Agenda item

The Minutes of the meeting held on 5 January 2017 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to the following:

·       Minute No 2, paragraph 2 – the figure at the end of the paragraph should read £5 rather then 35;

·       Minute No. 2, paragraph 7 - the PCVC informed the Panel he had provided an incorrect figure regarding the level of response to previous precept consultations.  This should have been in the low hundreds rather than in the low thousands.

·       Minute No. 6, paragraph 4 – should read ‘While a serving Assistant Chief Constable’ and not ‘While a serving Deputy Chief Constable’

·       Minute No. 11, paragraph 3 – the Professional Standards Board was chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable and not the Chief Constable.

Mr Dodwell referred to the forthcoming increase in fine and penalty points for motorists using a mobile phone while driving.  This had been raised at a PACT meeting and people had been unaware that PCSOs did not have the power to stop such motorists and issue tickets.

The PCVC replied that the powers of PCSOs in the Durham force had been optimised.  In reply to a question from Councillor Boyes about discretion at a force level to increase PCSO powers the PCVC informed the Panel that while there was such discretion, the powers of PCSOs in Durham were at the limits of these parameters.

The PCVC informed the Panel that following the last meeting a paper had been circulated to Members regarding burglaries, which showed there was no evidence that the Council’s new street lighting policy was a cause of increased numbers of burglaries.

The PCVC referred to Minute No. 11 and informed the Panel that his office had checked the number of cases referred to by Councillor Brookes.  There had been 4 such cases in the Durham force since 2014 and none of the officers were now serving in the force.