Initial Review of Strategic Police Plan - Renfrewshire Council feedback
Renfrewshire Council · 25 October 2022
Back to Police and Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Sub-Committee — 25 October 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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To: Police and Fire & Rescue Scrutiny Sub-Committee On: 25 October 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Initial Review of Strategic Police Plan - Renfrewshire Council feedback ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 On 28 July 2022, the Chair of the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable of Police Scotland sent a joint letter to local authorities in relation to their planned review of the joint Strategic Police Plan 2020/23. 1.2 The full joint Strategic Police Plan 2020/23 can be found at – https://www.spa.police.uk/strategy-performance/strategic-police-plan/ 1.3 The initial phase of consultation on the review consisted of an invitation from local authority partners to provide open-ended responses and the final date for submissions to the consultation was 4 September 2022. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Police and Fire & Rescue Scrutiny Sub-Committee (i) homologate the response attached as Appendix 1 which was submitted to the Scottish Police Authority in line with the required timescales. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The current joint Strategic Police Plan was published in March 2020 and for the first time this ensured that Scotland had an outcomes based Strategic Police Plan. There is a statutory requirement that the Plan is reviewed within 3 years of its approval and the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland initiated the review as required by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.
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3.2 The initial review carried out by the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland consisted of a strategic assessment analysis of current and future harms and threats, and a review of progress made so far to deliver against the outcomes in the current Strategic Police Plan. 3.3 Local authorities were invited to provide views and observations on the work carried out to date and any areas which would benefit from revised emphasis in a new iteration of the plan. Open-ended responses were requested at this stage and after these have been reviewed, considered and incorporated into the emerging draft plan as appropriate, it is the intention for a wider and more structured consultation process to take place. 4. Renfrewshire Council response to initial review of Strategic Police Plan 4.1 Renfrewshire Council welcomed the opportunity to comment on the initial review of findings on the joint Strategic Police Plan and an open-ended response was provided on 4 September 2022. A copy of the correspondence from Renfrewshire Council in response to the request for views and observations is attached as Appendix 1 to this report. 4.2 It is intended that Renfrewshire Council will also provide a full response to the structured consultation when this is open. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of this report 1. Financial - none 2. HR and Organisational Development - none 3. Community/Council Planning - none 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality & Human Rights - The recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement - none 10. Risk - none 11. Privacy Impact - none 12. COSLA Policy Position - none 13. Climate Change - none
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List of Background Papers None Author – Oliver Reid, Head of Communities and Public Protection
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Appendix 1 – Renfrewshire Council response to initial review of Strategic Police Plan Submitted: 4 September 2022 When the Joint Strategy for Policing (2020) was launched, Elected Members of the Police and Fire & Rescue Scrutiny Sub Committee in Renfrewshire were very supportive of the 5 Strategic Outcomes and 15 Strategic Objectives. This still remains the case, however, some of the objectives are going to be tested more in the coming months and year than ever before. Renfrewshire Council agrees with the 5 areas requiring greater depth as part of the National Strategic Assessment. However, consideration also requires to be given with regards to interaction with youths as due to external circumstances (Covid-19, Cost of Living Crisis, Ukraine War and uncertainty), this is an area of increased activity and anti-social behaviour that is causing massive anxiety in communities across both Renfrewshire and nationally (discussions with other local authorities). The areas of change that will influence policing in 2022-2027 as detailed under Horizons Scanning and Future Approach are agreed with and welcomed, in particular the continued focus on public health approaches, early intervention and preventative approaches. Whilst the cost of living crisis is mentioned under a report, Renfrewshire Council wonders if this area was reviewed now, that this would influence policing more in the coming years than many of the other issues. With communities going to struggle in coming months/year/s then policing will need to respond to this. This is obviously captured in the Strategic Objective - Support the changing nature of communities, however, there will be a sharper focus in the coming period. One of the key issues talks about “trust and confidence” in policing. Within Renfrewshire, there is a strong relationship between the Council and Police (K Division), however, complaints are being received regarding the waiting times for calls being answered and responded to on 101. This is causing a confidence issue locally as people are losing trust and stopping phoning Police Scotland. Community Police resourcing should also be a focus over the coming year given the above challenges and the constant drain on these Officers within the community. Important initiatives cannot be resourced and again this is leading to a lack of confidence by Elected Members and communities. Renfrewshire Council agrees with the conclusions detailed in the paper and agrees there has been good progress made to deliver the ambitious strategic outcomes and the plan is being delivered in the face of changing circumstances e.g. Covid- 19/COP26. However, these challenges are continuing and as stated above, more cognisance should be taken of changing demographics (youths coming out from challenging years) and the cost of living crisis. These should be areas of emphasis on page 7. The work undertaken and relationships in Renfrewshire (K Division) remain excellent through the Renfrewshire Community Safety Partnership and the Outcomes and Objectives are being met, however, constant monitoring of resources will be required in the coming years to ensure policing within communities continues to meet their needs.