Issue - meetings

(a)       That the Committee supports the four priorities in the Police & Crime Plan:

            1.         Crime Prevention;

            2.         Delivering an effective response;

            3.         Reducing harm and the risk of harm;

            4.         Building effective partnerships

(b)       That the Police & Crime Commissioner provide his list of savings made and his proposed efficiencies in due course;

(c)        That the Council will investigate changing the wording on the Council Tax demand letter from ‘Police and Crime Commissioner North Wales’ to ‘North Wales Police’; and

(d)       That the Police & Crime Commissioner and his colleagues be thanked for attending the meeting. 

The Chief Executive introduced Mr. Winston Roddick (Police & Crime Commissioner), Mr. Julian Sandham (Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner) and Mr. Stephen Hughes (Acting Chief Executive) to the Committee.  The full set of answers to the questions submitted to the Police & Crime Commissioner for his previous attendance at the County Council meeting on 23 July 2015 had been circulated to Members earlier in the week. 

                        The Chief Executive provided an overview of the work of the Regional Safer Communities Board, for which Flintshire and Wrexham were the lead authorities,  and the ‘strategic fit’ of the Flintshire Local Service Board priorities of   reducing crime and disorder, substance misuse and reducing re-offending with those of the Police and Crime Plan 

                        Mr. Roddick thanked the Chief Executive for the introduction and said that in part it was due to his efforts that there was such a good fit between the Council’s policies and the Police & Crime Commissioner’s Plan.  He added that the Chief Executive had worked hard on the Safer Communities Board.  One of the key tasks was to set out the strategic direction for North Wales and he was in the process of obtaining the views of the public, the voluntary sector and the business sector on what they felt was important, which was the reason for attending this meeting.  North Wales was one of the safest places to live in and if was important that residents felt safe and that the Police were visible and available where they were needed the most.  The Police & Crime Plan was revised each year and set out in detail the level of service that the public could expect.  Mr. Roddick commented on a survey that Members could take part in. 

                        Mr. Roddick provided a detailed presentation which covered the following areas:-

·                                                           Finance

·                                                           The future financial challenge

·                                                           Current planning assumptions

·                    Changes in North Wales Police (NWP) workforce numbers over time

·                                                           The current policing objectives

·                                                           Priorities

·                                                           Volume crime and protective services

He spoke of the financial challenge faced by NWP and the cuts in funding of over £24m by the end of March 2016 which made the delivery of priorities challenging.  The force continued to perform well in the unprecedented situation and Mr. Roddick commented on the risks, particularly in the light of the recent attacks in Paris, associated with cutting funding which would affect the service.  The final settlement figure would be received on 17 December 2015 and until this was received, there were some elements of funding that could not yet be finalised but the current financial assumptions indicated that £8.201m of savings would be required over the next four years to 2019/20.  Mr. Roddick explained that cuts of this level would represent a significant challenge and would lead to a change in the way policing was carried out.  He commented on the impact on Police Officer and Police Staff numbers and reflected on the success to date of protecting the front line from the financial cutbacks but acknowledged that further cuts would increase the pressure on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56