Agenda and draft minutes

The Vice-Chair of the Humberside Police and Crime Panel welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited all in attendance to introduce themselves and identify the local authority/organisation they were representing.

Resolved – That it be noted apologies for absence had been received from Councillor M Ali (North Lincolnshire Council), Councillor J Cahill (Hull City Council), Councillor S Swinburn (North East Lincolnshire Council) and Mrs H Chase (Independent Member).

Councillor A Davison substituted for Councillor M Ali (North Lincolnshire Council) and Councillor A Collinson substituted for Councillor J Cahill (Hull City Council).

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and personal or personal and prejudicial interests.

Resolved- That the minutes of the meeting of the Police and Crime Panel held on 29 October 2024, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded.

Further to Minute 610, the Chief Executive Officer at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner introduced the Police and Crime Commissioners annual report covering the Municipal Year 2023-24.

The annual report demonstrated the impact and value of the work that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) had achieved during 2023-24 on behalf of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).  The document included reporting on the extent to which the OPCC delivered on its Delivery Plan and provided an update on the broader work of the Office.

The Chief Executive guided members through the Annual Report, before the Vice-Chair facilitated a discussion on the document.

Resolved – That the Annual Report for 2023-24 be noted and received with thanks.

The Vice-Chair welcomed Jonathan Evison, Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner to the meeting.  Mr Evison was invited to provide an update to the Panel on any matters of interest, and to respond to any questions about his role.  The Police and Crime Commissioner informed the Panel of the following –

·        Addressing the actions identified in the recent Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy report.

·        Community Safety Partnership funding

·        Grant funding

·        999 and 101 response times.

·        Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera rollout

·        Police Officer numbers.

·        Preventing crime initiatives

·        Extension of Temporary Chief Constable contract

·        Forthcoming Anti Social Behaviour conference

The Vice-Chair then facilitated a discussion between the Panel Members and Mr Evison on his update.

Resolved - (a) That the contents of the verbal presentation be noted, and (b) that Mr Evison be thanked for his verbal update and for responding to members’ questions.

The Chief Executive Officer at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside updated the Panel on the following –

·        Domestic Abuse prevention campaigns

·        Police and Crime Commissioner Annual Report for 2023-24

·        Not In Our Community

·        Launch of the Affected By Crime service

·        Launch of toolkit to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour

·        Establishment of a new scrutiny panel dedicated to domestic abuse

·        Negotiations on the extension of the Temporary Chief Constables contract

·        Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner update

·        Assurance and Statutory duties

·        Community Safety Fund

·        Commissioning and Partnerships activity

·        Violence Prevention Partnership

The Vice-Chair then facilitated a discussion between the Panel Members and Ms Cook on her update.

Resolved - (a) That the contents of the verbal presentation be noted, and (b) that Ms Cook be thanked for her verbal update and for responding to members’ questions.

The Vice-Chair welcomed the Chief Finance Officer at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) to the meeting to inform members of the latest position in relation to the savings plan and an update on the mid-year financial position of the OPCC Group.

Mr Ransom updated members on the following –

·        Medium Term Resource Strategy

·        Savings 2024-25

·        Mid-Year Review 2024-25

·        Updated reserves position

Following the verbal update, the Vice-Chair facilitated a discussion between the Panel Members and the Chief Finance Officer.

Resolved – (a) That the verbal update be noted and received with thanks, and (b) that Mr Ransom be thanked for his attendance, verbal presentation and for answering members’ questions.

Resolved – That the next scheduled meeting of the Panel be held on Wednesday 5 February 2024 (venue to be confirmed).

The Vice-Chair informed the meeting that following the receipt of correspondence from several panel members, as well as correspondence received from the Police Superintendents’ Association, he was going to allow an urgent item to be discussed at the meeting titled ‘timeline for the receipt of, and subsequent referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct following allegations made against the former Chief Constable of Humberside Police.

The Vice-Chair confirmed that he had agreed to the urgent item as he believed it was in the public interest for the panel to discuss the timeline.

Further to Minute 625, the Vice-Chair confirmed that he had allowed the urgent item as he believed it was in the public interest for the panel to discuss the matter.  However, the Vice-Char stressed that the Panel could not discuss the minutiae of any complaint or referral made to either the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) or the Panel.

The Vice-Chair invited the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) to clarify the exact timeline of events that led to the retirement of the previous Chief Constable and the subsequent referral to the IOPC.

The Chief Executive Officer informed the Panel that it was not until 19 June 2024 that the Commissioner received sufficient detail to make a referral to the IOPC for misconduct.  The referral was made on Monday 24 June.  Two working days were used to process the referral.  To assist everyone’s understanding of the timeline, the OPCC published on its website a full account of the timeline of events leading up to the retirement of previous Chief Constable, Paul Anderson.  This was published on Friday 29 November 2024.

Members were informed that the referral was originally assessed by the IOPC as misconduct.  Having received further statements through the course of the investigation this had now been re-assessed as potential for gross misconduct.  The investigation continued.

The Commissioner then read a statement prepared for the Panel -

“This apparent ‘delay’ that has been the focus of some isolated media attention is extremely misleading.  There were just two full working days between receiving the full details and making the formal referral.  During that time my office, quite rightly, accessed the proper and appropriate legal advice, filled out the considerable paperwork necessary and organised the supporting documentation.  Referring a complaint to the IOPC is not a simple process and nor should it be.  To do so is a serious matter and demands a level of detail and professionalism that cannot be rushed.  People’s livelihoods and careers are at stake here.  I make no apologies for ensuring my office dotted the Is and crossed the Ts.  It has not escaped my attention that in a neighbouring authority area a poorly thought through disciplinary process some years ago resulted in an expensive judicial review that cost the taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.  The unfair criticism we have received here appears to suggest we should have rushed this through quickly – which is, of course, nonsense.”

The Vice-Chair requested that the Secretary to the Panel read to the Panel an extract from correspondence received by the Panel shortly before the meeting from the Police Superintendents’ Association.

The Vice-Chair invited the OPCC to comment.  The Chief Executive Officer again reiterated that the timeline published on the OPCC website accurately reflected the timeline of events.

The Vice-Chair then invited Panel Members to comment on the timeline of events, allowing the OPCC to respond in turn.

Following the conclusion of the discussion on the timeline of events, the Commissioner was questioned following the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 626.

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 7 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Resolved - That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 7 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Resolved  - That consideration of this item was no longer required as it had been discussed under a separate agenda item.

The Secretary to the Panel updated members on complaints HPCP-43, HPCP-44, HPCP-45, HPCP-46, HPCP-47 and HPCP-48.

Resolved – (a) That the verbal update be noted, and (b) that a precis of each complaint be circulated to all members for their information.