Minutes of meeting

MINUTES OF MEETING - OPEN
SUBJECT:
FORCE EXECUTIVE BOARD
6th JULY 2009
CONFERENCE ROOM 1 - HQ
PRESENT:
Julie Spence – Chief Constable (Chair)George Barr – for Head SDDKaren Daber – Head Safer CommunitiesMike Dyke - FederationJohn Feavyour – Deputy Chief ConstableMick Gipp - Divisional Commander – Central DivisionPeter Greenwood – Head of QATAndy Hebb – Divisional Commander – NorthernTracey Hipperson – Head of ICTMark Hopkins – Assistant Chief ConstableNiki Howard – Director of ResourcesRob Needle – Divisional Commander – Southern DivisionKate Moore – Executive OfficerCarina Quayle – Head of PSDJonathan Ray – Head of Corporate CommunicationsAmanda Rickwood – for Head Learning and DevelopmentPenny Sills – Director of PeopleRussell Wate – Head of InvestigationsDan Vajzovic – for item 7iiVicky Skeels – for item 7vi ACTION BY
APOLOGIES and CHAIRMAN’S ITEMS
There were apologies from the Heads of Citizen Focus, SDD, Estates and Learning and Development.
MINUTES OF MEETING
The minutes from the FEB meeting held on 1st June were approvedwithout amendment.
MATTERS ARISING
FEB 6th July 2009
-Page 1 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
The matters arising sheet was updated. Regarding item 4 which wasremitted from FPCG it was confirmed that all drivers of police vehicles ALL to noteexceeding the speed limit should complete the NIP form while justification and exemptions, where applicable, were prepared. It was agreed that this would be dealt with by Superintendents and there was need for a policy to support internal discipline. It was agreed that the Head Safer presented policy with revision to the advanced category would return to CommsAugust FEB for approval.
CORPORATE RESOURCES
Financial Review
The Director of Resources reported that the organisation was on budget, however, police staff pay was currently showing an underspend of £54k and all police staff vacancies would be reviewed at star chambers. The Board was reminded that there was need to make 10% savings for next year which could come from any of the budget lines therefore planning for this should begin immediately. Any vacancies held could be used to offset the required 10 % and it was expected that the overtime budget would probably be reduced for next year. There was also a reminder that expense claims should be processed in a timelier manner as some were late in arriving with the Finance team. Recommendation - the paper was agreed by the Board.
Efficiency Plan – the Head of QAT reported that the Police Authority
had agreed to an 83% carry forward and there was a new target of
10.3 %. It was agreed that this would be difficult to achieve.
Workforce and Staffing Issues
Highlighted issues from the presented paper were as follows: Sickness – all areas of the Force were showing some improvement
with Police Officer sickness but only that in the Investigations
Directorate was at an acceptable level. Police staff sickness in Central
Division remains high and FEB was reminded to keep working towards
reduce short term sickness.
Summer placements (to assess our presence on the web) – these
had originally been planned to be attached to PSD but would now be
aligned to Corporate Communications.
Post meeting note – this had been put ‘on hold’ to see if the information
could be obtained by using a professional company which may result in
a better service.
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 2 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
DMS and TOIL – the audit had exposed some real problems e.g. some
un - taken annual leave had been converted to TOIL which was against
the policy approved in 2006. It had been agreed that there would be a
phased approach to reducing excess TOIL - reducing to 20 days by
March 2009 and 10 days by the end of March 2010. For those officers
with excess TOIL yet to take, the option to take up the days would now
become time limited. The Federation raised the issue of PC’s cancelled
rest days not being re-rostered by staff officers within 4 days, which
had contributed to the problem as the organisation had not been
complying with police regulations. There would be responsibility on
resourcing officers to allocate time off to reduce the amount of TOIL to
the acceptable level.
UNISON – raised the issue that flexi should be accrued because of
operational need not just to build up additional leave.
Confidence Strategy – appendix A outlined the options for rewarding
staff and motivating for good customer service – comments to be All to note
forwarded to the Director of People by 17th July 2009. It was suggested
that SDD should assist the sub-group leads to action plan the work
streams.
Injury Awards – the Director of People reminded the Board that in
2007 the Police Authority had instructed the Constabulary to recommence the review of injury awards. This had been unpopular and had generated a number of complaints, At that time the Police Authority had decided not to review people over the age of 65. This was subsequently found to be an ultra vires decision and therefore the HR and Training Panel have recommended that the Police Authority review the 2007 decision. It was clarified that this was for the injury award not the pension. The Board was informed that of the 140 reviews held just five people have had the award changed and not all were reduced.
Officer Safety and First Aid Licences – the number of Officers out of
licence this month increased slightly however, a big improvement
should be seen next month from the impact of the new combined
refresher course.
PDR completion rates – the Director of People highlighted that the
completion rate for all and especially Northern Division required
improvement.
Equal Pay Review Police Officers – the organisation has a statutory
obligation to review the pay of male and female employees to ensure
that there is no sex based bias. This review had been carried out and it
was notable that the 11 point PC scale was thought to be potentially
problematic, under age discrimination legislation, with regard to
experience levels and resulting reward
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 3 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
NPT abstractions - the chart produced from DMS showed abstraction
rates for NPT staff by Divisions. This was an example of what could be
produced using DMS.
Recommendation – the paper was approved by the Board.
CORPORATE PERFORMANCE
Strategic Development Department Update – the following areas
from the paper were highlighted:
Performance – the Board was reminded that the challenges still facing
the Force were related to the serious acquisitive crime rate and
sanction detection rate. Although steps had already been taken to bring
offence levels for burglary down monthly levels remain higher than the
start of last year.
Custody – it was anticipated that the HMIC report would be published
on 4th August. It was agreed that a copy of letters sent to HMIC would DCC to note
be forwarded to BCU Commanders for information.
Collaboration – the Head of Investigations reported that collaboration
was expected related to serious and organised crime.
Recommendation - the paper was noted by the Board.
Citizen Focus (CF) Update
There was no report submitted to this meeting.
PSD Emerging Issues – the Head of PSD reported that the IPCC
were looking at introducing a National Performance Framework
however, in the interim there would be a collection of performance
indicators and the first set of quarterly data had been submitted. The
first years data would be used as a baseline.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Risks and Opportunities Management – a report was tabled which CLOSED
showed the two presented risks.
The risks were reviewed.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board.
ITEMS FOR RESOLUTION
QAT Reports –
Tier 2 - Collision Enquiry Report – the Head of QAT gave a
presentation which outlined the findings from the Tier 2 inspection of
the Collision Enquiry Unit. The findings had been benchmarked against
the MSF group and the highest performer.
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 4 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
The inspection team made eleven recommendations including one regarding early decision making by the team leader in order to speed the whole process. Additionally, it was suggested that a performance regime should be introduced along with standard operating procedures and a robust banking system. Four options for the future of the CEU were discussed: Option 3 – CIMU dealing with the RTC files Option 4 - Subsume the CEU into CJU’s – this suggestion had been suggested to the inspection team by the staff themselves. The Board discussed the options however, option one was immediately dismissed as it was agreed that there was a need to address this situation immediately. It was suggested that were option three to be progressed there could be need to re-skill police officers to deal with RTA investigation. There might also be the possibility of creating efficiency gains from revised processes.
The Head of ICT reported that ‘Incident File’ was a realistic option and could be in by the end of the year at a cost of approximately £20k. It was agreed that this should be progressed.
The Chief Constable summed up the discussion stating that option three should be pursued. The Head of QAT suggested that any work should be carried out in conjunction with the work on RTC’s. It was also agreed that there should be an implementation team convened lead by the Head of Citizen Focus, consisting of the Head of the CJU, the Supt from Safer Communities, representatives from HR and Finance along with the QAT team member carrying out the inspection. It was agreed that there should be a formative plan back to FEB in September.
Post meeting note – outside the meeting it was agreed that this work to note/should be lead by the Central Divisional Commander.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board and it was
agreed that option 3 would be progressed.
Tier 2 - Corporate Communications – the Head of QAT asked that
the Board set timescales and action owners. The Head of Corporate
Communications reported that the communications strategy was
currently in draft form and also that some of the recommendations had
already been progressed. It was reported that the issue with security
vetting was related to levels of access to the Force systems. It was
agreed that the Head of Corporate Communications would have
ownership of the plan and would co-ordinate the team to complete
actions.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board and noted
that a revisit would take place in nine months.
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 5 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
Domestic Abuse Training – the Chief Constable introduced Supt
Vajzovic who presented the paper. Due to the abstraction rate issue
and potential impact on performance it had been decided that the
paper should be discussed at FEB. The paper outlined awareness
training which would provide frontline staff with additional skills and
understanding of Domestic Abuse.
A one hour mandatory CBT package had been produced and it was suggested that a number of workshops should be carried out, for anyone who had a core role to play in Domestic Abuse e.g. PCs and PSCOs, frontline supervisors, CIMU staff and Inspectors. The workshops would have key speakers from outside agencies to facilitate workshops. It was agreed that the CBT package should be made available on desktops along with a mechanism to track users. It was also suggested that this topic should be part of a wider training Head L & D programme which should be scheduled annually through L and D. A further issue on use of CATs was discussed, it was noted that an upgrade could be made to CATs 9 without cost, but a gap analysis would be necessary to ensure it met business requirement. It was suggested that the force could use ‘Crimefile’ although this did not have an embedded risk assessment process. This would be resolved by introduction of CMIS although this would not be available until 2011. It was agreed that the ICT issue should be resolved outside the meeting with the DCC.
Recommendation – the paper was approved by the Board – and
all four stages were agreed.
Local Public Confidence Measurement – the Chief Constable stated
that the paper addressed the need to improve ‘seeking people’s views’.
It was seen to be a most useful paper which detailed the survey and
tactics to be used. It was suggested that the survey time of 15 minutes
was quite extensive but was a similar approach to that used by other
Forces. It was noted that the process used the same information as the
crime survey and would compliment other processes already in place
to measure confidence. It was agreed that the resulting information
would be presented to the Citizen Focus Executive Group. It was
recognised that the British Crime Survey did not give local information
but was set to achieve the Force level information; this new process
would improve granularity. It was also suggested that focus groups
were a useful method of canvassing public opinion, it was agreed that
this was a stage further and useful for specific problems. The report Exec Officer
would be presented to the next Citizen Focus Panel meeting of the to note
Police Authority.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board and
approval was given as requested in paragraph 8.1 of the paper.
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 6 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
Stress Management Policy – the Director of People reminded the
Board that the draft had been seen by FEB and JNCC sometime ago
and was presented to the meeting for final approval. There would be
the requirement for Departments and Divisions to identify potential
hotspots. The Head PSD suggested that it was often having a number
of external stressful situations which affected staff rather than being
confined to stress in the workplace as single issue. It was stated that it
was necessary to involve the OHU as soon as possible.
Recommendation - the paper was approved by the Board.
Silver Cadre – the ACC reported that the paper identified the rationale
behind discussions held with Superintendents regarding the provision
of a 24/7 Silver Cadre to include the introduction of the Chief Inspector
rank in a formal structure for the cadre. This would be done by defining
the organisational commitment and introducing
Superintendents and Chief Inspectors to provide a 24/7 visible presence for a one week period in every 8 weeks. The new process would also broaden Chief Inspector experience and increase visibility of senior managers. The pairings would not be Divisional and a flexible and pragmatic approach would be necessary to make the process work. It was proposed that this should start on 31st July 2009.
There was some concern from the Federation and the Superintendents Association that the paper had not been presented to their meetings for formal consultation although the ACC had conducted conversations with each interested party prior to the paper being drafted. The Federation reminded the Board that individual Chief Inspectors would need to sign up to being ‘on call’ as the organisation could not mandate this. The long term model would work to an 8 week pattern and it was expected that there would be a single vehicle made available and ACC/Exec rotated between the ‘on call’ Chief Inspector. It was agreed that there Officer to should be a review conducted in six months time.
Recommendation – the Board noted the paper and agreed with
the recommendations at para 6, which was to introduce a start
date of 31st July with a review in six months.
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 7 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
Working at Heights – it was noted that any learning from the
negotiators would be put on to the Investigations microsite, while any
specific actions would be remitted to SDD. The paper sought to raise
awareness of the often difficult situations negotiators worked under and
the training and equipment necessary and therefore requiring support
from the organisation. Two key issues were identified:
Purchase of equipment for negotiators (£2,260 with replacement every five years) Formalised training and support from the TFU to make sure the response given complies with health and safety requirements (£2,000) The Board was fully supportive of the recommendations and it was agreed that the equipment would be purchased through the Stores budget and the training costs would be paid from the Learning and Development budget. Recommendation - the recommendations, to increase the training
and to purchase the necessary resource, were approved by the
Board.
HPDS – the DCC suggested that when officers were on the scheme
there was need for them to gain wide experience of different
departments within the organisation and within current policy there
would be moves after minimum 18 months. There could be faster
options through 4-6 month ‘job swap’ which is current practise.
Considerable debate took place on the timescale for these attachments
and a number of different views were expressed. The DCC agreed that DCC
an updated paper with a draft procedure and information related to the
acquiring of ‘technical skills’ would return to the next FEB meeting. It
was agreed that meetings would be held with those not pursuing their
application for the scheme. It was agreed that in appendix 1 para 1.3
section 3 3rd bullet would remove ‘but on maternity leave’.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board.
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION ONLY
Agenda Plan – noting that the custody item for August would be in the
form of a presentation and the RPU paper would be presented to the
FEB in September.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board
Corporate Communications Update – the Head of Corporate
Communications reported that the video on emotional loyalty was now
at the edit stage and should be ready late August. The video would be
pre-viewed by COG before roll-out.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board.
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 8 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
Integrated Offender Management – it was agreed that this was a very
helpful paper. It was noted that this paper had been presented to the
local CJB where it had been agreed in principle. The Northern
Divisional Commander raised the issue of the ‘Vigilance Programme’
which would compliment this process. The DCC stated that as the
Force moved forward in the new financial climate the boundaries for
police intervention may need to be reviewed and reinforced as each
time these were overstepped there were resource implications. This
issue had raised an action from the Criminal Justice Board.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board.
Swine Flu Update – the Chief Constable suggested that there was an
organisational need to press for flu jabs, and Occupational Health were
looking to get the Tamiflu vaccine if possible. The management of the
outbreak was being managed by the Force (Swineflu) Crisis
Management Team.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board.
FEB Attendance at Neighbourhood Panels
It was agreed that the Head of Safer Communities would attend
Northern North East, the Head of L and D would attend the St Ives
Panel and the other FEB members would be fitted into the schedule.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board.
Sickness Reports - Action Plans – the Chief Constable congratulated
Northern Division on some good initiatives being in place especially the
HRM coaching aspect. Southern Division reported that the afternoon
surgery held with the OHU nurse had been very successful from both
staff and managers perspective.
Recommendation – the papers were noted by the Board.
Notifying Victims and Witnesses of Court Results – the Head of
Investigations reported that a joint ICT system was being progressed
and training of witness care officers was being reviewed with a view to
making changes to the current programme. Exit interviews had been
monitored and a variety of reasons had been expressed. It was agreed
that there should be update, to FEB via the QAT process, on the
actions raised to address the evaluation report. The action plan would Head SDD to
be lodged with SDD.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 9 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
Roads Policing Action Plan - the DCC reported that the presented
plan was not up to date but that progress needed to be made in this Head of Safer
area. It was noted that the strategy would be presented to the next Communities
FEB.
Recommendation – the paper was noted by the Board.
Taser Update – the DCC asked the Board if the general approach, to
make Tasers more broadly available across the Force as articulated in
the paper was acceptable to Divisions. It was agreed that the DCC and DCC/Head
the Head of Safer Communities would re-work the paper following Safer Comms
discussion at the next Chief Superintendents meeting.
Recommendation – the Board noted the paper.
ICT Workplan – the presented paper was the ICT work schedule –
Board members were invited to comment to the Head of ICT as to ALL to Note
whether, from a business/professional perspective, the prioritisation
was accurate as the work schedule was used to manage ICT resource
for individual staff members. It was agreed that any significant change
to the schedule should be presented to the next FEB meeting. The
Chief Constable also asked that consideration was given to upgrade of
the website.
Recommendation – the Board noted the paper.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Team Brief – the following items were considered for inclusion in the
team brief:
· Early arrests· Remote access re voicemail· Domestic Abuse training· Ticker re availability of Tamiflu to be put on to Camnet· Short term sickness absence – impact on colleagues· Speeding in police vehicles – drive to arrive · TOIL – to go on August team briefing Chairmans Items
Binge Drinking Crackdown – the Chief Constable reported that
Peterborough would be receiving some funding to assist with this
initiative and that Northern Division might have access to this through Northern Div
YCAP. The Northern Divisional Commander was asked to keep the Comm to
Chief Constable informed of this.
Purchase of Laptops – the Chief Constable reminded the Board that
all laptops must be purchased through ICT in order that the ICT
support can be maintained.
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 10 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting would be held on Tuesday 4th August 2009. With no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.
FEB 6th July 2009
Page 11 of 11
The FEB will support and maintain the vision, values and strategic intent of the Constabulary. Its
purpose is to advise the Chief Constable on strategic direction for the Constabulary and ensure
Corporate Governance.

Source: http://www.cambs-police.co.uk/about/foi/classes/Minutes/FEB060709.pdf