Cadw De Keeping South Cymru’n Ddiogel Wales Safe Quality ...pcclive · Quality of Service Group Minutes 16th January 2012 Page 1 of 10 SOUTH WALES POLICE AUTHORITY AWDURDOD HEDDLU

Cadw De Cymru’n Ddiogel

Keeping SouthWales Safe

Quality of Service Group

Minutes

2012

(Click on the dates to go directly to the agenda for that meeting)

16 January 2012 16 April 2012 8 October 2012

Quality of Service Group Minutes 16th January 2012

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SOUTH WALES POLICE AUTHORITY AWDURDOD HEDDLU DE CYMRU

At a meeting of the QUALITY OF SERVICE GROUP held at Police Headquarters, Bridgend, on 16th January 2012 at 10.00am. Members Present: Mr J Littlechild, JP Mr E Jones Councillor G Kemp Councillor J Williams Councillor T Davies Mr A Ali Officers Present: Mr C. Thomas - Chief Executive (Interim), Chief Executive’s Office Mrs F Hill - Quality of Service Manager, Chief Executive’s Office C/Supt T Jones - Head of Professional Standards ACC Croft - Specialist Operations Mr G Madge - Director of Joint Legal Services Ms. R. Davies - Solicitor, Joint Legal Services Mr J Littlechild in the Chair 1. CHAIRS ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Chair sent his apologies to Members in respect of the meeting papers, which had been sent via post on Tuesday 10th January 2011, however many Members had commented that these had not been received. The Chair further informed the Group with great sadness of the sudden passing of Mr. Barry Murray who was the first Chair of South Wales Police Authority. The Chair confirmed that details of his funeral would be circulated as soon as they were known.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest received. 3. REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

3.1 OUTCOME OF DIP SAMPLING OF COMPLAINTS SESSION

Noted: (i) that the Chief Executive informed the Group of the most recent dip-sampling session which had taken place with the input of the IPCC;

(ii) that this session was the first to be conducted on the Force’s

electronic Centurion system, and in light of this fact, the session had focussed more on the mechanics of the system rather than the dip-sampling of complaints.


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(iii) That Councillor Williams and Mr. Eddie Jones confirmed that the

new process involving Centurion greatly improved the dip-sampling session which allowed Members to view more complete cases than that which the paper system allowed and used the time set aside for such sessions more effectively.

Resolved: (i) that the Group noted the advantages of conducting the dip-

sampling sessions via Centurion.

3.2 LEARNING THE LESSONS BULLETIN

Noted: (i) that the Chief Executive brought to the attention of the Group the content of the most recent Learning the Lessons Bulletin provided by the IPCC, which was a general bulletin focussing on matters such as:

• Call handling; • Gender and domestic abuse; • Custody; • Search powers; • Protecting vulnerable people; and • Roads policing.

(ii) that the Group noted that the Force has taken a proactive

approach in receiving such helpful bulletins, having set up a Learning the Lessons forum which meets subsequent to receipt of each bulletin to discuss the content of the same in detail, and that a forum would no doubt be called to discuss the content of Bulletin 15.

Resolved: that the Group noted the content of Bulletin 15.

3.3 LEGACY STATEMENT

Noted: (i) that the Chief Executive reminded Members that they were provided with an introduction to the above at the Planning Seminar in October 2011;

(ii) that the purpose of the draft document was to provide an overview

of the achievements of the Authority, since its formation in 1995; (iii) That the document was being raised at each of the Group

Meetings, to provide Members with the opportunity of discussing the current content of the document and contributing any further relevant material;


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(iv) that the Chair stated that it was important to celebrate the achievements of every Group and the positive working relationship between the Force and the Authority;

(v) that the Chief Executive informed the Group that a legacy

statement was currently being drafted on behalf of PAW.

Resolved: (i) that the Group noted the content of the draft document; and (ii) that the Group undertook to add its role in monitoring civil claims

which have had the potential to raise significant reputation issues for the Force.

4. REPORT OF THE CHIEF CONSTABLE ON THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT (PSD). 4.1 Report for Third Quarter of 2011-12 Noted: (i) that Members were provided with a detailed breakdown of the

complaints and misconduct issues received or raised against South Wales Police from members of the public during the third quarter of 2011-12;

(ii) that the purpose of the report was to take forward interventions

and problem solve; 4.2 Complaints and Misconduct Noted: (i) that the Group were provided with an explanation of recording

terms in relation to complaints, to define terms such as Complainant, Allegation, Subject Allegation and Complaint;

(ii) that during the period 01/09/11 and 31/12/11 South Wales Police

had recorded 298 allegations against its personnel, which represented a decrease of 9% compared with 328 allegations recorded during the same quarter of the previous year. The PSD further commented that they were pleased to see a reduction in these figures;

(iii) that conduct matters had decreased by 8.8%. The PSD stated

that the trend broadly remained constant in respect of conduct matters, subsequent to the introduction of the Anti Corruption Unit, which had initially been responsible for a peak in the trend;

(iv) that the PSD noted that the three most common allegations

against South Wales Police were once again Other Assault, Neglect of Failure in Duty and Incivility, Impoliteness and Intolerance. The PSD commented that in respect of Incivility allegations, further to concerns from Members, a number of steps


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had been put in place by the Force, the results of which were coming to fruition as this quarter showed a 45% reduction in such allegations. The PSD further assured Members that a significant portion of the Officer Safety Training involved incivility training, with a large number of case studies and examples being sent through to LDS for use.

(v) that the PSD informed Members that in addition to the above steps

having been taken, early intervention practices were being implemented at all managerial tiers within BCUs and that all Sergeants were receiving specific Standards and Values training.

(vi) That Members congratulated the Force on its efforts and noted

that the decrease in incivility allegations received was particularly promising particularly in light of the fact that this quarter included the Christmas period.

(vii) That the PSD confirmed that it intended to send out a positive

conditioning message to the Force to thank everyone for their hard work, and that the Police Authority would be associated with this message.

(viii) That the PSD provided the Group with information which

compared allegations received for the last two third quarters, and in doing so noted the following:

a. That Other Neglect or Failure in duty allegations had

decreased from 68 to 63; b. That Incivility allegations had decreased from 73 to 40; c. That Irregularity in Evidence/Perjury allegations had

increased from 4 to 10; and d. That Breach of PACE Code B allegations had increased

from 7 to 11.

The PSD stated that whilst the figures relating to a) and b) were pleasing, the remaining allegations would continue to be monitored.

(ix) That the PSD drew to the Group’s attention information that had

been provided within the report relating to business interest applications made by officers and staff of South Wales Police. The PSD confirmed that all business interest requests going forward were being recorded on the Force Centurion system, and that the Head of the PSD was responsible for signing off any Business Interest applications that were granted. The PSD further confirmed that during the third quarter, eight applications had been refused as a result of them being considered to be incompatible with the role of a Police Officer.

(x) That the Group questioned whether the PSD followed up

applications that had been refused. The PSD stated that it did not


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actively do so, however it confirmed that should evidence come to light that an Officer had continued with an interest subsequent to refusal then this would be addressed.

(xi) Members further questioned whether Officers could simply transfer

a refused interest to a spouse. The PSD confirmed that if an individual was receiving a financial benefit then he/she had an obligation to disclose this via the Business Interests application.

(xii) that the following table provided a breakdown of complaints by

category and division for quarter 3 of 2011-12:


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(xiii) That the PSD provided Members with details on the number of referrals made by SWP to the IPCC during quarter 3 of 2011-12 and noted that these figures remained fairly consistent:


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Referral Category

2010/11 2011/12

Criminal offence or discriminatory behaviour likely to lead to discipline

5 10

Death or serious injury 5 9 Gravity or exceptional circumstances 0 1 Relevant offence 1 0 Serious assault 3 2 Voluntary 5 0 TOTAL 19 22

(xiv) that PSD informed the Group that whilst they were continuing to encourage complainants to identify their ethnic group and sexual orientation, they were aware that many complainants considered that they may treated disadvantageously if they disclosed such information and it remained a perennial problem. Members noted that the PSD were sending letters to such complainants to inform them of the purpose of gathering such information, however despite these efforts, the PSD had not seen any significant rise in the number of complainants willing to provide such information.

(xv) that the following table illustrated the type of complaints/

misconduct raised by complainants from visible minority ethnic groups:


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(xvi) that the Force asked the Group to note that the number of allegations made during this quarter in comparison to that of 2010-11 had decreased by a total of 14, which was reassuring;

(xvii) that Members were provided with the following breakdown

showing the comparison of complaint resolution during quarters 3 of 2010-11 and 2011-12:

Method Q3 2010-11 Q3 2011-12 De-recorded 3 1 Discontinuance 0 6 Dispensation – Force 3 4 Dispensation – IPCC 7 18 Local Resolution – BCU 64 61 Local Resolution - PSD 25 21 Substantiated 9 3 Unsubstantiated 71 64 Withdrawn 26 33 Withdrawn – not proceeded with 24 18


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(xviii) that the PSD commented that whilst its figures in relation to withdrawn complaints was higher than other forces nationally, the PSD continued to stick with its policy of recording a complaint at the outset. The PSD stated that it did not therefore wish for the withdrawn figures to be perceived negatively.

4.3 Misconduct Hearings

Noted: (i) that there were seven Misconduct meetings before a panel during the third quarter of 2011-12, with the outcomes as shown:

(ii) that there were currently five members of personnel awaiting Conduct proceedings.

4.4 Report providing Summary of FOI Requests Received by the Force Noted: (i) that ACC Croft presented a report prepared by the FOI department

which provided a summary of the percentage of requests that were responded to by the department within the statutory 20 working day deadline, between September and December 2011.

(ii) that the Group was asked to note that the department had

responded to 100% of requests during the months of September and October within the statutory 20 day deadline.

(iii) that the Group were informed that figures relating to the month of

December were highlighted as they included many requests that were currently ongoing. The figures produced within the report in respect of this month were not therefore an accurate reflection of the responses provided at this time.

Resolved: that Members noted the work undertaken by the FOI department

and the extent of the requests received. 5. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES Noted: (i) that the Report provided a summary of Employers Liability claims

and a statistical summary of Employment Tribunal Cases to date;


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(ii) that whilst the Legal Department were currently dealing with a number of difficult cases there were no discernible trends in relation to public liability, Employer’s liability or employment tribunal claims that needed to be brought to the Authority’s attention.

6. EXEMPT INFORMATION

Resolved: that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the public were excluded from the meeting for the following business on the grounds that it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12, 13 and 16 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Act and the public interest not to disclose the information outweighed the public interest in disclosing it.

7. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS DEPARTMENT 7.1 Suspended Officers Noted: that the Group received statistical details of the number of suspended

police officers (eight in total) and one member of police staff. 7.2 Complaints referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) Noted: that the Group received details of complaints referred to the

Independent Police Complaints Commission during the third quarter of 2011-12.

8. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES Noted: that Members were provided with a summary of several ongoing cases

of interest. 9. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE The Confidential Report of the Chief Executive was received. 9.1 Complaints Against Force Chief Officers Noted: that the Group was provided with a full breakdown of the complaints

that had been made against Chief Police Officers, together with a summary of the allegations made and the position in regard to their outcome and current status. Further, the Group was updated as to the current status of ongoing Police Appeals Tribunals matters and Forfeiture of Pension proceedings.

CHAIR

The meeting ended at 11.35 a.m.

Quality of Service Group Minutes 16th April 2012

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At a meeting of the QUALITY OF SERVICE GROUP held at Police Headquarters, Bridgend, on 16th April 2012 at 10.00am. Members Present: Mr J Littlechild, JP Mr E Jones Councillor J Williams Councillor T Davies Mr A Ali Officers Present: Mr C. Thomas - Chief Executive (Interim), Chief Executive’s Office Mrs F Hill - Quality of Service Manager, Chief Executive’s Office C/Supt T Jones - Head of Professional Standards ACC Croft - Specialist Operations Mr L Hill - Assistant Director of Joint Legal Services Apologies: Cllr G Kemp Mr J Littlechild in the Chair 1. CHAIRS ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Chair did not have any announcements to make. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest received. 3. REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE 3.1 LEGACY STATEMENT

Noted: (i) that the Chief Executive reminded Members that they were provided with an introduction to the above at the Planning Seminar in October 2011 and had discussed this matter at the previous Quality of Service Group in January;

(ii) that the purpose of the draft document was to provide an overview

of the achievements of the Authority, since its formation in 1995; (iii) That the Chief Executive would be grateful to receive Members’

comments on the current content of the document with a view to contributing any further relevant material;


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(iv) that it was hoped that the first draft of the South Wales Police Authority’s legacy statement would be produced in June of this year.

(v) that Members suggested that Freedom of Information and Data

Protection requests should be added to the Group’s statement;

(vi) That Members further suggested that in keeping with the statement, gifts and hospitality should be dip-sampled in the near future.

Resolved: (i) that the Group noted the content of the draft document.

3.2 PCC TRANSITION

Noted: (i) that the Chief Executive reminded Members of the ongoing work that was being conducted by the Authority and the Force, in particular with respect to the Complaints strand of the transition;

(ii) that the Chief Executive informed Members as to the current

status of complaints legislation, and confirming that criminal complaints raised against the PCC will be considered b the IPCC.

(vii) That the Chief Executive informed Members that a Welsh

Complaints Group had been established between the four Welsh Forces, at which the Quality of Service Manager had been invited to attend as the Welsh Police Authority representative.

(viii) that the Chief Executive confirmed that Members would remain

sighted of the work conducted by the complaints group going forward.

Resolved: (i) that the Group noted the ongoing work relating to the PCC

transition.

4. DISCUSSION OF DIP-SAMPLING OF COMPLAINTS REQUIREMENT

Noted: (i) that the Chair reminded Members of their duty to undertake dip-

sampling of complaints files with the Force and stated that despite requests from the Quality of Service Manager to arrange a session in respect of this, responses from some Members of the Group had not been forthcoming.

Resolved: (i) that the Group noted the importance of conducting dip-sampling of

complaints sessions going forward; (ii) that Mr. Arjan Ali and Councillor Davies put their names forward to

conduct the next session.


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5. REPORT OF THE CHIEF CONSTABLE ON THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS DEPARTMENT (PSD).

5.1 Report for Fiscal Year 2011-12 Noted: (i) that Members were provided with a detailed breakdown of the

complaints and misconduct issues received or raised against South Wales Police from members of the public during the fiscal year 2011-12;

(ii) that the purpose of the report was to take forward interventions

and problem solve. 5.2 Complaints and Misconduct Noted: (i) that during the period 01/04/11 and 31/03/12 South Wales Police

had recorded 1,047 allegations against its personnel, which represented a decrease of 10.5% compared with 1,170 allegations recorded during the same period of the previous fiscal year. The PSD further commented that they were pleased to see a reduction in these figures;

(ii) that conduct matters had increased by 11.3%. The PSD stated

that whilst the figures produced were admittedly higher than those of other Forces, SWP was renowned for its proactive approach to misconduct matters, coupled with its capability in respect of staff and intelligence systems to root out any concerns raised against staff or officers;

(iii) that Members commented that they were content with the figures

displayed to them, and were confident that such figures demonstrated the PSD’s commitment to approaching such matters in a proactive manner;

(iv) that Members questioned whether the work of the PSD had been

recognised by HMIC. The PSD stated that in its most recent Integrity Inspection, under which the capability of the Force’s Anti Corruption Unit was considered, the hot debrief provided to the Force was very complimentary. The PSD further stated that the IPCC report due to be published in May 2012 also highlights the proactive approach to misconduct of South Wales Police;

(v) That the PSD provided the Group with information relating to the

most common complaints made during the fiscal year 2011/12, noting that Neglect of Duty allegations had replaced Incivility as the most commonly received allegations. The PSD noted that whilst these allegations were the most common, they were in fact decreasing by 5% year on year. The PSD further put some context on the decreasing number of Incivility allegations received by SWP, stating that such allegations had decreased by 39% when compared in the same period of the previous year;


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(vi) That the PSD drew to the Group’s attention information to compare

allegations received for the last two fiscal years. PSD stated that breach of Code B PACE figures had doubled during 2011-12, however, the PSD stated that in noting such figures, the Group should be mindful that such complaints generally arise as a result of PACE searches after arrest. PSD stated that SWP make 45,000 arrests per year and therefore the complaints relating to this area of police work were, in comparison, a small percentage. Nevertheless, the PSD assured the Group that this area of complaints would receive further analysis going forward;

(vii) That the PSD informed the Group that during the fiscal year 2011-

12, 17 Business Interest applications by police officers of SWP had been refused permission. The PSD assured the Group that a robust stance was being taken in respect of ensuring that any business interests held did not conflict with the role of a police officer;

(viii) that the PSD provided the Group with detail in respect of the

breakdown of complaints by category and division for the fiscal year 2011-12 and confirmed that each of the Basic Command Units had seen a reduction in the number of allegations made by the public;

(ix) that PSD informed the Group that whilst they were continuing to

encourage complainants to identify their ethnic group and sexual orientation, they were aware that many complainants considered that they may treated disadvantageously if they disclosed such information and it remained a perennial problem. Members noted that the PSD were sending letters to such complainants to inform them of the purpose of gathering such information, however despite these efforts, the PSD had not seen any significant rise in the number of complainants willing to provide such information, with many complainants stating that they did not feel such information to be relevant when making their complaint;

(x) that the PSD provided the Group with figures which illustrated the

type of complaints/misconduct issues raised by complainants from visible minority ethnic groups. The PSD stated that in providing such figures, the Group should be mindful of the fact that 47% of complainants do not define their ethnicity;

(xi) that Members were provided with the following breakdown

showing the comparison of complaint resolution during fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12:

Method 2010-11 2011-12 De-recorded 6 11 Discontinuance 19 14 Dispensation – Force 25 27


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Dispensation – IPCC 101 92 Local Resolution – BCU 266 209 Local Resolution - PSD 137 87 Substantiated 27 24 Unsubstantiated 213 279 Withdrawn 255 238

(xii) that in considering the above figures, the PSD stated that 982

complaint allegations had been finalised during the fiscal year 2011-12, in comparison to 1049 allegations finalised during the previous fiscal year.

5.3 Misconduct Hearings

Noted: (i) that 26 conduct proceedings had taken place during the fiscal year 2011-12, with the outcomes as shown:


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(ii) that there were currently seven members of personnel awaiting Conduct proceedings;

(iii) that the figures shown the above table did not account for those

members of personnel who tendered their resignation during the misconduct process. The PSD assured the Group that such action was recorded to ensure that this was clearly displayed for the purposes of vetting for future employers going forward.

5.4 Report providing Summary of FOI Requests Received by the Force Noted: (i) that ACC Croft presented a report prepared by the FOI department

which provided a summary of the percentage of requests that were responded to by the department within the statutory 20 working day deadline, between September and December 2011.

(ii) that the Group was asked to note that the department had

responded to 100% of requests during the months of December 2011 – March 2012 within the statutory 20 day deadline.

(iii) that the Group were informed that figures relating to the month of

March were highlighted as they included many requests that were currently ongoing. The figures produced within the report in respect of this month were not therefore an accurate reflection of the responses provided at this time;

(iv) that the slightly lower percentage of requests responded to within

the 20 days statutory deadline in February were due to staff illness within the department.

Resolved: that Members noted the work undertaken by the FOI department

and the extent of the requests received. 6. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES


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Noted: (i) that the Report provided a summary of Employers Liability claims

and a statistical summary of Employment Tribunal Cases to date; (ii) that whilst the Legal Department were currently dealing with a

number of difficult cases there were no discernible trends in relation to public liability, Employer’s liability or employment tribunal claims that needed to be brought to the Authority’s attention.

7. EXEMPT INFORMATION

Resolved: that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the public were excluded from the meeting for the following business on the grounds that it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12, 13 and 16 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Act and the public interest not to disclose the information outweighed the public interest in disclosing it.

8. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS DEPARTMENT 8.1 Suspended Officers Noted: that the Group received statistical details of the number of

suspended police officers (five in total) and two members of police staff.

8.2 Complaints referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) Noted: that the Group received details of complaints referred to the

Independent Police Complaints Commission during the fiscal year 2011-12.

9. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES Noted: that Members were provided with a summary of several ongoing

cases of interest. 10. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE The Confidential Report of the Chief Executive was received. 10.1 Complaints Against Force Chief Officers Noted: that the Group was provided with a full breakdown of the

complaints that had been made against Chief Police Officers, together with a summary of the allegations made and the position in regard to their outcome and current status. Further, the Group was updated as to the current status of ongoing Forfeiture of Pension proceedings.


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11. AOB Noted: (i) that the Chair stated that ACC Croft was attending his last Quality

of Service Meeting due to his impending retirement. The Chair paid tribute to ACC Croft and thanked him for his work with the Professional Standards department. The Chair further stated that on behalf of the Group he wished ACC Croft every success, health and happiness in retirement.

(ii) that other members of the Group echoed the statements made by

the Chair in respect of the work undertaken by ACC Croft; (iii) that ACC Croft thanked both the Group and the Police Authority for

its support during his career.

CHAIR The meeting ended at 11.55 a.m.

Quality of Service Group Minutes 8 October 2012

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At a meeting of the QUALITY OF SERVICE GROUP held at Police Headquarters, Bridgend, on 8th October 2012 at 10.00am. Members Present: Mr J Littlechild, JP Mr A Ali Mr B Lloyd Cllr N Moore Cllr G Sullivan Officers Present: Mr C. Thomas - Chief Executive (Interim), Chief Executive’s Office C/Supt T Jones - Head of Professional Standards Mr L Hill - Assistant Director of Joint Legal Services Ms R Davies - Litigation Solicitor Apologies: Cllr P Sangha Mr J Littlechild in the Chair 1. CHAIRS ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Chair welcomed all those present to the final meeting of the South Wales Police Authority Quality of Service Group. In so doing he took the opportunity to express his sincere appreciation of the support of South Wales Police, current and former Members and the Chief Executive and his secretariat for their support and contributions to the Quality of Service Group. It was widely recognised that the Group performed one of the key functions of the Police Authority in its monitoring and oversight of Quality of Service matters. That could only have been achieved with the full support and co-operation of the Chief Constable and his officers and staff. As a result the Authority had been able to properly discharge its roles and responsibilities and ensured full oversight and transparency had been achieved.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Noted: that there were no declarations of interest received. 3. REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE 3.1 Complaints Transition Noted: (i) that the Home Office consultation paper “Policing in the 21st Century: reconnecting people and the police”. The Government had put forward legislation that would alter the policing governance for England and Wales and more specifically the Police Complaints landscape.


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(ii) that the changes with the Police Complaints system and the introduction of a complaints procedure against a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) were encompassed with numerous pieces of legislation including –

• The Police Reform of Social Responsibility Act 2011. • The Police (Complaints and Monitoring) Regulations 2012. • The Elected Local Policing Body (Complaints in Monitoring)

Regulations 2011. (iii) that an effective means of responding to the changes was to collaborate on an All Wales basis to ensure that new processes and procedures were created and adopted corporately across police forces and future officers of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC’s) in Wales. (iv) that an All Wales Complaints Group had been established to take the complaints strand forward and was attended by representatives from each Welsh force, Professional Standards Department and a representative of the Welsh Chief Executives. (v) that work was ongoing to amend existing force and Authority procedures for handling complaints and further documentation and correspondence would be placed before the Group to consider and adopt across all forces and OPCC’s in Wales. (vi) that in respect of Complaints made against PCC’s the agreed approach was to adopt a triage approach whereby complaints will be received by the Monitoring Officer of the lead local authority of the Police and Crime Panel (PCP). That individual would make an assessment in respect of the severity level of the complaint. Thereafter, depending on the severity of the complaint, it could either be dealt with the PCP, the Chief Executive of the Commissioner or for matters involving criminal allegations by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). (vii) that Members were reminded of the PCC’s duty to monitor all complaints against officers and staff to ensure that Chief Officers handled complaints correctly. Subject to approval by each Commissioner in Wales the suggested dip sampling model to be adopted throughout Wales mirrored that which is currently operated within South Wales. That would involve dip sampling of police complaints files within Professional Standards (PSD) on a quarterly basis, based upon areas of concern, areas highlighted as being outside the general parameters of most similar forces (msf) statistics flagged up by the IPCC at quarterly meetings. (viii) the result of the dip sampling sessions would, thereafter, be feed back to the IPCC and the Commissioner simultaneously to consider any action that maybe appropriate.


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Resolved: that the Group noted the transitional arrangements for complaints in readiness for the arrival of Police and Crime Commissioners. 3.2 HMIC RE-INSPECTION Noted: (i) that Members were reminded that HMIC had undertaken a policing integrity inspection of all forces and authorities in England and Wales during September 2011. HMIC thereafter published a report entitled “Without Fear or Favour” in December 2011 which detailed its recommendations. The findings of the report were accepted by the Home Office and the police service including provision for a reassessment to be conducted to inform the incoming Commissioners and Police and Crime Panels in November 2012. (ii) that during the months of July and August 2012 HMIC conducted a re-inspection of policing integrity to gauge the extent to which Police Authorities and Forces had developed policies, procedures and practice relating to integrity matters. (iii) that inspectors from HMIC visited South Wales Police Headquarters on 29th August 2012. Inspectors interviewed the Chair and Chief Executive of the Police Authority along with an Independent Member of the Standards Committee. (iv) that feedback from HMIC in respect of the re-inspection process had been very positive of the approach of South Wales Police Authority and the South Wales Police. Resolved: that Members were reassured with the results of the integrity inspection conducted by HMIC and commended the Chief Constable and the Chief Executive for ensuring the appropriate measures were in place. 4. REPORT OF THE CHIEF CONSTABLE ON THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS DEPARTMENT (PSD) 4.1 Report for the period 1 April 2012 to 31 August 2012 Noted: (i) that Members were provided with a detailed report into allegations and conduct issues processed by the Professional Standards Departments during the period 1 April 2012 to 31 August 2012. 4.2 Overview and Complaint Data Noted: (i) that the Group was provided with an illustration of the number of cases received by the PSD during the period. As they applied to business interest (52 cases), civil claims (55 cases), complaint cases (289), conduct case (56) and direction of control matters (73).


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(ii) that at the close of the period the live case load of PSD was as follows: Civil claims - 17 Complaint cases – 359 Conduct Cases – 89 Direction and control – 42 (iii) that during the period complaints against South Wales Police personnel rose by 15% from 404 in 2011/12 to 465 in the period April to August 2012/13. (iii) that Members noted there had been particular increases in relation to:

• Mishandling of property. 2011-12 10 cases. 2012-13 24 cases. • Lack of fairness and impartiality

2011-12 28 cases. 2012- 13 45 cases.

• Other neglect or failure in duty. 2011-12 77 cases. 2012-13 107 cases. • Incivility and politeness and intolerance. 2011-12 75 cases. 2012-13 88 cases.

(iv) that Members were advised that there had been an overall rise in the previous five months especially in relation to incivility. PSD were in the process of following up the reasons for the increase with Basic Command Unit (BCU) Commanders and Departmental Heads. (v) that Members were provided with allegations per thousand officers per BCU. A summary which is as follows:

BCU/Area Complaints per 1,000 officers Central BCU 202 Eastern BCU 263 Northern BCU 138 Western BCU 210

HQ /other 41 The force as a whole 156

(vi) that the group was provided with a summary of referrals to the IPCC during the period April to August 2012/13 compared with the same period during the previous year. In total 33 cases had been referred to the IPCC during April to August 2012/13


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compared with 25 for the same period during 2011/12. Members were informed that if in doubt the force would always refer complaints to the IPCC however recent statistics showed 25 out of 29 referrals had been referred back to the South Wales Police. That should be perceived as an indication of confidence in the force by the IPCC. (vii) that Members were provided with data relating to complaint allegations received in the context of circumstance and environment for the period to April 2012. The most common situations from which complaints allegations arose were crime enquiry and arrest. The most common environments from which complaint allegations arose were private property – dwelling house and public place, street. (viii) that Members were provided with a report on complainant data which referred to data relating to Members of the public who made complaints against South Wales Police personnel during the period April to August 2012/13. Overall the number of people who made complaints against South Wales Police increased by 20% from 245 in the previous year to 295. The 295 complainants broken down by gender were 195 males, 98 females, 1 originated with the a company and 1 was listed as other. A breakdown of the complainants by age showed that the highest bracket of complainants was those aged between 20 and 29 years accounting for 15% of complaints. 41% of complainants did not provide their age band data. During the period 16 complainants (5.4%) self defined as BME and 43.4% did not provide their data. (ix) that during April to August 2012/13 the PSD finalised 285 complaint cases, an increase of 13.5% when compared to 251 cases finalised during the same period the previous year. A summary of the results is as follows:

Outcome 2011/12 2012/13 De-recorded 3 2 Discontinued 5 0 Dispensation 29 28 Local resolution by Division 66 75 Local resolution by PSD 20 13 Substantiated 6 3 Unsubstantiated 57 76 Withdrawn 65 88

Resolved: that Members noted the report of the PSD Department in relation to complaints for the period April to August 2011/13.


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4.3 Report providing summary of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received by the Force. Noted: (i) that the report provided Members with an overview of the Freedom of Information requests received by the Force for the period of April to September 2012 inclusive. It was noted that the figures for September were anomalous in that the requests were still being worked upon with the 20 day legislative time period.

(ii) that the number of requests received during the period amounted to 396. The number of outstanding requests was 46. The number of requests completed within statutory timescales amounted to 337. (iii) that the report provided details of the requests by categories. (iv) that of the 16 outstanding requests for August 2012, clarification had been sought for 6 with the requester, 5 were subject to public interest extensions, 4 had not yet reached the deadline due to delay in clarification as one was over due awaiting response from Division. Resolved: that the update report in relation to FOI requests be noted. 5. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES Noted: (i) that the report provided a summary of Employers Liability Claims and the statistical summary of Employment Tribunal cases to date. (ii) that there were no discernable trends in relation to Public Liability, Employment Tribunal or Employers Liability Claims that were needed to be brought to the attention of the group at that time. 6. EXEMPT INFORMATION

Resolved: that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 may be excluded from the meeting for the following business on the grounds that it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 12, 13 and 16 of Part 4 of Schedule 12(a) of the Act and the public interest not to disclose the information outweigh the public interest in disclosing it.

7. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS DEPT Noted: that the group received statistical details of the number of suspended police officers and police staff.


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8. COMPLAINTS REFERRED TO THE INDEPENDENT POLICE COMPLAINTS COMMISSION (IPCC) Noted: that the group received details of complaints referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission during the period April to August 2012. 9. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES Noted: that Members were provided with a Confidential report of Public Liability, Employers Liability and Employment Tribunal Claims. 10. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

The Confidential Report of the Chief Executive was received. (i) Complaints against force Chief Officers. Noted: (i) that the group was provided with a report on the complaints that had been made against Chief Police Officers, together with a summary of the allegations made and the position with regards to the outcome and current status. Since the previous meeting on the 16 April 2012 the Authority had received one new complaint against Chief Officers. (ii) that Members received a confidential update in relation to ongoing cases in relation to the forfeiture of police pensions. (ii) Risk Register Noted: (i) that in preparation for the handover to the Police and Crime Commissioner Members were provided with a final opportunity of reviewing the Risk Register for the Group.

It was envisaged that existing risks would form a firm foundation for the transition process by identifying key risk areas for the PCC and ensuring that they were managed effectively to reduce potential threat and harm.

Resolved: that the report of the Chief Executive be noted. The meeting ended at 11:50am. CHAIR

Documents

Cadw De Keeping South Cymru’n Ddiogel Wales Safe Quality ...pcclive · Quality of Service Group Minutes 16th January 2012 Page 1 of 10 SOUTH WALES POLICE AUTHORITY AWDURDOD HEDDLU