Category: News

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey David Munro has written to the Home Secretary asking for Surrey to receive its fair share of the extra 20,000 police officers promised by government.

The PCC said whilst he is very pleased to see the uplift in resources – he doesn’t want to see the allocation process based on the current central government grant system. This would disadvantage Surrey Police which has the lowest percentage grant of any force in the country.

In the letter, the PCC also calls for the amount of general reserves forces have to be part of the equation and says national agencies such as the National Crime Agency should have an allocation from the outset.

He also outlines how in the last decade the priority has rightly been to protect warranted police officer numbers in Surrey at all costs. However the effect has been that police staff numbers have been reduced disproportionately.

In addition, unallocated reserves have been used to shore up revenue budgets meaning the Force has no general reserves beyond the safe minimum.

Surrey Police has already launched its own recruitment drive in recent months to fill a number of roles which includes the uplift of 104 officers and operational staff created by PCC’s increased council tax precept.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro said: “Like every PCC in the country, I was pleased to see the government pledge around adding 20,000 new officers nationwide which reverses a long period of decline in resources.

The Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro has praised the strides made in neighbourhood policing in Surrey after it was recognised as ‘excellent’ by inspectors in a report published today.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) described officers as ‘local experts’ in the boroughs where they work resulting in the public having more confidence in Surrey Police than any other force in the country.

It also rated the Force as ‘outstanding’ at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour and said it engages well with its communities to understand and solve neighbourhood problems.

The HMICFRS carry out annual inspections on police forces across the country into the Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy (PEEL) in which they keep people safe and reduce crime.

In their PEEL assessment released today, the HMICFRS said it was pleased with most aspects of Surrey Police’s performance with ‘Good’ gradings awarded in the Effectiveness and Legitimacy strands.

The report highlighted that the Force works effectively with partners to identify and protect vulnerable people and upholds an ethical culture, promotes standards of professional behaviour well and treats its workforce fairly.

However, Surrey Police was graded as ‘Requiring Improvement’ in the Efficiency strand with the report stating that it is struggling to meet demand for its services.

PCC David Munro said: “I know from regularly speaking to Surrey residents across the county that they really value their local officers and want to see an effective police force tackling those issues that matter to them.

“So I am delighted to see the HMICFRS recognise Surrey Police’s overall approach to neighbourhood policing as excellent in today’s report which is a testament to the dedication of the officers and staff who work tirelessly in our communities to keep people safe.

Senior policing and county council leaders in Surrey have signed the first ever concordat which pledges to ensure the two organisations work closer together for the benefit of the county’s residents.

The Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro, Chief Constable of Surrey Police Gavin Stephens and Surrey County Council Leader Tim Oliver put pen to paper on the declaration when they recently met at County Hall in Kingston-upon-Thames.

The concordat details a number of general principles which outline how the two organisations will work together for the best interests of the Surrey public and make the county a safer place.

This includes the safeguarding of adults and children in our communities, addressing common factors that bring people into contact with the criminal justice system and the co-commissioning of services to reduce reoffending and support those affected by crime.

It also gives a joint commitment to improving road safety in the county, seeking out future opportunities for emergency service and council collaboration and adopting a shared approach to problem-solving.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey David Munro has said today’s announcement that 20,000 new police officers will be recruited nationwide could signal a huge boost to the future of policing in the county.

The PCC said he is eager to learn how Surrey Police will benefit from the launch of a national campaign led by the Home Office to significantly strengthen the number of frontline officers across the country.

The Force has already launched its own recruitment drive in Surrey this week to attract potential police officers to fill a number of roles including the uplift created by PCC’s increased council tax precept earlier this year.

PCC David Munro said: “Surrey residents have repeatedly told me how much they value their local police but that they want to see more of them on our streets so today’s announcement is a welcome boost for policing.

“This year, my agreed precept rise in the county allowed Surrey Police to recruit an extra 75 officers and operational staff whilst saving another 25 posts which would have been lost.

“Only this week Surrey Police launched their own campaign to find recruits for those roles and others in the Force and I’m told that has already got off to a really positive start.

“So today’s announcement hopefully represents further good news for the future of policing in this county.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey has won a prestigious national award for the quality of its independent custody visiting scheme.

The inaugural Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) Quality Assurance awards were presented at a ceremony at the House of Lords on Wednesday 15 May.

ICVA is the national organisation which supports, leads and represents locally-run custody visiting schemes. Schemes manage teams of independent volunteers who visit those detained in police custody.

Volunteers make unannounced visits to police custody to check on the rights, entitlements, well-being and dignity of detainees held in police custody, reporting their findings to Police and Crime Commissioners and Police Authorities who in turn hold Chief Constables to account.

The Quality Assurance awards were introduced by ICVA to help schemes:

• Reflect on how they comply with the Code of Practice, the legislation that underpins custody visiting.
• Celebrate areas of strength.
• Promote custody visiting and the achievements schemes have made.
• Drive performance and increase sharing of good practice

There were four graded levels of award:

• Code Complaint – Scheme meets statutory requirements and necessary volunteer standards
• Silver – Scheme provides a good standard of custody visiting and volunteer management
• Gold – Scheme provides an excellent standard of custody visiting and volunteer management
• Platinum – Scheme provided an outstanding standard of custody visiting and volunteer management

Within each level, there were more than 25 set of criteria covering key areas such as holding the force to account, and requiring evidence to support each assessment. For Silver and Gold levels, schemes had to get their submissions peer assessed and ICVA assessed each submission for a Platinum award.

After months of research and planning, our new in-house Victim & Witness Care Unit launched yesterday on Monday (1 April).

‘Victim Support’ until now has been commissioned by Surrey Police using ring-fenced funding from the Ministry Of Justice to provide support to victims of crime, on behalf of the Force. From 1 April this funding stream will be channelled into the new unit instead.

The benefits of this are huge. We know that when a victim is given the right support, both practically and emotionally, not only does it aid their recovery and reduce repeat victimisation but, when teamed with an effective investigation, it improves their cooperation to support the criminal justice system and bring offenders to justice.

PCC David Munro said: “Supporting victims should always be at the heart of policing so I am delighted we are entering a new era of victim care with the launch of our unit.

“Experiencing crime can have a truly devastating effect on people and increase vulnerability. That’s why it is so important they receive the right support to recover and rebuild their lives.

“I want to make sure they have a more positive experience of the criminal justice system – from point of reporting through to resolution. That’s why it’s a major benefit Surrey Police is now delivering a complete wraparound service for both victims and witnesses, allowing far closer working between the new team and those responsible for response and investigation.”

Rachel Roberts, Head of the Victim & Witness Care Unit said: “I’m really excited to head up this new unit which will provide the much needed wraparound quality care and support for victims and witnesses of crime. All members of the team have been trained to assess a victim’s individual needs and offer support tailored to helping them cope with the immediate impact of the crime and as far as possible, recover from the harm experienced.

A new Surrey Police headquarters and operational base will be created in Leatherhead following the successful purchase of a site in the town, the Police and Crime Commissioner has announced today.

The former Electrical Research Association (ERA) and Cobham Industries site on Cleeve Road has been bought to replace a number of existing sites, including the current HQ at Mount Browne in Guildford, following a detailed search to identify a location in a more central area of Surrey.

The new site will become an operational hub housing specialist teams as well as chief officers and senior leadership team, support, corporate functions and training facilities. It will replace the existing Mount Browne HQ and Woking Police Station in addition to replacing Reigate Police Station as the main Eastern divisional base. Neighbourhood Policing Teams will continue to operate from all eleven boroughs including Woking and Reigate.

Further sites at Burpham and Godstone where the Roads Policing Team and Tactical Firearms Unit are based will also be moved to the new location.

The sale of those five sites will fund a significant proportion of the cost of buying and developing the new Leatherhead base and the Force hopes the new building will be fully operational in around four to five years’ time. The Cleeve Road site, which covers around 10 acres, has cost £20.5m to purchase.

The move is part of an extensive estates project to deliver long-term savings by moving out and disposing of some of the current outdated and costly buildings.

In their place, an efficient estate will be created that will allow the Force to work in new ways and meet the challenges of modern policing. The new site will also benefit from being a more central location in the county in close proximity to the M25 and the town’s railway station.

The new HQ will also provide a central Surrey hub for Roads Policing and Tactical Firearms teams. Guildford and Staines police stations will be retained, accommodating Western and Northern divisional teams.

PCC David Munro said: “This is really exciting news and heralds the start of a new chapter in the proud history of Surrey Police.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey David Munro has welcomed government proposals announced yesterday to give police forces further powers in dealing with unauthorised encampments.

The Home Office have outlined a number of draft measures, including criminalising unauthorised encampments, following a public consultation of the effectiveness of enforcement.

They are planning to launch a further consultation on proposals to amend the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to give police further powers in a number of areas – click here for the full announcement:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-plans-to-tackle-illegal-traveller-sites

Last year, Surrey had an unprecedented number of unauthorised encampments in the county and the PCC has already spoken to Surrey Police about plans they have drawn up to tackle any issues in 2019.

The PCC is the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) national lead for Equalities, Diversity and Human Rights which includes Gypsies, Roma and Travellers (GRT).

Together with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) he gave a joint response to the initial government consultation giving views on issues such as police powers, community relations, working with local authorities – and in particular calling for the shortage of transit sites and lack of accommodation provision to be addressed. There are currently none in Surrey.

PCC David Munro said: “I am pleased to see the government focusing on the subject of unauthorised encampments and responding to community concerns around this complex issue.

“It is absolutely right the police feel confident to enforce the law. I therefore welcome many of the government’s proposals, including extending the limit by which trespassers directed from land would be unable to return, reducing the number of vehicles needed in a camp for the police to act and amending existing powers to enable trespassers to be moved on from the highway.

The Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro’s proposed rise in council tax for policing in return for 100 extra officers in Surrey has today been approved by the county’s Police and Crime Panel.

The decision will mean the policing element of a Band D Council Tax bill will increase by £2 a month – the equivalent of around 10% across all bands.

In return, the PCC has pledged to increase the number of officers and PCSOs in the county by 100 by April 2020.

Surrey Police plan to double the number of officers in the dedicated neighbourhood teams supporting area policing teams across the county while also investing in specialist officers to tackle serious organised crime gangs and drug dealers in our communities.

The rise, which will come into effect from April this year, was unanimously approved by the Panel during a meeting at County Hall in Kingston-upon-Thames earlier today.

It means the cost for the policing part of the council tax for the financial year 2019/20 has been set at £260.57 for a Band D property.

In December, the Home Office gave PCCs across the country the flexibility to increase the amount residents pay in council tax for policing, known as the precept, by a maximum extra £24 a year on a Band D property.

The PCC’s office carried out a public consultation throughout January in which approaching 6,000 people answered a survey with their views on the proposed rise. Over 75% of those who responded were in support of the increase with 25% against.

PCC David Munro said: “Setting the policing element of the council tax is one of the most important decisions I have to make as the Police and Crime Commissioner for this county so I would like to thank all those members of the public who took the time to fill in the survey and give us their views.

“More than three quarters of those who responded agreed with my proposal and this helped inform what was an extremely tough decision which I am pleased has now been approved by the Police and Crime Panel today.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey David Munro has welcomed today’s government announcement that increased funding will be available to support front-line policing.

One of the PCC’s key roles is to agree the overall budget for Surrey Police including each year setting the level of council tax for policing in the county known as the precept.

Policing Minister Nick Hurd today said the Home Office were lifting the current precept cap giving PCCs across the country the flexibility to increase the policing element of a Band D Council Tax bill by up to £2 a month – the equivalent of around 10% across all bands. In Surrey, every 1% rise in the police precept equates to around £1m.

It was announced that in addition, the government will increase the general core grant and provide extra funding to help forces cover the cost arising from changes to the government police pension scheme.

PCC David Munro said: “Our police service has been operating in a very difficult financial climate with resources stretched to the limit so this announcement is particularly welcomed at this time.

“Alongside my PCC colleagues across the country, we have been pressing central government for additional funding so I am particularly pleased to see an increase in the police grant which will help forces meet the cost of the government pension changes.