to improve the collection and management of the data
• the police service is assessing where any disproportionality lies, what the explanations for these are and how to both explain and address this
• further improvements in the governance are needed and he would report to P&G Board on progress on this
• he would not characterise Bedfordshire as a force that is using force unnecessarily, but the control measures and data capture are not where they should be.

• analysis is being done of which officers and teams are using force the most so that action can be taken if necessary – for example training, better supervision, etc. but he stressed that in some areas of policing one would expect a greater need to use force than in others
• regular reviews of videos from born worn cameras are undertaken by senior officers and the community scrutiny panel managed by the OPCC.

PCC thanked DV for report and asked about how well the police service are utilising the independent community governance of Use of Force that is run by the OPCC, observing that the panel will be strengthened and its effectiveness evaluated. PCC noted that the use of force across different communities in the county was not proportionate. There are disparities and these related to the previous discussion on race action. He said that more was required to understand and address these disparities.

PCC asked if line managers (sergeants and inspectors and senior offices receive regular reports on Use of Force for example at the end of each shift CC responded by saying that this did not happen enough and this is one reason why he is investing in middle management training and development. PCC observed that the use of body worn video and sound recordings is important for ensuring effective governance and management of the use of force, and in turn in building public confidence but more was required to scrutinise and ensure the effective and appropriate use of force. He required a further report to the P&G Board in six months’ time.

Item 4 Spotlight Report – Local Policing – Hate Crime

DV presented the spotlight report on local policing, which included Hate Crime. He said that Bedfordshire is a diverse county, and that every community in the county must be safe and feel safe, and not be subject to hate crime. Hate crime is a signal crime and we now have supervision centrally, but all teams are responsible for it. PCC observed improvement in Hate Crime performance, since intervention following an increased level of reporting in August and poor outcomes in September. DV has been monitoring the detection rate, with a slow upward trend and a drop off in the summer which has been dealt with.

PCC observed that the Patrol team have been carrying a large proportion of hate crime cases (153 reports that equates to 67%) and a large number (61) were still not resolved after 100 days. There were also 40 outstanding suspects. The PCC asked if they have the capacity and expertise to deal with this and whether the Community Policing Teams would be better placed.

DV said he was happy they were adopting the right allocation policy, but there is some training going on with supervisors to understand prioritising aggravated offences. They would continue to review the approach to ensure the right teams are investigating the right crime. CC made comment in relation to previous arrangements when a dedicated team was in place, but changes had to be made to support front line policing. This would again be subject to future review.

PCC noted that only 40% of hate crimes where the victim was a Police Officer were solved and had expected this to have been higher. DV stated the Head of Patrol was leading further work on the response to tackling assaults against officers, ensuring we provide quality support. PCC said he was impressed by the recent “No place for hate” campaign PCC asked for reassurance that any linked crimes or those linked to hate are reviewed by supervisors.

Neighbourhood crime

DV presented report on neighbourhood crime. Neighbourhood crime covers a wide range of offences including robbery. He reported that 46 personal robberies were recorded in November. Improvements must be made in this area. He also reported that more training to improve investigation skills is in place.

CC said he is exploring new ways to improve solve rates and target repeat offenders. PCC asked how the volume of neighbourhood crime is split by different areas of Bedfordshire – e.g. urban and rural. CC said that the previous gap between the north and the south of the county is closing.

Patrol

DV presented report on the performance of the Patrol function. He reported that additional resources are needed as there are many competing demands.

He said that
• the new ‘Responding to the Public’ working group is led himself as the DCC
• this group is evaluating how to balance responding to calls with the ability to get to them
• Some redeployment of staff is being modelled for its potential to function well without affecting performance, so we will redeploy 2x officers back into patrol
• The most important target is that of equitable service, so we aim for a target of attending immediate incidents in 15 minutes across the whole county.
• We are making a slight tweak to the shift pattern in terms of the staggered start/ finish times to better align resources to demand and this should improve our attendance times

PCC asked when he will see a tangible improvement in response times. DV said this is hard to answer as not simple and no quick/easy solutions. We have the performance data and are modelling it with various suggestions, but this is mainly about leadership. Many officers are younger and more inexperienced, so they are taking part in front line leadership courses which are part of a wider cultural change programme.

CC has observed that Patrol teams that we well-led are responding most effectively. PCC asked about what impact the Right Care Right Person scheme has had. DV said the actual impact is small as partners need to improve their waiting times. The average waiting time for an ambulance in Bedfordshire is 2 hours and 27 minutes. Police officers are often sat waiting with someone for medical help who is not in need of police support.

CC states whilst great progress has been made on Right Care Right Person in collaboration with partners we still not have been able to agree a maximum handover time at the county’s mental health suite. He is considering giving a deadline as on occasions officers are spending far to long waiting to handover individuals who have been sectioned under sec 136. A 60 minute service level agreement must in the CC’s view be achievable. PCC can assist in this through his convening powers if needed. PCC asked about what improvements are being made to patrol cars in terms of technology used.

CC said that the exec had already agreed that in car innovation to deliver effective information to officers whilst on route to an incident was a priority for this years innovation effort. PCC noted the success of the Patrol Hub in the Force Control Room and recognised the work they are doing. CC noted that their performance is improving each month in terms of solving crimes. An interim report on improvements made in Patrol was agreed to be
presented at Performance and Governance Board in March 2025.

Item 4 - Risks

PW presented the report. He noted that the biggest risk is government funding if the special grants – Boston and Costello – are not continued. It was also noted that other additional risks include a failure to reach agreement on the savings required from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire (BCH) collaboration. CC explained that he was working with the other CCs to resolve this. The PCC said that he would intervene if necessary with this PCC colleagues. PCC noted risk around the reduction of community safety activity in Central Bedfordshire Council and the impact this could have on the police. This, along with new government directions could bring unforeseen pressure onto the police service day-to-day business and prevention activities. This must be a primary focus for PCC and CC who were due to meet the Leader and CEO at CBC on 23 December. PCC identified there are risks associated with funding and performance issues across the public sector partners and especially across the criminal justice system. He was going to use the Criminal Justice Board to raise these challenges and risks and seek system change to address them.

Item 5 - Finance Report – 25/26 Budget

PW presented the report
He said that:
• the government’s provisional financial settlement has resulted in a 6.1% increase in core grant but the special grants which represent 5% of the total budget would not be known until later in January

• the PCC and CC had met the Policing Minister at the Home Office to make the case for these grants and would raise this again when she visits Bedfordshire Police day after this Board meeting

• the PBB process is near completion

• PCC would be increasing the police precept in line with the government cap (the PCC said that this was his plan though he is currently consulting on this)

• the initial projection is that there is a further £2.5-.2.8. gap top close

• the budget assumes a 2.83% pay increase in line with the government’s advice to the pay review body but if there is a higher increase there will need to be budget adjustments in other budget lines

• more information on the Neighbourhood Policing grant is awaited CC and PCC said the need is to focus more on productivity, not efficiency when the capital and revenue budgets are considered. PCC said that he would require a report from the CC in early January on the budget proposals for 2025/26. This report should include

• identification of significant changes
• an impact assessment of the changes and impact on staffing
• risk analysis of these changes and the wider budget provision
• an assessment of how the proposed budget aligns with the Police and Crime Plan

Item 6 - Complaints

No complaints to the Chief Constable were reported.

AOB

DCC provided update on firearms licensing administration by BCH. He reported:
• in February 2025, there will be an inaugural IAG meeting for firearms licensing with representation from stakeholders. They can provide regular feedback directly

• it is planned to introduce a new case management system

• the lead officer in BCH is setting expectations around performance management

PCC said that he and the Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire PCCs has raised this issue at the BCH Strategic Alliance Board last month. He said that the three PCCs had set high expectations for improvements in performance.

PCC welcomed the government’s decision to increase firearms licence applications and renewal charges in line with actual costs. 

PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNANCE BOARD

TUESDAY 29 OCTOBER 2024

Agenda

Present:
John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)
Dan Vajzovic, Temporary Chief Constable – Police Service (CC)

In Attendance:
Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service/OPCC (PW)
John Murphy, Assistant Chief Constable – Police Service (JM)
Adam Ball, Assistant Chief Constable – Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (AB)
Ian Simmons, Detective Ch. Supt. - Joint Protective Services (IS)
Sharn Basra, Chief Executive – OPCC (SB)
Lara Lewis, Staff Officer – PCC (LL)
Emma Punter, Staff Officer – ACC (EP)

Item 1: Welcome & PCC Remarks

PCC welcomes everyone to meeting, in particular Sharn Basra as new CEO
and Dan Vajzovic as Temporary Chief Constable. The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed PCC said he wants to review the reporting on community policing and in
particular officer numbers. This will be discussed at local policing spotlight.

Item 2: Actions

No actions to note.

Item 3.1: Crime performance figures with restricted detail

JM presented a report on Performance across Bedfordshire Police. PCC thanked JM for in depth report on performance. He then asked JM and DV questions based on the report

PCC asked which crime types have significantly increased?

JM – domestic burglary has seen 30% increase in North. Now more than half of the total in the whole county. Could be driven by ways OCGs are operating. Commercial burglary increase due to crackdown on shoplifting.

PCC asked about increase in shoplifting being due to more reporting?

It was agreed that the local policing spotlight report would include analysis of shoplifting statistics.

PCC asked when we will see results from implementation of new drugs focus desk?

JM – 12 months to see impact on other crime types

PCC asked if arrival times as positive as phone answering times?

CC - Response team is not meeting 15 min target for immediate incidents. Their average response time is 21 mins. PCC said that this needed to change but more detail was required on variation across the county and that he would expect more details and plans for improvement. This is to feature as part of the local policing/patrol spotlight at the next meeting.

PCC asked how does response times compare around the county?

This is to feature as part of the local policing/patrol spotlight at the next meeting.

PCC asked what improvements are being made and are we seeing results?

This is to feature as part of the local policing/patrol spotlight at the next meeting.

ACTION: Include Patrol report in local policing spotlight and impact it is having.

PCC noted his observations of performance over the last 6x months including his time in tenure and it suggested the Patrol function were experiencing great demand and struggling with throughput.

ACTION: Additions to be made to shoplifting dashboard ahead of local policing spotlight

ACTION: April interim report on drugs desk progress.

ACTION: Include hate crime report and results on the above in local policing spotlight.

Item 4.1 Collaboration updates – JPS
IS presented report on BCH JPS.
PCC thanked IS for report and noted that firearms licensing is a continual problem.
PCC asked if the Kaba court case has had any impact on morale?

IS – at the time but now resolved.

PCC asked - Are we any closer to resolving firearms licensing issues and speeding up process as well as the customer service?

CC – started after Plymouth incident when process was strengthened. Better now in Beds than in Cambs and Herts. Average 160 day wait for new application. 100 day wait for renewals. Need early applications and manage expectations – 5-6 month delay needs to be communicated. We are not currently covering our own costs so cost of certificates could be
increased. CC has been monitoring customer service and complaints have reduced.

IS - technology is out of date and largely manual. PCC said he expects the service to improve.

ACTION: JM to share briefing paper with PCC on firearms licensing and for service

Item 4.2: Collaboration updates - Eastern Region Special Operations Unit

PCC thanked AB for report.

PCC asked – what are the next stages of the staff survey?

AB – addressing transparency under engagement strategy.

PCC asked – How effective do you think CT Prevent is?

AB - National lead, well engaged SPOCs, strong presence in Beds and Luton. Good referrals from local authorities and from health.

PCC asked – how much threat from right wing are you seeing in Beds?

AB – reviewing training package to help partners identify risks - The national training package is too complex and needs to be refined and delivered to front line teams. Community engagement via local authority.

PCC asked – are there concerns about extremism and SOC in Bedford prison?

AB – working group in place with some good results. Need to do more on both.

JM - Now prisoners going to Peterborough so working out how we can improve information sharing and manage prison security risk.

ACTION: PCC to visit ERSOU and JPS teams again with specific focus for each meeting

Item 4.3: Collaboration updates: BCH functions including HR/ICT
PCC noted report tabled.

PCC asked about recruitment and retention. CC- Not a cause for concern. Attrition lower than previous years and improving against national trend. Implementing better mentorship and training. Taking on feedback from HMIC. Most leavers leaving policing not
transferring to other services.

CC - HMIC point to incomplete use of 1-1 in all teams.

PCC asked about long term sickness.

JM – focussing on supporting officers on restricted duties.

PW- reducing long term absences

ACTION: PCC asked for detailed reports on recruitment, attrition and long term absence at the spotlight P&G meeting on excellent policing

Item 5:Risks

PW - Finances for 2025/26 onwards. Funding was added to the risk register

Item 6: Chief Constable Complaints
No complaints to note. No reviews to note

Item 7: Quarterly Reporting efficiency – Finance, Budget and efficiency.

PW presented report on revenue budget monitoring.
• the Police Service is forecasting £800k overspend and the OPCC is forecast is for a break even outcome
• the police service overspend is primarily due to pay awards nor being fully funded by government
• However there no one off costs in the forecast for OPCC restructuring so this will need to be addressed in next forecast PCC expects these costs to be in this financial year.
• Capital budget is forecast is on target. This budgeted expenditure includes upgrades to LPS custody suite and roof
• The budget is being prepared on the assumption of
• a 2% pay increase in 2025/26
• a £10 precept increase on band D council tax but as yet no detail of the government’s funding announcement nor policy on precept capping
• PBB is underway across the police service; it has been completed for ERSOU with no reductions in budget; and is about to commence at BCH.

PCC asked about drawing on reserves. He is content with some drawing down of reserves in 2024/25 but would expect them to be stabilised in 2025/26. PCC asked if there will be funding for a major operation in Bedford ongoing and for dangerous dog storage. PCC’s requirement for the police service 2025/26 budget submission to him.

He requires a budget proposal based on a Band D £10 council tax increase (this is in line with last year’s precept cap) showing three-year trajectory. He wishes the CC to prepare business cases for incremental increases in expenditure in £500k tranches and to identify opportunities more collaboration with other police services and other local public bodies.

• prepare a budget for 2025/26 following PBB assuming a Band D £10 council tax increase showing a three year trajectory
• accompany this submission with a comprehensive risk analysis highlighting the greatest risks and mitigation

-  explanations for significant reductions or increases to specific departmental budgets and the risks associated with these

-  areas of serious under-resourcing

- proposals for improving productivity further
- benchmarking where possible
- commentary on how the budget and its component elements will contribute to implementation of the Police and Crime Plan, and national government targets

• prepare business cases for incremental increases in expenditure in £500k tranches
• identify opportunities more collaboration with other police services and other local public bodies.

ACTION: 2025/26 budget preparation be based on the above requirement
set by the PCC

AOB

The PCC and CC reported that the HMICFRS hot debrief following the
PEEL inspection closely matched the police service’s self assessment
ACTION: the HMICFRS report will shape future P&G agendas especially
spotlight scrutiny.

PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNANCE BOARD

FRIDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2024

Agenda

Present:
John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (JT)
Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable (TR) – Police Service (TR)

In Attendance:
Dan Vajzovic, Deputy Chief Constable – Police Service (DV)
Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service/PCCO (PW)
Alex House, Temporary Superintendent Local Policing – Police Service (AH)
Lara Lewis, Acting Staff Officer – OPCC (LL)
Katie Beaumont, Head of Governance and Transparency - PCCO (KB)
Samantha Denness, Performance and Accountability Manager – PCCO (SD)
Lara Lewis, Staff Officer – PCC) (LL)

Item 1: Welcome & PCC Remarks
JT noted apologies from Wayne Humberstone (Acting OPCC CEO) and John Murphy (Assistant Chief Constable) and welcomed Alex House to the meeting. The minutes of the previous meeting were discussed and agreed as an accurate record subject to the following amendments.

• Bedfordshire Police have been rated “good” for serious and organised crime (not serious crime as stated in the previous minutes).
• Bedfordshire Police was one a few police services that did not make any arrests for criminal unrest or rioting over the summer.

JT thanked the Police Service for all the work that was done to reassure local communities who were under threat during the period of national civil unrest. The Police and Crime Panel had asked him to convey the Panel’s thanks to the CC. JT also thanked the police officers and staff who were involved in the murder case in Luton the previous week. This has been a traumatic experience for all involved and TR assured the meeting that additional welfare support has been put in place to support those involved.

JT and PW reported that they will be presenting a detailed financial report to the
Police and Crime Plan at the next Panel meeting.

Item 2: Actions
JT advised that the only action from the previous meeting was the Drug Market Report which he has now received. JT asked how often this is updated and TR replied that it is currently being updated but the one the PCC has will not be much different to the revised version.

Item 3: Performance Prevention Spotlight:
TR emphasised that this time last year the role AH occupies did not exist and to have someone of AH’s rank to be dedicated to prevention is a signal that Bedfordshire Police takes prevention very seriously. JT acknowledged this and said that this chimes with the Police and Crime Plan.

AH provided a presentation to the meeting.
JT thanked AH for the comprehensive report and referred to earlier conversations he has had with AH.

JT asked if the strategy is successful what would success look like in 5 years
time?

AH advised this would be to embed problem solving in staff Performance Development Review’s etc but the ultimate test would be that;

• there are reduced levels of reported crimes
• demand for police resources is lower
• specifically violent crime including MVAWG has reduced.

JT agreed that it is important that the right systems and processes are in place to
monitor and measure impact.

JT asked how will residents notice the benefits? AH advised that it would show in
the figures and hopefully a visible sign that where crime was a problem is now
less of a problem. The challenge may be communicating this as people would not
always be able to see the change. JT said that the public must see and experience
the benefit of the programme.

JT advised that any cultural change is difficult and asked AH and TR about this.
He asked if police officers and staff recognise prevention is as important as the
resolution of crime.

JT asked AH how effective the partnership across the public sector including the wider criminal justice system is in respect of this prevention programme. He said that he would wish to see tangible commitment and contributions and not simply strategic “buy in”.

AH advised the cultural shift within the Police Service had to be mirrored by a cultural shift across the system. He emphasised that this is the beginning of a long journey. The key is to prioritise prevention and many system leaders are now starting to see the benefit. JT agreed and he said that prevention is one of the core missions of the Police and Crime Plan and it is vital that the Police Service prevention programme is aligned with the Police and Crime Plan.

AH had contributed to the development of the Plan so this is in train. TR thanked AH on the work that he has done and advised that this is starting to stand Bedfordshire in good stead. Traditionally policing has put prevention as a neighbourhood activity, but it must be and is now a Police Service wide priority and should be embraced by every unit in the service.

JT said that he wishes to see more investment in prevention and that there should be significant rate of return on investment. He wants to build the business case in investment in prevention for the whole public sector. JT thanked AH for all the work that he is doing which is very impressive. TR agreed and explained that this is something we need to continue supporting.

JT asked how we compare with other Forces around this work? TR advised that in Hertfordshire the Police Service strapline is ‘Prevention First’ and there has been much investment, TR also mentioned Merseyside and Derbyshire. AH said that he was in contact with these and other police services In concluding this item JT asked for:

• a business case to be developed and presented to him for potential further investment in prevention both by the police service but also across the wider system
• a report on what the outcomes and impact of the programme will be in 3 and 5 years
• a meeting with AH to ensure that the work AH is leading is aligned with the Police and Crime Plan missions and that it feeds into the mission board
• his involvement in conversations with partners to develop a sustainable whole system approach

Item 4: AOB

The next Performance and Governance Board meeting is on the 29th October
2024.

PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNANCE BOARD

THURSDAY 29 AUGUST 2024

Agenda

Present:
John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (JT) - PCCO
Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable (TR) – Police Service

In Attendance:
John Murphy, Assistant Chief Constable – Police Service (JM)
Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service/OPCC (PW)
Fiona Dawson, Staff Officer – Police Service (FD)
Wayne Humberstone, A/CEO – OPCC (WH)
Lara Lewis, Acting Staff Officer – OPCC (LL)
Katie Beaumont, Head of Governance and Transparency - OPCC (KB)
Gemma Mccormack, Executive Assistant - Minutes
Apologies:
Dan Vajzovic, Deputy Chief Constable – Police Service (DV)

Item 1: Welcome

JT welcomed everyone to the meeting, he reminded the board that we are now
working to the revised format for governance with quarterly in dept performance
scrutiny and a spotlight review of individual police and crime plan missions
monthly. The minutes of the previous meeting which was held on the 23rd July 2024were
agreed to be published.

Item 2:

2.1 TOR amendments (to be agreed):
The revised Terms of Reference that had previously been circulated were agreed.

2.2 Police and Crime Plan Update:
JT informed the board that the Plan is in its final stage of drafting and will be available early the following week in advance of it being submitted to the Police and Crime Panel for its meeting on the 17th September 2024. He thanked TR and his executive team and the PCC’s team for their contributions and development of the Plan.

Over 1,000 responses have been received which support the key missions and 90% plus for all the key objectives.

2.3 Civil Disorder and Riots:
TR briefed the board on the work undertaken by Bedfordshire Police to provide reassurance to local communities, to ensure that adequate resources were available should there be any disorder and to contribute to the National Police capacity.

JT expressed his thanks to TR and the Police Service for the work they had carried out to provide reassurance to communities during the period of unrest. He said the level of trust and recognition of the police role was a testimony to the time investment made by Bedfordshire Police to build good relationships with all communities over the past number of years. It was impressive that Bedfordshire was only 1 in only 5 Forces who did not have to arrest anyone in connection with criminality and disorder during this period of unrest. He asked that TR passed on to the Police his personal thanks and what he believes would be the publics appreciation on the work taken not least a time when some leave and rest days
had to be cancelled.

2.4 Actions from previous meetings:
Actions were reviewed and updates given to JT. Serious Crime prevention orders update to be brought back in the serious crime report in February 2025.

2.5 Information Document:
The Information document was agreed for publication.

Item 3: 3.1 Serious Crime Spotlight:

JM presented the paper which been put together by Detective Superintendent Dani Baily and this had already been considered by Force Executive Board the previous week.

HMICFRS has recently inspected Beds Police in respect of tacking serious crime and has graded the Police Service ‘Good’.

JM highlighted a number of aspects in the report including that Bedfordshire has one of the highest level of disrupting OCG’s and county lines Nationally. He also reminded the board that criminality related to drugs is one of the strongest causes of serious and organised crime as well as having an effect on other crimes such as shoplifting and antisocial behaviour.

JM reported the statistics show that there are 66 mapped county line areas in
the country compared with when BOSON was established. (when was BOSON
established). TR reminded the board that Boson and Costello are funded by a
special grant and this must be retained.

TR also talked about the clear hold and build strategy including the latest operation in Biggleswade. Bedfordshire is fortunate that Mark Lay (National Drugs Co-Ordinator Lead - NPCC) chairs the Bedfordshire Serious Harm Board and helped to develop the 10 year drugs strategy. It is important to understand the nature of the drug market in more detail and JT asked for a copy of the drug market report for the county.

Action: JT to receive a copy of the Drug Market Report.

JT thanked JM and TR for the report and their commentary on it. He asked a number of questions including;

• How we develop and strengthen partnership working not only to tackle
serious crime and its causes?
• How can we be assured that appropriate resources are allocated to
tackle serious crime?
• What further measure can be introduced to tackle serios crime?

JT requested for a further update to be provided at the board meeting in February 2025 asked for this to include a deeper analysis of causes, trajectory and allocation of resources.
JT asked what the further implications for CID would be when the Drugs Focus Desk is in place? JM assured JT that there is an operational challenge and we would need to reallocate resources but the knock of effect for CID would be fairly minimal.

JT stated he will pursue with other partners a process for a better public understanding of serious crime particularly drug related crime and to make the case with partners to commit to invest joint measures to reduce this level of criminality which in turn will reduce the pressure on their future budgets. JT thanked JM for the report and asked JM to pass on his thanks to Dani Bailey.

3.2 Report by Exception:
None.

Item 4: Finance

4.1 Capital & Revenue monitoring (moved from July):

PW presented the report. It was noted that although there are some overspends in both the police service and PCC’s office in the first quarter (due to the police summer pressures and PCC’s office process around the departure of the previous CEO), PW is confident that the year end position will align with the original budget. Following questions JT thanked PW for the update and the report was received.

Item 5:AOB

Custody discussion:
Discussion regarding disproportionality with searches as highlighted by the
Children’s Commissioners recent report.

JT thanked TR for the information and analysis on this and was provided
information that work is being completed in this space and a further report will
be brought to the January 2025 Performance and Governance Board.

Date of Next Meeting: 20th September 2024

PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNANCE BOARD

THURSDAY 23 JULY 2024

Agenda

Present:
John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (JT) - PCCO
Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable (TR) – Police Service

In Attendance:
Dan Vajzovic, Deputy Chief Constable – Police Service (DV)
John Murphy, Assistant Chief Constable – Police Service (JM)
Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service/OPCC (PW)
Wayne Humberstone, A/CEO – OPCC (WH)
Katie Beaumont, Head of Governance and Transparency - OPCC (KB)
Pauline Stewart, Executive Assistant - Minutes

Item 1: Welcome Chairs opening remarks

PCC welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies: none

No matters arising

Item 2: 2.1 Actions from previous meetings

Minutes from the 27 June meeting agreed as accurate, following the correction of one amendment – ACC apologies. JM did attend the meeting. There are no actions from the previous meeting to be considered. It was agreed to publish minutes and papers from the meeting held on the 27th June 2024.

Item 3: 3.1 Crime Performance Figures with Restricted Detail
Performance Focussed Performance and Governance
The ACC provided an overview of the crime levels in the Police Service.
• There has been a significant increase in demand relevant to the summer spike.
• In Q1, there were 1500 more crimes reported than last year, with an increase in demand geographically across all crime functions. The Analysts who looked at the data have stated that it is not mirrored in Cambridgeshire or Hertfordshire, and it is not a national trend. In
comparison to last year when calling 101 there was a high abandonment rate.
• There is a big effort to record crime coming in and it has created a shift in the baseline. The next couple of months will provide the necessary data to measure.
• The solved crime rate for Bedfordshire is good at 11.8% Q1, solved 217 offences, getting more and solving more. The outcome rate and solved rate is proportionate of crimes.

The PCC asked several questions about trends in crime, crime resolution,
staff/officer morale and welfare.
Resolved

That the update by the ACC be noted.

3.2 Spotlight Report – Force National Contributions
The DCC referred to the National Contributions Spotlight Report, he reported and provided a summary of the report. The PCC sought more information regarding appropriately promoting Operation Costello to support retention of Home Office grant funding and requested a further report.

The CC to send the report around Op Costello pre the HMIC assessment to the
PCC. Action CC

Right Care, Right Person (RCRP)
The PCC said that the ICS Chair and CEO had been complementary about the collaborative approach and developing the RCRP when they met recently. The PCC sought assurance that stakeholders are to be involved at the next phase regarding the impact on resources, health service and mental health service. The PCC asked for an evidence based review report.
Action Exec Team

The PCC also said that there should be no gaps or risks for members of the public. Working collaboratively with agencies, RCRP needs to be safe. Resolved subject to the actions set out above.

3.3 MVAWG Paper
The ACC presented the report overview.
There were over 1000 cases in July and there is a steady solved rate. Emerald are dealing with a third of the cases. Six Soteria pillars adopted within the Vulnerability and Exploitation Board. Specific groups formed to deal with op Soteria to deal with rape. Discussions took place and reassurance received.
Resolved.

3.4 HMICFRS Update Paper
The DCC presented a report on the HMICFRS Police Service future visit. The PCC to be kept updated throughout the inspection.
Resolved

Item 4: 4.1 Risk (Change in risk OPCC and the Police Service)
The PCC provided recent feedback from Officers regarding the pressures and demand placed on them.
Resolved.

Item 5: 5.1 Collaboration Updates:
The DCC provided an overview of the report.

Joint Protective Services (JPS) – Quarterly Update
• JCOB Performance Report – Cameras, Tickets and Collisions (CTC), looking at costs and changing to electronic tickets to save money.
• Firearms Licencing – Additional resources have been put into the Licencing Team to deal with demand. The PCC provided feedback from recent conversations with the public and there is a loss of confidence from those seeking renewal of licences and delays.

The CC provided reassurance. There is an increase in resources, key roles and the operating system is more efficient. The customers experience will change. Priorities are for those with professional / business needs. DCC will take it forward with the National Farmers Union.
Action DCC

A discussion took place regarding the RPU and mobile units. East Region Special Operations Unit Report. The DCC provided an overview of the ROCU report and update on key appointments including Hannah Wilkinson, T/Head of Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit in the Eastern region.

The PCC raised the issue that the public do not understand the work provided in the Eastern Region, ROCU and CT at a local level. Having an understanding would support the precept and budget. An appropriate comms to be drafted. Action DCC

The PCC was assured that the ERSOU is high performing. The effective system is strong nationally with the appropriate capacity and the right level of policing. Colleagues work collaboratively across the region to keep residents safe.

Item 6: 6.1: Chief Constable Complaints
No complaints were raised.

6.2: Reviews
The OPCC has received 6 reviews since the June Board. 4 reviews are outstanding but no concerns at this time.

Item 7: 7.1 Budget / Efficiency
To be discussed at the next meeting - August 2024.

Item 8: Reflection
The ACC will keep the PCC sited on updates regarding the prison system, working through risks and reoffending with the multi-agency intelligence partnership. The PCC gave thanks to the Exec for their key objectives for the Police and Crime Plan. The PCC explained that the OPCC are in the process of recruiting a new CEO. The CC is invited to be on the interview panel.

Thank PG for her support on the Performance and Governance board as she is
moving on from the OPCC.

Date of next Meeting - 29 August 2024 

PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNANCE BOARD

THURSDAY 27 JUNE 2024

Agenda

Present:

John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)
Trevor Rodenhurst, Chief Constable (CC)
Dan Vajzovic, Deputy Chief Constable – Police Service (DCC)
John Murphy, Assistant Chief Constable – Police Service (ACC)
Phil Wells, Chief Finance Officer – Police Service / OPCC (CFO)
Wayne Humberstone, A/CEO – OPCC (CEO)

Katie Beaumont, Head of Governance and Transparency - OPCC (KB)
Samantha Denness, Performance and Accountability Manager – OPCC (SD) - Online

ITEM 1 Welcome Minutes of meeting held and for agreement and matters arising Chairs opening remarks

PCC welcomed everyone to the meeting. PCC reminded the CC of the format he wishes to see moving forward albeit recognised that it was only 3 weeks since the Board last met and through discussion agreed that the performance framework for the delivery of the new Police and Crime Plan would be dictate how the CC reported to this Board moving forward.

Apologies:

ACC

ITEM 2 Actions

2.1 Actions from previous meetings

Minutes from the 3 June meeting were agreed as accurate.
No matters arising.
No actions for this meeting.

2.2 Information Document for Publication

No issues

ITEM 3 Performance

3.1 Spotlight Report – transparency and open communication

DCC referred to PCP priority 6 Spotlight Report (previously discussed at the Joint Audit Committee (JAC) at which the PCC was present.

As part of the discussions on the report the PCC requested that:
• The CC and himself are joined up in relation to community engagement in the development of his plan;
• That the CC considers the different scrutiny panels in operation to ensure that the make-up of the panels are representative, that there is no duplication and that the findings of the panels and the learning taken are reported into the Board once or twice a year.
Resolved

That the report be noted and the CC consider PCC’s requests above.

ITEM 4 Performance

4.1 Crime performance figures with restricted detail

The DCC provided an overview of the performance pack included on the agenda. In doing so he drew out:
• Crime recording for the All Crime category has increased when compared to this time last year. However, Bedfordshire is the 13th safest county in the country. The majority of the
increase related to volume crime for 24/25 for which some large events, both one-off and extraordinary, played a part such as Radio One’s Big Weekend, the Euros and Carnivals.
There is an upward trend in reporting Rape, Hate Crimes, CSE online, Theft of Motor vehicles, and Public Order crimes over the past 12 months to May 24. This also shows greater confidence in the reporting of such crimes.

• The solved crime rate for Bedfordshire is currently at 11.4% - solved crime with the national average currently sitting at 13.5%. However, both of these are a 12 month rolling
average and Bedfordshire is seeing a month by month increase and were currently at 14%.

The PCC sought more information on statistics with previous years (month by month); and that the national comparisons are not absolutes but provide a trigger for further enquiry.
The PCC thanked the DCC for the report and overview and asked for a greater understanding of the solved crime rate for different crime types and their comparisons with other Police Services nationally.

The PCC sought more information regarding the annual demand, planning in advance and to see how 2024 compares with previous years.

He also asked for assurance in relation to the expected summer demand and the CC and DCC explained the plan for the coming months.

The PCC also took assurance that the CC was focusing his improvement in the right areas and that resources were being allocated appropriately but asked that the CC focus on:
• Reducing the number of outstanding suspects;
• Reducing the response time to those incidents requiring an immediate response; and
• How the summer policing demand can be met in future years on a more sustainable footing.
Resolved

That the report be noted and in doing so the CC pay attention to the areas highlighted above by the PCC.

4.1 Risk (Change in risk OPCC and the Police Service)

The CFO explained that both Risk Registers of the OPCC and Police Service had recently been discussed at the Joint Audit Committee and that both risk registers would need to be reviewed in light of the new Police and Crime Plan when published.

He also explained that the refresh of the registers would also need to reflect the outcome of the General Election on the 4th July. He also provided assurance to the PCC that despite the National Black Police Association withdrawing its support to the NPCC on the delivery of the National Race Action Plan that this hasn’t changed the importance that Bedfordshire continues to place on the work it will continue to do on the delivery of Improving Policing for Black People in Bedfordshire.
Resolved

That the verbal update by the CFO be noted.

ITEM 5 Collaboration

5.1 Collaboration Updates:

- Joint Protective Services (JPS) – Quarterly Update
- Eastern Region Serious Organised Crime (ERSOU) – Quarterly Update
- BCH Functions ( PSD / HR / etc) – Quarterly Updates

All to be presented at July 2024 Meeting

ITEM 6 - Complaints 6.1: Chief Constable Complaints

No complaints were raised.

6.2: Reviews

No issues.

ITEM 7 Quarterly Reporting Efficiency

7.1 Budget / Efficiency

The CFO presented the revised capital programme taking account of the final out turn reported to the previous Board in early June.
Resolved

That the revised Capital Programme was approved.

ITEM 8 AOB

Reflection

PCC thanked the CC and his team for the open discussions and reminded them of the timescales for the Police and Crime Plan and the evolution of this meeting to fit with that Plan. CEO also thanked the Force Executive for extending the invite to the OPCC to Bedfordshire Police Service’s Vision Days and that they found them very informative.

Next Meeting: 23 July 2024