A new accountability board to ensure Devon & Cornwall Police is held to account has reconvened again 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, hosted monthly by Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Alison Hernandez, met recently. She has now issued a judgment 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 (SPR) 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 (VAWG), terrorism, public disorder, serious and organised crime (SOC), child sexual abuse, national cyber incidents and civil emergencies.
Commissioner Hernandez’s judgment is 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.”
Devon and Cornwall Police will present further evidence to the Commissioner to allow full scrutiny of every component to show how it is delivering against the SPR.
The second performance area discussed was the constabulary’s risk management of identified custody risks. Details were shared around plans that are already in place to ensure its custody provision is both safe and meets legal requirements.
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 judgment was ‘part-assured’ with more in-depth scrutiny planned in the near future.
During the meeting, 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.
Responding to her latest statement of assurance following the Commissioner’s Accountability Board meeting, he said: “The force provides safe and legal detention for people arrested across Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly. 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.
“The force and the Commissioner have now agreed a set of Terms of Reference for this review, which is hoped to provide recommendations on our long-term provision.”
The Commissioner has committed to sharing her levels of judgment with the public and external stakeholders following each meeting to increase transparency in policing and the criminal justice system.
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