Minutes:
The Panel received a presentation from the Police and Crime Commissioner which provided details of the Quarter 3 Public Performance, including the following:
· Aspire confidence/community engagement – engagement had taken place with rural communities and a draft rural strategy had been produced;
· Support to victims – a new victim support service would commence on 1 April 2016 to ensure victims received a bespoke service which met their needs;
· Violence against women and girls – a TV link had been installed at Meadowfield which provided a comfortable environment for giving evidence and linked into No 2 Court at Durham;
· Hate crime – there had been a 7.8% reduction which equated to approximately 3 incidents a month;
· Road safety – all collisions had reduced by 14%, although the figures for killed and seriously injured had risen, with no clear reason why. Speeding was a key cause of accidents.
· Public confidence in the police had risen by 2%
· Victim based crime had increased by 4.6%. There was a new method of recording harassment and as a result the PCC was expecting this figure to increase 10% over a 12 month period.
· While there had been an increase in burglary and sexual offences, burglary figures and general crime figures in County Durham and Darlington were well below the national average. Petty arson was being closely examined.
· Hyperlinks had been added to the performance pages on the website to enhance site navigation.
Councillor Boyes asked how Durham compared itself to other forces both regionally and nationally and whether Durham was compared to like-sized forces. The PCC replied that Durham was in a group of more similar forces and could provide performance figures for these forces and for neighbouring forces. Crime levels in Northumberland and Cleveland were significantly higher than in Durham.
Councillor May referred to austerity and the impact on Council services, particularly reductions in Children and Young People’s staff which may result in more young people being on the streets. He asked whether the PCC had been involved in any discussions around this issue. The PCC confirmed that he had been on involved in discussions and had considered the impact of such cuts to provide mitigation.
Councillor Forster referred to the national rise in acid attacks and asked whether the Durham force had dealt with any such attacks. The Chief of Staff replied that the Home Office had recently requested this information and it was found that none had been reported in the Durham force area.
Councillor May referred to the ongoing improvement works to the A1(M) at Scotch Corner which would eventually result in three-lanes going into two and asked whether anything had been discussed to ensure this was a decent transition. The PCC replied that he had not been involved in any discussions about this adding that any safe transition would require effective signage.