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ACPO Cabinet
Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 20 June 2012
1. ATTENDANCE
1.1 Present Sir Hugh Orde ACPO President (Chair) Sir Norman Bettison Vice President CC Sara Thornton Vice President CC Jon Murphy Head of Crime BA Sir Peter Fahy Head of Workforce Development BA CC Steve Finnigan Head of Performance Management BA CC Simon Cole Head of Local Policing & Partnerships BA AC Cressida Dick Head of Terrorism & Allied Matters BA ACO Nigel Brook Head of Finance & Resources BA/Senior Police Staff representative/Honorary Treasurer DCC Craig Denholm Representative for Uniformed Operations BA T/CC Mick Matthews DCC/DAC/ACC representative DCC Derek Benson DCC/DAC/ACC representative Cmdr Julian Bennett Commanders’ representative CC Nick Gargan NPIA Chief Executive Tom Flaherty ACPO Chief Executive
1.2 Special Advisers CC Andy Trotter Media Advisor CC Peter Vaughan ACPO Welsh Region
1.3 In attendance for specific items ACC Gary Cann West Midlands Police CC Mike Cunningham Staffordshire Police Cmdr Allan Gibson Metropolitan Police Rhys Scudamore Home Office Ann Marie Field Home Office
1.4 In attendance Jane Dench ACPO Director of Policy Ms Rebecca Lawrence ACPO TAM Director of Strategy and Policy Gareth Morgan ACPO Chief of Staff Marie Daniels ACPO Police Reform Manager Oliver Cattermole ACPO Director of Communications Richard Hamlin ACPO President Staff Officer Richard Hampson ACPO Programme Support Officer Rose de la Cuesta Minutes Secretary
Minutes of the ACPO Cabinet meeting held on 20 June 2012
Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland Version 1/2012
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1. ATTENDANCE (Cont.)
1.5 Observers David Hardcastle Futures Business Area Staff Officer Stephanie Lang NPIA Staff Officer
1.6 Members noted the Rolling Attendance Log.
OPEN SESSION
2. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES
2.1 Apologies were received from: Mr Hollis, Mr Marshall, Mr Gormley, Miss Beaton, Mr Barker- McCardle, Mr Allison, Mr Davies, Mr Smith, Mr Solomons, and Mr Baggott.
3. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
3.1 Members agreed the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 9 May 2012 as a true record.
4. STANDING ITEMS
4.1 Action Log
4.1.1 Mr Flaherty reported that all actions have been marked as complete.
4.1.2 Members noted the update.
Items for information
5. PRESIDENTIAL UPDATE
5.1 The President extended his congratulations to Sir Peter Fahy on his recent knighthood and to CC Simon Ash on his Queen’s Police Medal, acknowledging the valuable work that they continued to perform on behalf of the Association.
5.2 The President advised that Tom Winsor had been appointed as the successor to Sir Denis O’Connor in his role as HMCIC which was a step-change. He added that he had written to the Home Secretary seeking further clarity in respect of the HMCIC role given Tom Winsor had no operational policing experience.
5.3 There was a growing industry surrounding the appointment of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and those present were invited to notify the ACPO Central Office if they were being invited to speak at related events.
5.4 The Presidential team and Sir Peter Fahy had met with the Policing Minister the previous day to discuss development of the Police Professional Body (PPB). The draft job descriptions for PPB Chair and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) required further discussion and would be circulated for views after the meeting. The President requested that all comments be sent to the ACPO Chief of Staff. A debate followed concerning eligibility for the role of CEO.
Action: President/Members
5.6 There was an assumption that the PPB would take on the ACPO business area structure, but some issues, such as operational practice, would not be appropriate to the PPB. Further discussion was still required over the role of the PPB versus the role of a Chiefs’ Council, which would need to retain responsibility for operational issues.
Minutes of the ACPO Cabinet meeting held on 20 June 2012
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5.7 Concerns were specifically raised on whether Business Area leads within the PPB would be intended to represent the PPB or act as Chief Constables, particularly where those positions were likely to conflict, as they may on finance or workforce issues. A further meeting with the Policing Minister was recommended to discuss issues.
Action: President
5.9 The President pointed to the review being undertaken by Sir Denis O’Conor and Sir David Omand as a helpful step towards determining the position of ACPO in the future national landscape.
5.10 Members noted the update.
Items for decision
6. DIRECTOR GENERAL, NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY – MEMBERSHIP OF CHIEF CONSTABLES’ COUNCIL
6.1 The President proposed having the Director General of the National Crime Agency, Chief Constable Keith Bristow, as a member of Chief Constables’ Council.
6.2 Members agreed in principle, to Chief Constable Keith Bristow’s membership of Chief Constables’ Council, but acknowledged that given the Director General of the NCA would in future report direct to the Home Secretary, she may have a view. Chief Constable Bristow was therefore in the process of liaising with the Home Office.
6.3 The views of Chief Constables’ Council would also now be sought. If all parties agreed, the Chief Executive would seek an amendment to the Articles of the Association.
7. MINIMUM UNIT PRICE FOR ALCOHOL
7.1 Mr Murphy introduced a paper which requested Members to agree a service position on proposals for a minimum unit price for alcohol and agree that the unit cost should be set at a level that would bring most benefit in terms of reducing alcohol related harm.
7.2 Mr Murphy reported that statistics showed the following:
• 50% of violent crime was alcohol related • 50% of victims of domestic violence believed that their perpetrators were under the influence of alcohol • 1/5 of violent crime took place in either a pub or club and 64% of violence would occur in the evening, at night or in the weekend from around 6pm on Friday to 6am on Sunday • The UK would experience 23,000 alcohol related incidents on a weekly basis.
7.3 Members pointed to the importance of the evidence base provided and emphasised that the service should maintain a professional view, without being drawn into campaigning on the issue. Members agreed to support the paper.
8. ACPO BUSINESS AREAS AND THE PROFESSIONAL BODY
8.1 Ms Thornton introduced a paper which informed Members of the recent developments with the Police Professional Body (PPB) and its alignment with ACPO business areas.
8.2 Members were requested to:
i. Agree the need to engage with the PPB on the issue of business area migration and agree the mechanism to undertake a full analysis of each business area
Minutes of the ACPO Cabinet meeting held on 20 June 2012
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ii. Note the implications for business areas
iii. Agree the relationship between the PPB and Chief Constables’ Council as outlined in the paper.
8.3 Ms Thornton explained that the paper was primarily intended to create a visible picture of the resources being used on business area work. The diagrams for Crime, Criminal Justice and Uniformed Operations business areas indicated a vast amount of work was being covered by force resources.
8.4 Members’ attention was drawn to the roles, responsibilities and decision-making diagram at the top of page 4 of the paper, which outlined the suggested tasks of the Professional Body and the residual functions falling to Chief Constables’ Council.
8.5 A discussion developed which raised the following points:
• Although significant support was currently being received from the NPIA, some work would always require specialist knowledge and expertise from forces • Much of the work was reliant on forces and the voluntary support of their staff • There was a need to ensure a close and flexible working relationship between the new Professional Body and the policy developers in forces • Policy work within business areas was often driven by Ministerial requests, recommendations contained in HMIC reports and other external drivers • A distinction should be made between Chief Constables as employers and Business Area Heads as representatives of the Professional Body. For instance, the PPB would not be expected to provide comments on pay and conditions of staff, this would fall under the remit of Chief Constables in their role as employers • It was equally inappropriate for the PPB to comment on issues regarding accountability for Chief Constables • It was important to recognise that Chief Constables would in future be accountable to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and not the Professional Body • Clarity was required on how the term ‘operational’ was understood. In the corporate world, this would refer to the running of the business, whereas in forces, this would specifically refer to operationally enforcing the law.
8.6 The ACPO Finance and Resources Business Area already had a close existing relationship with a professional body (i.e. CIPFA) and that the advent of the PPB would mean that it would need to develop a further relationship with another professional body. Mr Brook pointed out that the PPB would not act as a professional body in every sense, ie that an officer seemed to be able to operate his or her job without it and it did not seem to offer any disciplining mechanisms for its members.
8.7 Members requested further work into resource allocations for the full range of business area work and other business areas were asked to engage with the NPIA to map their resources.
Action: Business Area Heads
8.9 More work was required on the table at the top of page 4 of the paper, as it did not appear to fully cover the role of Chief Constables in running forces as employers.
Action: Ms Thornton
8.10 Ann-Marie Field of the Home Office affirmed that most of the ACPO business areas would fall under the auspices of the Professional Body and that it was essential to ensure a close working relationship between the two. The next stage should involve looking at governance arrangements and designing an operating model.
Minutes of the ACPO Cabinet meeting held on 20 June 2012
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8.11 Members agreed the recommendations articulated at 4.1 of the paper and at 8.2 above, subject to the points raised.
9. UPDATE ON AUTHORISED PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
9.1 Ms Thornton introduced a paper which provided an update on the recent developments of the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) Programme.
9.2 Members were invited to:
i. Note the progress with the APP Programme
ii. Support the initial release of APP in July 2012
iii. Note arrangements for maintenance, incremental build and Gateway Group role
iv. Support the opportunity to review and consolidate force policies
v. Support the continued engagement with the APP reference group.
9.3 Ms Thornton reported that APP would be ‘soft launched’ and released to forces on week commencing 16 July 2012 as an interactive PDF format and that it would later be made available on force intranets, PNLD and POLKA via PNN.
9.4 The Gateway Group had agreed to review APP materials within 12-24 months from the date of publication, but it has also agreed to accommodate unscheduled reviews if necessary.
9.5 Ms Thornton clarified that all types of documents, including revised documentation and MoUs, required approval at Gateway Group level prior to publication on the ACPO intranet.
9.6 Those present recognised the need for a simple commissioning process and requested the production of a process map. Action: Ms Thornton
9.7 Members agreed the recommendations outlined at 4.1 of the paper and at the 9.2 above.
10. REVIEW OF CONSULTANTS AND FUTURE GOVERNANCE – SEE SEPARATE RESTRICTED AND NON-FOI DISCLOSABLE MINUTES ATTACHED
11. FINAL POLICE RESPONSE TO THE EHRC REPORT ON DISABILITY RELATED HATE CRIME: ‘HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT’
11.1 Mr Cole introduced a paper on the police response to recommendations contained in the EHRC report and requested support for the proposed police action plan.
11.2 Mr Cole reported that the EHRC had requested that final responses be submitted by the end of June 2012 and that there had been an increase in the reporting of hate crime. Mr Cole advised that subject to Cabinet’s endorsement of the action plan, he would conduct a stock- take event with all forces in the Autumn months of 2013 in order to follow up progress.
11.3 Members agreed the proposed action plan.
12. WITNESS CARE UNIT PILOT/ROLLOUT
12.1 The President introduced a paper on behalf Mr Barker-McCardle which argued for a revision to be made to the current minimum requirements for Witness Care Units (WCU) and proposed an implementation package to embed these changes.
Minutes of the ACPO Cabinet meeting held on 20 June 2012
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12.2 Members were invited to agree the following proposals:
i. Revise the previously agreed CPS/ACPO minimum requirements in order to reflect the new ways of working
ii. Offer an ‘assisted implementation’ package to forces who want to adopt the new ways of working within WCUs in order to take advantage of the opportunities that the new minimum requirements would bring.
12.3 Mr Cann reported that pilot schemes had been conducted in West Midlands and Wales and that the feedback received from victims and witnesses suggested high levels of satisfaction with the Service. The proposed changes would lead to significant savings and assist in identifying and focussing on victims and witnesses in greatest need.
12.4 Members agreed the proposals contained in paragraph 6.1 of the paper and in 12.2 above.
13. UPDATE ON VALUE FOR MONEY, COLLABORATION AND THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE – SEE SEPARATE RESTRICTED AND NON-FOI DISCLOSABLE MINUTES ATTACHED
14. UPDATE ON IMPACT/POLICE NATIONAL DATABASE (PND) PROGRAMME – SEE SEPARATE RESTRICTED AND NON-FOI DISCLOSABLE MINUTES ATTACHED
15. THE IMPACT OF A UK OPT OUT OF PRE-LISBON TREATY POLICING AND CRIMINAL LAW MEASURES– SEE SEPARATE RESTRICTED AND NON-FOI DISCLOSABLE MINUTES ATTACHED
16. ANY OTHER BUSINESS – SEE SEPARATE RESTRICTED AND NON-FOI DISCLOSABLE MINUTES ATTACHED
17. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
18. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS
Minutes of the ACPO Cabinet meeting held on 20 June 2012
Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland Version 1/2012