Police face scrutiny in key areas

A new accountability board to ensure the police are held to account has reconvened  to scrutinise further key performance areas, including services available to detainees while in custody and whether policing strategies are aligned with national priorities.

The Commissioner’s Accountability Board is hosted monthly by Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez.

She has now issued a judgement of assurance to indicate whether improvement plans are required or not. It includes details of how she reached her decision on two specific areas of constabulary performance that were scrutinised. 

The first was the constabulary’s plans and delivery of the strategic policing requirement which sets out national threats which, in the Home Secretary’s view, are the biggest threat to public safety. It guides PCCs when issuing police and crime plans. 

The national threats covered in the current SPR include violence against women and girls, terrorism, public disorder, serious and organised crime, child sexual abuse, national cyber incidents and civil emergencies. 

Commissioner Hernandez’s judgement is that she is ‘part-assured’ regarding both the constabulary’s current performance and the plans that are in place. 

She said: “Insufficient detail was provided in two of the areas to enable a complete, informed judgment to be made.” 

Police will present further evidence to the commissioner. 

The second performance area discussed was the constabulary’s risk management of identified custody risks. Details were shared of plans  already in place to ensure its custody provision is  safe and  legal. 

Commissioner Hernandez said: “Although assurance was provided regarding the operational management of the force’s custody centres, further detail is required concerning the access to, and availability of services to detainees while in custody.” 

Her judgement was ‘part-assured’, with more in-depth scrutiny planned in the near future. 

Chief Constable James Vaughan also gave an update on the police budget and financial performance, recent homicides and serious crimes, as well as areas of concern and success.  

He said: “The force provides safe and legal detention for people arrested. This will remain our primary concern, however, providing safe and legal custody provision across the current estate, some of which requires refurbishment, provides an ongoing resilience and efficiency challenge. The current estate provision therefore requires strategic review.”