After some gentle persuasion, I'm back representing Stroud District Council on the Gloucestershire Police & Crime Panel. It can be a tad stressful at times, but I believe the work is necessary for our wonderfully diverse community. So, some informal notes and personal comment from yesterday's meeting.

Words Matter – Girls and Young Women Research Project

We noted an excellent piece of work that the OPCC has undertaken called Words Matter. How police communicators report on male violence against women and girls using the active voice, precise crime names and non-victim-blaming language.

Last week I attended a StopWatch strategy day up in London and discovered a report called the Girls and Young Women Research Project which focused on how officers treat young women and girls. I was alarmed that it confirmed a long-standing concern I had about community scrutiny down here in Gloucestershire.

These two documents together cover both sides of the trust equation. How police communicate about women and girls, and how officers treat them. So, yesterday, I challenged the PCC on the findings in the StopWatch study.

The crux of my question was this: How are complaints detected by the community (as opposed to the constabulary), and how do we ensure that the constabulary learns from them?

A few years ago at the constabulary there was a 'Community Complaints Trigger'. A complaint about stop and search, for example, should have prompted a meeting of the Scrutiny Panel, where the stop would be reviewed by members of the community themselves. It was Gloucestershire's local policy that set this trigger at just one complaint, going beyond national guidance of three. It was designed as a circular system of continuous improvement, forming part of the excellent Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme introduced by Theresa May when Home Secretary.

But recent changes at the constabulary have quietly dispensed with this trigger. Complaints are now known about only internally, with a very slim chance of ever being picked up by the community Scrutiny Panels — who have limited time to check only a tiny fraction of the stop and searches that take place between meetings.

That cycle of community-driven accountability has, in effect, been broken. And given how much emphasis policing places on trust and legitimacy, it's a step backwards that we should be honest about.

Chris Nelson's response

Rather than the considered response I asked for, the PCC was quick to dismiss the relevance of the StopWatch study and asserted that the constabulary has one of the best find rates in the country. But that's not answering the question about how procedural failings would be detected by our scrutiny panels here in Gloucestershire! Besides, the find rate measures what officers found after deciding to search. A force could find something in every search and still be searching the wrong people. And in any case given the evidence that stop and search records routinely fail at the point of encounter; no record given, no grounds logged – that statistic is only as reliable as the paperwork underneath it. Stop Search is hugely disproportionate too.

Community Engagement Strategy

Later in the meeting there was a frank and enlightening presentation by the OPCC Volunteer & Engagement Officer. Some of that presentation was a response to my initial question. The officer described some work being done around strip searches where, it seems, problems have indeed been identified.

My initial concern and question stands and I am going to get a bit more involved with the Scrutiny processes to gain a deeper understanding.

Chief Constable Recruitment

The process to recruit the new Chief Constable is well underway.

Candidates will be interviewed by panels of local and national stakeholders once one emerges successfully they will be subject to a confirmation hearing by the Police and Crime Panel on the 20th November.

For the first time there is a community consultation (survey) underway. Answers that members of the public provide for this survey will be themed to inform the first stage of the interview which will be a presentation about the concerns of the communities in Gloucestershire.

Have your say using this Microsoft Form

PEEL Assessment

The PEEL inspection programme is the HMICFRS regular assessment of the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of police forces in England and Wales. The constabulary had an inspection earlier in the year. The inspection is due to be published in the next couple of weeks. The top table seemed relaxed about it.

StopWatch background

StopWatch formed in 2010 as a coalition of academics, activists, marginalised youth, and legal experts seeking to challenge police use of stop and search powers by drawing attention to the realities for those on the receiving end of them.

Their study that had some straightforward recommendations:

• A complete prohibition on the use of force against girls and boys during stop and search.
• A presumption that under-18s are victims, not offenders, to prevent traumatising and unnecessary interventions.
• Strip searches, if they ever occur, should only happen under strict legal conditions: conducted by healthcare practitioners, not officers, and followed by safeguarding referrals to support the person searched when they need it most.
• And a duty of care to ensure those released from custody are not abandoned on the streets, alone and vulnerable.

Meeting information

Full Agenda pack available here.

The full webcast of the Panel meeting is available at the Gloucestershire County council portal.

Contact

As always, if you have any questions or just want a chat, I'm easily contactable – phone numbers and email on my home page. Use my contact info if you spot errors or if I've got something completely wrong!

I'm not using Facebook much anymore, but feel free to link and share these reports using whatever social media you fancy.

*You can also find me on the Fediverse (social media without adverts, algorithms, or outrage) here: https://stroud.social/eco-g

PS. As you may have noticed the listed.to platform is closing down before too long, so I'm having to embark on a migration process. I'll send an e-mail in due course. #video #OPCC

Stage 1 Formal Complaint: Update On 1st July 2026, I submitted a Stage 1 formal complaint to the Chief Executive of Stroud District Council regarding my Police & Crime Panel scrutiny report for the Community Services & Licensing Committee meeting of 4 June 2026.

[Update 3rd August 2026] I've further amended the text of this post. Following a meeting earlier today at SDC I believe that this complaint has now been resolved. #OPCC

Well it's been a long time coming, I guess.

My blog and reports have been noted for plain speaking and none of the normal corporate fluff. Greens do things differently, I guess.

Yesterday, I was attending an excellent session on Mental Health Awareness at Ebley Mill. Actually, I thought it was for councillors and how one can identify metal health problems and help others. It wasn't, it was about you as an individual. Wow, I tick so many of those stress boxes!!

Rather foolishly, two thirds through, I checked my e-mail in one of the breaks only to discover that the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner have reported me to the County Council Monitoring Officer. :(

I momentarily contemplated the news and made my excuses then took a few minutes out. It made me realise the enormous stress that councillors have to deal with doing what we think best for the communities they represent. So, I picked myself up and went to check-in on two colleagues, in particular, who I'm certain needed a bit of a hug right now.

Needless to say this has all been very distracting re the preparation required for Audit & Standards Committee later this evening.

Here is a link to my report to Community Services & Licensing Committee that caused the offence at the OPCC (26/5/26 now with addendum).

Here's the e-mail from the OPCC CEO referring the matter to the Monitoring Officer.

And lastly here's my apology which I fired off as soon as I got home:-

Hi xxxx,

Wow. Firstly let me apologise for any offence and stress this has caused you. It was not my intent whatsoever.

Secondly, I copied you in so that you (and by extension the PCC) were aware that my question to the PCC, at the panel, was grounded in genuine concern in the community and their need to see accountability, not political shenanigans.

The reference to floundering were initiatives like PRAP, Better Together, PCSO football, Legitimacy Panel etc. etc. all are believed to have been driven through CC Hansen's leadership. CC Hansen seems well respected in these sections of the community. Some have told me that they feel the PCC/OPCC has, at best, de-prioritised these areas. Maybe I didn't articulate this background/context well enough? If so, for that I'm sorry for that(sp.).

You know me by now, I'm plain speaking and prefer to tell it how it is. But, it is a scrutiny panel, after all, and I'm elected to ask questions, convey what I learn by reporting back to my constituents in a way that's clear understandable. This is my role as a councillor.

Anyway, I guess, that I'll have to explain all this to the Monitoring Officer, which is OK, but I feel that a coffee and a chat would have been preferable.

Regards

[I've removed this bit of my report following resolution at SDC] #opcc

A meeting summary and [personal comment]. Authored by: Cllr. Gareth Kitchen representing Stroud District Council Reporting to: Community Services and Licencing Committee. [minus the personal comments]

• Webcast of meeting.
• Agenda packs etc.
• Minutes When available.

[Meeting kicked off with the normal formalities. I detected a frostiness in the room at this meeting which was unusual. I was wondering if this was because of me. I had (unintentionally) been keeping the monitoring officer quite busy with my pre-questions. Also, I was unhappy about having to submit to confidentiality for a briefing about the suspension of the Assistant Chief Constable which had already been published by the BBC.]

2025 Staff Wellbeing Survey Summary

Force performs well in team dynamics and individual resilience. However, there are some areas for improvement regarding fatigue management, modernisation (digital), and organisational leadership transparency. The survey highlights a disconnect between staff feeling trusted to do their jobs and feeling supported by the broader organisational structure and leadership during times of change. Results brought down because of upheaval and organisational change with the PCSOs and redundancies. Sergeant rank most negative. Action Plan created with various boards managing. The recommendations of last year's OPCC survey were fed into the current action plan. [The actual data backing this summary information was not provided. I challenged this and the DPCC chose to remind me and the panel that it is not our role to scrutinse the constabulary. However, without the correct level of detail, context and data how are we able to work out what questions to ask?]

Special Constables

The force currently has 122 Special Constables, including 15 new recruits. While the unit is praised for its cost-effectiveness, community engagement, and adaptability, a recent review identified critical gaps in governance, inconsistent training standards, and unclear role profiles that hinder full integration with regular officers.

To address these issues, a plan is underway: short-term efforts focus on auditing membership and strengthening governance; medium-term goals involve skill mapping and improved communication; and long-term strategies aim to expand specialised training and new operational roles.

That's what the Powerpoint presentation told us. The reality is clearly quite different. Members of the panel have been contacted about concerns raised by current and former specials. The panel were assured by the OPCC CEO that these concerns had been noted and fed back appropriately. [I think this may have been the root cause of the frostiness observed at the start of the meeting.]

[Despite the prior 'words of advice' from the DPCC, I felt I had to raise, for the second time, that I felt the backing papers did not provide the level of detail, background, context or data required for panel members to ask the right questions.]

Emergency Services Collaboration Board

The primary goal of the board is to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of the three main emergency services (Police, Fire, and Ambulance) to better serve the public. This involves sharing resources, training, and intelligence to avoid duplication and gaps in coverage.

Recent events have includes the Safer Stroud Community Event in 2025 with 6,000 attendees. Operation Plumage a training exercise around a cannabis factory fire scenario and Operation Shield around anti-social behaviour. There has been improved engagement from the South West Ambulance Trust.

Update from the PCC

Although not in the backing papers the PPC raised the 'Whole Force Review', due in April and will inevitably bring consequential layout changes at the constabulary. Worries about longer term budget resilience. Still short of money from Govt. Didn't receive precept increases applied for. No funding for the IT deficit either £10.5m. Redundancies may ensue but legal processes ensure fairness. Work on national police reform. Little detail when white paper announced. Govt. now trying to fill in that detail and takes significant proportion of his time (covered again in depth in questions). [An unusually brief update, which the Chair couldn't help mentioning. Chuckles around the room and smiles at the top table (finally).]

Questions are dominated by thoughts on the multiple layers of 'reform' that are in progress right now. The Chair comments on how other P&C Panel Chairs are in the dark on these reforms and Home Office is unable to answer questions in online meetings. There is little concrete detail but some indication on the direction of travel is included in the CEO report.

Chief Executive Report

Safeguarding Duties in Commissioning and Procurement training received and preparations underway for the recommissioning of Victim Services from April 2027. Serious Violence Duty Funding of £331,000 confirmed for Gloucestershire, particularly for young people. ASB case reviews reduced. Attributed to strengthened prevention work and collaboration. Used to be district council CSP responsibility.

My futures project discussed and we were briefed on this last November, good to get feedback on the delivery.

Seeing slight increases in neighbourhood crimes in the county. Context: changes in the way offenders are managed in the community. More of burden on providers.

The Chef Finance Officer was at the meeting and this surprised me as there was no specific finance agenda item. So, I listened intently for 'changes' but these had been eluded to by the PCC earlier, I think. The Constabulary still needs to identify a further £5.2m in order to balance future budgets. Explained the staffing levels targets so as not to incur penalty. Wants to avoid 'reverse modernisation' (officers doing staff work). £12m saving target hit but only by freezing vacancies. Budget pressure with current pay review/award will add to future cuts/savings. Reserves already at minimum levels and finance remains difficult only a few forces in worse position.

Question on priory 5 in the Police and Crime Prevention Plan. Reduce support victims on re-offending. What extent the Police service can contribute to re-offending given that homelessness is the main driver along with the seamless moving out of the prison estate. CEO says with prison population crisis we cannot arrest our way out of crime, has to be a whole system approach and there are teams in the constabulary too.

I questioned about the second IOPC investigation into CC Hansen. I am being asked questions about this by members of our community and it's taking considerable amounts of my time. [CC Rod Hansen is well respected in the community for work he led at the constabulary following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. People are wanting to know how the PCC will be held to account for his part in these suspensions. There is real concern that these initiatives have been left to flounder at the behest of the OPCC.] The PCC has previously offered to receive detailed questions from the panel. I asked how he envisaged that process taking place? The PCC ducked that question and said it would be highly inappropriate to discuss the matter or to say more. CEO proposed a lessons learnt workshop because CEO believes Gloucestershire have handled the matter well. Our Local Democracy Reporter was interested in this topic and there is clearly political dynamics at play which I wasn't aware of. The Chair quips that we may end up with two Chief Constables. [CEO unimpressed]

Police reform agenda. [I wanted to ask for confirmation that public will not be able to serve an FOI on these new Police and Crime Boards? If true would be an outrageous retrograde step in openness and transparency? We should be learning from past mistakes. i.e. GFirst LEP. However, the Chair wanted to move on.]

Work Plan

The Chair asks that members bring things forward that they have a real interest in because it's the panel's job to challenge the OPCC and not just be a talking shop. [Maybe more frostiness to come, or maybe we roll up our sleeves and start tackling the difficult stuff for the benefit of the whole community!]

#OPCC

A meeting summary, personal notes and comment. Authored by Cllr. Gareth Kitchen, SDC.

This article will form the basis of my brief report feeding into the Community Services and Licensing Committee at SDC.

Webcast of meeting. Agenda packs etc. Minutes.

Proposed Gloucestershire Police Precept 2026/2027

These are the PCC’s recommendations for the 2026‑27 revenue budget and the MTFP (2026‑27 to 2029‑30) and he wants support for a Council‑tax precept increase of £18.50, giving a Band D Council‑tax rate of £340.58 for 2026‑27 (a 5.74% rise).

There is a budget gap of £2.3 m for 2026‑27 which will be funded by the higher precept, additional reserves use, and modest grant growth.

The numbers; overall grant increase 2.8%, pay award assumption 3% plus incremental drift. Council‑tax base growth: 1.15 % and general inflation: 1.70 %.

Medium‑Term Financial Plan 2026‑30. Police officers, staff, non‑pay leads to a cumulative funding gap of £5.2 m by 2029‑30. Savings identified of £9m in 2026‑27 but that £5.2m gap will need to be plugged by additional savings over the term.

Staffing savings of £7.6m (84% of total savings) in 2026‑27, mainly through vacancy management, overtime reductions, and the Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme. Non-pay savings of £0.9m (including ICT efficiencies, contract renegotiations).

Planned use of £6.3m of revenue reserves in 2026‑27 (mostly for organisational change). General reserves would fall below the target 3% of net revenue expenditure, raising adequacy concerns.

Total capital spend: £40.2 m over four years (fleet, estates, equipment, ICT, ESN) funded mainly from borrowing (~£30 m)

CFO says the budget is prepared on a robust basis, but reserve levels are marginal and the organisation is exposed to funding and savings delivery risk. Ongoing monitoring of savings, careful vacancy management, and pursuit of additional funding will be essential to avoid fiscal stress.

Panel recommendations attached

The Panel didn't just wave the budget through. We attached recommendations and wanted regular work-stream updates relating to ICT, Estates and New Operating model. The panel also wanted info on preventative work to tackle inequity surrounding stop and search, use of force with genuine community engagement to improve trust in policing. More information on the rationale of this recommendation here. Also, this was picked up by the Stroud Times.

The bottom line

• Council Taxpayers: Expect a modest increase in Band D council tax ( £18.50) to sustain policing services.
• Police & Staff: Continued emphasis on efficiency, vacancy management, and an upcoming operating‑model redesign.
• Panel: Need to scrutinise the realism of the savings assumptions and the adequacy of reserves, especially if grant settlements fall short.

Update from the Police & Crime Commissioner

• The PCC's update was quite brief.
  
• Interesting question from fellow SDC Councillor Steve Robinson on Prisoners building homes. PCC says just one person driving the project and so many stakeholders it's difficult to make resilient. Looking to beef up governance. He mentioned that the council in Bristol has really embraced the scheme. I found this link.

Update from the OPCC Chief Executive

An out of cycle update from the CEO, issued before the whitepaper was released.

• Abolition of PCCs – The government plans to end PCC elections in 2028 and replace the PCC/OPCC model with a statutory Police and Crime Board (5‑11 elected members + 2 independents). This board will oversee strategic policing, hold the Chief Constable to account, and appoint a Policing and Crime Lead. Detailed arrangements await the police‑reform White Paper (expected Jan 2026, Royal Assent by Mar 2027). The report notes possible force mergers and broader regional governance shifts, and reiterates that victim‑and‑witness services will continue.

• Administrative Court ruling – Following a court case in Staffordshire concerning the recruitment of a temporary Chief Constable, the OPCC has sought legal advice and, confident in its current structure, does not plan any changes for Gloucestershire. Personally speaking, I thought the OPCC acted in a fully transparent manner regarding this decision at the time and during the process of appointment. It was unfortunate that the PCC insisted that those discussions remained confidential, I didn't think that anything discussed justified that demand which I had to submit to in order to participate in those meetings.

• Overall, the OPCC is preparing for the transition, engaging with local authorities, monitoring national guidance, and ensuring continuity of services throughout the reform process.

#OPCC

I represent Stroud District Council on the Gloucestershire Police & Crime Panel. Today the Panel supported my Green recommendation which will now accompany the Constabulary's budget:-

To request more information be brought to the panel that preventative work is undertaken in Gloucestershire by the OPCC and the Constabulary to tackle inequity which includes stop & search, arrests, charging decision & use of force through genuine community engagement to improve trust in policing, building on the police and crime prevention plan.

This meeting was focused on the budget and the precept being increased to the max, plus some. As the precept is collected by the Council Tax ,which is regressive, I was wanting to point out the impact..........

The PCC's response missed the mark, but T/CC Maggie Blyth was more on target.

To the Chair's annoyance a long rambling build up to the impact on excellent community engagement initiatives because of overtime cuts. I wanted to highlight that the Peel Inspectors thought we were a leading force in terms of Community Legitimacy. Things seem to have drifted from there. This is difficult work.

T/CC again on target, explanation of PRAP Maturity Plan and the Legitimacy Panel has a new name! OK I could detect issues and this is news! Actually, this was the answer to another question I'd noted from the backing papers. I need to follow up on this response in the community.

If you vote not to accept the budget as is and vote only to approve it with conditions, you find yourself in a position where it suddenly dawns on you that have to work out what to say as that recommendation! I'm not good at thinking on the hoof like this... :( Trust in Policing in tatters flowing from community meetings following a racial attack in Stroud.

We quickly drafted a more concise text version and ran around the room to seek consensus. We actually checked wording with the PCC too! The monitoring officer was on hand to make sure it ticked the legal boxes. Then it went to the vote. Only two voted against it, so approved.

The full webcast of the Panel meeting is available at the Gloucestershire County council portal. #video #OPCC

Along with Cllr Richard Dean (Dursley) and Cllr Steve Robinson (Nailsworth) I attended an OPCC briefing at the constabulary yesterday. Stroud District well represented! Here are some of my informal notes and comment. The agenda was roughly:-

• Role of OPCC
• Performance
• Serious Violence
• Police and Crime Prevention Plan

tbh, it became a bit free format with the sheer number of questions from the councillors. There was a hard hitting video by Josh Hall's parents and the devastating aftermath of knife crime for both family and community (there's a link to the video in the release).

A really impressive talk by Neil Smith about work being done in the in partnership with some notable companies to help disadvantaged youngsters. All 'top-secret' in the loosest sense of the word, but ground breaking work nonetheless. It really begs the question about how this critically important work will continue once the PCC and OPCC disappear.

The best bit from my point of view was the Performance Monitoring. During the break I managed to collar Rob Gleed to ask him about some troubling stats uncovered for us by Stop Watch who I'm working with along with Stroud Against Racism. Rob was like a lieutenant colonel in charge of a battalion of SQL Servers taking me through the analytical app on his laptop..... We couldn't quite identify the issue, but it really was impressive use of technology. From the general conversation it appears that half the OPCC/Constabularies in the country don't have access to this level of analytics. Again, this makes me think how short sighted the recent PCC-OPCC announcement was.

The critical point for me, is the promised monitoring of disproportionality which I received from the DPCC at a recent Panel meeting. It became clear in general conversation that there are no definitions or consensus of what needs to be tracked. That, in my opinion, means that the PCC is really going to struggle on delivering Priority 6 (Improving trust and confidence in policing) in the Police and Crime Plan. This is going to be my focus over the next quarter as the constabulary budgets are set.

#OPCC

You may have received a copy of the Wotton Ward News through your letterbox recently. If not, there's a copy here. If you could lend a hand delivering leaflets to your neighbours we'd appreciate the help.

Local membership of the Green Party is now just shy of 1000 members. We are holding a local meeting in Wotton on Thursday 4th December at the Baptist Church. All Green Party members are welcome to attend. Contact me or Catherine for more details or why not join the Green Party here

On the Local Government Reorganisation front things have moved on. Stroud District Council voted for a single Gloucestershire unitary authority (The Greens voting for this along with the Lib Dems and Conservatives). Labour, alone were arguing to split the county into two which would have left council tax payers picking up a hefty bill for years to come. As GCC Cabinet had already voted for a single unitary it was pretty much a done deal anyway, but I suppose Westminster could simply overrule this decision if it doesn't align with their plans.

What really irks me (and many other councillors) about the whole LRG process; As a Green I want all these services and decision making devolved right down to the lowest practical level. This means district and town councils taking on far more of the county responsibility. Abolishing GCC, if you like. Urban districts like Gloucester focusing on their priorities, rural districts like Stroud focusing on theirs. This would offer true local accountability. It's pretty much the French model.

But that option wasn't even investigated or offered as a option in the backing papers. Why not? Westminster prefers autocracy; command and control. This reorganisation has nothing to do with devolution it's all about central control.

So, as seems normal for a councillor nowadays, we were expected to vote for the least worst choice for those who we represent. Why do we so often have to vote for the least worst option? At SDC on Thursday like all my Green colleagues I was intending to vote for 1UA on 'let's not create a £20m black hole' grounds, but I wasn't feeling to good on the night. Once I worked out that the vote for 1UA had the numbers, I felt able to make apologies and headed home to rest. :( Bisoprolol and high‑dose atorvastatin are messing with me!

I spent the other Sunday up in Westridge woods with a group of residents showing support for responsible forestry management. There is tree felling planned to start imminently to address ash dieback but there are concerns following shortcomings with prior work.

A press release has been sent from all the ward councillors (Green, Lib Dem and parish councillors) there's a copy here on the Green Party web site but it should find its way into the local press without any Green Party branding, this is a community effort. My more detailed, but less polished, background notes and blog are here. A 'hate campaign' indeed... ;)

I spent Friday at GCC for the Gloucestershire Police & Crime Panel. Hot off the press, Westminster have announced that Police & Crime Commissionaires are to be abolished along with their office, the OPCC. Politically, I'm miles away from Chris Nelson but I do have confidence in his ability to manage the long overdue upgrading of Police systems. However, I have less confidence in him delivering on important aspects of his Police & Crime Plan. His precept has been increased to the max in recent years yet sections of our community, those who can least afford it, are now paying a premium price for an approach that nurtures disproportionality. This is inequitable, structural and addressing is long overdue.

So, OPCC powers will soon shift to undefined, newly created policing boards. These boards will consist of upper‑tier council leaders, appointed experts with a policing and crime lead. Westminster claims these boards won’t revert to the old “bureaucratic and invisible” committee‑based oversight that existed before PCCs. But, as Chris Nelson said the 'back of a fag packet' detail offered to date suggests that claim doesn't stack up. Despite the seriousness, his comment made me smile. :)

Sadly, there was some awful behaviour by a long standing Cllr, shouting and desk banging! At least we weren't subjected to racist diatribe, which seems to be par for the course at GCC nowadays. I've raised it before.... I find the culture at GCC toxic. It's in complete contrast to the ethos at SDC all flowing from the exemplary leadership and example shown by Chloe, Catherine and Kathy.

I've put together some video clips of the Panel meeting. The panel has representation from all the other councils in Gloucestershire.

I've recently published my notes from the November Wotton Town Council meeting and Stinchcombe too. Also, it's now confirmed that the planning variation (S.23/2101/VAR) to provide landscaping in lieu of bank parking at the Symn Lane Car Park will come before DCC early next month (Dec 2nd). The Town Council, on 17th November, 'considered' the variation but after a really lengthy debate I don't recall it being put to the vote. The DCC Committee Officer's Report is here; officer recommendation to support.

As always, you know where I am (Cookability – We also have a 10% sale btw!) if you have any questions or just want a chat. Use my contact info if you spot, errors or I've just got something completely wrong! Also, I'm not using Facebook much any more, but feel free to link and share these reports using whatever social media you fancy.

You can also find me on the Fediverse (social media without adverts, algorithms or outrage) here:– https://stroud.social/eco-g But I'm no longer on BlueSky as my account has been suspended on 'authenticity' grounds. tbh. I'm beyond caring about US Big Tech social media, I prefer to run my own fedi server.

#OPCC

Internal audits are evaluations conducted to assess internal controls, risk management, and operational efficiency and should be aimed at improving processes. I was more than a little concerned about a comment in backing papers. An unhappy auditor makes for a concerned councillor. :(

I've been working for many years around the Scrutiny Panels at the constabulary. I've been perpetually frustrated with my enquiries but continue to work doggedly to seek improvement. And a decade later change is coming, extracting these panels from the constabulary and handing them over to the OPCC. I thought that the recent abolition of the PCC role may scupper these plans.

IT Resilience – Cloud ACT, Resilience and US Big tech. An admission that US Big Tech is entwined into the fabric of the constabulary, not surprising but as a country we need to be developing our own sovereign infrastructure.

Cllr Dean raising the issue of flags, Stonehouse & Stroud Against Racism.

Cllr Hilton very unhappy about members being pulled up for making statements rather than asking questions. Not pleasant behaviour. I wonder if the monitoring officer will have a word?

There was a complaint made about Chris Nelson which was leaked to the press. As a Panel we weren't permitted to discuss it but I made a point. Lessons need to be learnt, I think.

#video #OPCC

A meeting summary, personal notes and comment. Authored by Cllr. Gareth Kitchen, SDC.

This article formed the basis of my brief report feeding into the Community Services and Licensing Committee at SDC.

Webcast of meeting. Agenda packs etc. Minutes.

Normal meeting formalities and we go straight to the Independent Custody Visitors' Annual Report. The Independent Custody Visiting Scheme gives us real insight into conditions in custody and provides reassurance that someone independent of the police is monitoring standards. The scheme is run by volunteers. Note that this is the only police custody suite in the whole of Gloucestershire. It was a good report highlighting staff professionalism and volunteer dedication. I asked about documentation quality as the report does not detail any new digital tools or audit schedules to assist. The no black representation on the ICVS Panel so not representative of the community. Also, in terms of ethnicity ‘not stated’ or 'unknown' is the largest group apart from white. I thought this gap was going to be filled by using police officers’ perceived ethnicity as the same question was asked last year. OPCC have to follow Home Office recording practice, apparently. It provoked some discussion and PCC thought there was value in recording for better understanding. 577 young people detained Cllr. wants to know if this figure is going down because we don't really want to see children being held in custody.

Next was a presentation on how PCCs use the Office of National Statistics (ONS) data to hold the chief (T/CC) to account. They use ONS and police data. They look at 100 metrics per month to compare constabulary performance. OPCC looks at data over a longer term trend. It changes month to month and can go up or down. They look for signals in the data. They can spot quite early when things happen. This triggers further investigation. Normal bounds are established for normal monthly fluctuation. They focus on breaches of these bounds (immediate flag). Three consecutive months close to limits also a flag. PCC loves the methodology, it helps him.

Sometimes the picture is different when MSF (Most Similar Forces) or national data is overlaid on the Gloucestershire data. Went on to show shop lifting and crime trend. DPCC says looking at local data in isolation can give a perverse picture of what's going on. But the presentation concluded, that when compared to MSF “Rising crime figures aren’t necessarily a concern”, which I thought seemed complacent as the local pharmacy in my ward has CCTV screenshots of known shoplifters plastered over their door. The PCC and DPCC pointed out that they had identified and reacted to local spike. Operation Shield was voiced; police and other organisations promising action to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in town and city centres. PCC detours into trust and confidence in policing. Links to ASB, shoplifting, e-bikes. But does mention new internal processes to deal with shoplifting. How this helps local businesses in Wotton, Dursley, Nailsworth and Stroud remains to be seen. Cllr. asks if other forces in the MSF group are having to deal with £12m deficits and is their performance improving? A work in progress.

Update from the PCC. Royal Air Tattoo went off well, huge effort. Meeting with GCC Chief Exec, good levels of communication. Operation Shield spent all the overtime budget for Jul, Aug, Sept, a six fold increase on patrol hours. Cheltenham and Gloucester seen more uniformed activity. Lead to more arrests, more stop and search and reduced ASB over Jul and Aug.

PCC and Constabulary put in much time in preparation for the protest at the immigration hotel in Gloucester. PCC says the assistant chief put out a message to the whole force about when you are involved in protests to remember the importance of being independent, impartial, no perception of two tier policing etc. Which is what they did. No arrests. Had help from other forces.

PCC had a meeting with Gloucester(?) MP about street medics and funding. One element of the night time economy and wants NHS to stump up more cash for this. PCC insists attending the Air Tattoo is not a 'jolly', DPCC joins in the defence. PCC, Police Reform Act, venues need to fund all aspects of policing.

PCC laments that the peaceful Palestinian Action protesters in London caused the Met to arrest over 500 people. Questions about custody capacity should that happen in Glos. No problem as they can use other forces custody suites, like Wiltshire's, if required.

Chief Executive Report: Taken as read. I noticed that the constabularies Chief Technology Officer has has recently resigned. They were only appointed in Spring 2023 as the Niche Core-RMS contract was signed. PCC says IT has been a problem the new IT expert has been a help delivering the change needed.

I asked, when it comes to performance monitoring, why isn't dis-proportionality measured? Just one Chief Constable, Sarah Crew of Avon & Somerset, stands alone (in our MSF group) in acknowledging Institutional Racism. Our constabulary is the worst in the MSF group, now 10 times more likely to be stop searched if you are black in Gloucestershire. There was powerful discussion at the recent community forum and I wanted to know if those demands were fed back and I wanted to know the PCC's position on IR. A: He finds the phrase difficult and thinks it could be used as a weapon. He wants to treat all protected characteristics the same. He needs to listen to the community and change the force so there's less discrimination. He maintains that his S&S find rate (HMI report) is the best in the country. DPCC says dis-proportionality in new plan. New priority, trust and confidence in policing. Comparing nationally. Work in progress. After this panel meeting, and for context, I've summarised why I focused in depth on this question in some video clips here.

Cllr looks at the £12m savings wants to know as 95% has been achieved what impact this has had? Another £9m saving will have to be made in future. TCFO says it's tough. However, they haven't seen a degradation of service. But..... they are in a minority of half a dozen forces who are going to struggle over the medium term to make future savings. 2026/27 they can make the savings but beyond that is going to be very difficult. Efficiency hopes pinned on the new Niche system. PCC would like to throw money at firearms licencing but doesn't have it. He's had to cut back his PCC fund too.

Quick discussion on future workplan. Meeting ends. #OPCC