Commissioners Response to Panels Report
Councillor Bernard Peters
Chair of Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel
RE: Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel - 27 June 2022 - Consideration of Annual Report 2021/22
Thank you for your letter of 5 July 2022 summarising the Police and Crime Panel's response to my Annual Report 2021/22 as discussed at the meeting of the panel held on 27 June 2022.
I have noted that Panel did not make any specific recommendations in response to the report but I acknowledge the various issues, concerns and comments raised by members as mentioned in your letter. May I particularly thank you for acknowledging the hard work being carried out by Staffordshire Police in responding to performance concerns, highlighted both by my office and Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. I share your concerns, and those of the communities of Staffordshire, that performance in areas such as call handling and incident response needs to improve quickly to restore public confidence. The new local policing model I described at the meeting went live at the end of June and is already beginning to show positive results.
You rightly mention that public confidence is also founded on transparency in all that we do. I recognise that there have been technical issues with our website which have made it difficult for people to find the information they need. These have now been addressed and all documents relating to my Public Performance Meetings are now easily accessible, and I encourage all Panel members to view the video streams and accompanying papers.
I note that some of the other matters you have raised will continue to be addressed at future meetings and as part of the Panel's ongoing work programme for 2022/23, namely road safety, delays in the criminal justice system and the impact of the new local policing model.
May I therefore thank you again for the discussion we had at the Panel meeting and confirm that I accept the report of the Panel, and I look forward to the ongoing constructive challenge as well as the continuing support of the Panel at future meetings.
Yours sincerely
Ben Adams
Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire and Rescue, Crime