PCC press briefing 2013/20

20th May 2013

This week’s briefing covers stories from 14 police areas in England and Wales across the following BTP regions:

London North (3): Bedfordshire, Suffolk, Thames Valley;
London South (3): Dorset, Kent, Surrey;
North East (4): Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire;
North West (2) : Cumbria, Lancashire;
Wales & Western (2): Gwent, West Midlands.

In this issue:

Budgets and funding

Police force funding was a headline issue for many police and crime commissioners last week. Others warned that government cutbacks would affect them:

  • Further government funding cuts could lead to 1,000 more jobs going at West Midlands Police, its PCC has warned. [BBC News]
  • HOME Secretary Theresa May is being urged to boost Dorset Police funding on the eve of her visit to Bournemouth. [Daily Echo]
  • The Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire has said he is continuing his fight for sufficient police funding in the county. [Nottingham Post]

Two PCCs were forced to defend the budgets they set for their own operations:

  • Leicestershire and Rutland’s PCC Sir Clive Loader has defended spending nearly £900,000 this year on staffing. [Melton Times]
  • Suffolk‘s police and crime commissioner has defended the costs of his office to MPs. [BBC News]

Meanwhile, Northamptonshire‘s Police and Crime Commissioner Adam Simmonds says he will not be claiming any car mileage from public funds. [BBC News]

Cleveland police's troubles

Cleveland Police faces a legal bill stretching into millions of pounds after paying out more than £500,000 to a solicitor who was wrongfully arrested. [The Northern Echo]

  • The crisis has revived calls to merge the force into neighbouring police areas, something Cleveland’s PCC has rejected.  [The Gazette]

National stories this week

The Metropolitan Police is considering one of the biggest police outsourcing plans as it strives to save £500m in an effort tomeet government budget cuts. [Financial Times]

Almost 5,000 retired police officers who have been re-employed by their old force are receiving both a pension and a salary paid by the taxpayer, figures in the [Daily Telegraph] have revealed. Among those named is British Transport Police chief constable Andy Trotter.

The DNA of thousands of innocent children is being taken by police and stored on the national database, campaigners told [The Guardian], citing new figures.

Stories by BTP area

London North

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley has denied reports he set up a ‘sham office’ in order to claim extra expenses. [Milton Keynes Citizen]

London South

TARDIS-style police boxes are being backed by Kent PCC Ann Barnes as a way of boosting the fight against crime. [Canterbury Times]

Surrey‘s PCC Kevin Hurley has appointed two new part-time assistant commissioners responsible for equality, diversity and victims, who will each be paid £12,500 a year for about one-and-a-half day’s work a week. [Surrey Mirror]

North East

The chairman of Lincolnshire‘s Police and Crime Panel is to stand down following questions over his involvement in the suspension of the force’s chief constable. [Grimsby Telegraph]

Leicestershire‘s PCC Clive Loader has set up the first youth commission in the country after admitting young people in the county had ‘apathy’ for the police. [Hinckley Times]

North West

The Government has rejected calls for an inquiry after arrests were made over details leaked about trips by Cumbria’s crime commissioner in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes. [Times and Star]

Lancashire‘s first police and crime commissioner has been reflecting on his first six months in office. [The Citizen]

Wales and Western

Police in Gwent may not be recording crimes properly in a bid to lower crime figures, the Police and Crime Commissioner claimed. [Campaign]

Recruitment

The proposed new chief constable of Bedfordshire Police has been named as Colette Paul by PCC Olly Martins. [BBC News]