17 January 2012
Good morning and a very warm welcome to Kent Police Authority.
I am absolutely delighted you have given up your valuable time to join us at our KPA conference, a conference dedicated to the transition from Police Authority governance of our police force, to governance by the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent.
I have been reminded on a few occasions that police authorities - and before them the LA - Police Committees - have been around for forty eight years — taking us back to the mid 1960 s- and that’s an awful lot of corporate memory.
But, for reasons which have been long debated, police authorities will cease to exist at midnight on 22 November, and a new era of public accountability of the police will begin.
But you’ll be pleased to know that it isn’t my intention to spend any time today in justifying police authorities or bemoaning our demise.
As you will know, like the vast majority of my colleagues in Kent and in the country, I was opposed to PCCs and, it is true to say, that I was prominent, both nationally and locally, in campaigning against the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill
However, whilst I repeatedly say that I am not a politician, I am a democrat and the democratic process has spoken and, as witnessed by my decision to hold this conference today, my colleagues and I are absolutely committed to making sure that the Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent has the best possible platform on which to operate, and that our Police Authority leaves policing in our county in the best possible shape for the future.
Of course, I am very sad that we will cease to exist - but there is absolutely no self-pity or wallowing in resentment at the government’s decision. I’m not sure if you are aware but it’s officially gloom Monday today, the most unhappy day of the year but that’s just a coincidence – honestly!
In fact, it is quite the opposite: my authority colleagues and I - and most of them are here to today - will make sure that the new Commissioner for Kent inherits a force fit and ready to continue its excellent work in tackling crime and protecting the people of the county.
And this brings me to the main theme running through my presentation today:
What can my Authority — indeed any police authority in England and Wales - do to ensure the best possible transition to the directly elected PCC model?
Or, if you want to put that statement in rather plainer language it’s about ‘leaving the house in order for the next tenant’.
Here, then, are some of things we are doing in Kent.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
1. Not Fading Out
It would be very easy, quite comfortable really, for the authority to dismantle now. Let members depart early; dissolve committees, loosen scrutiny, don’t bother with bilateral accountability and for me to quit the national stage too.
But I ask you — who benefits from that? Would the police or the public welcome this? I don’t think so.
Accountability of the police should be ever present. Put simply, policing is far too important to be left without adequate oversight at any time.
Even the force would rightly acknowledge that they are robustly held to account by us, on behalf of the residents of the county, on a whole plethora of critical activities — performance, value for money, professional standards, and so on. Such robust challenge makes them raise their game and fosters continuous (self) improvement.
We will not be taking our foot off the oversight pedal.
Putting aside professional pride, we are determined to perform our role until the very last minute we are in existence as an authority, and it’s not because we are desperate to hold onto power, no — in fact, it’s becoming an uncomfortable place to be. No, we will do it because the public deserve and expect policing to be properly regulated and that’s what they will get here in Kent. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Taking Ownership/Paving the Way to PCCs
Whenever one group or tribe is being replaced by another, it’s sometimes hard — if you’re the ones leaving - to think kindly about the newcomers.
We could leave the ‘new world’ to others to sort out — some authorities seem to be planning to do just that - after all, this is being done to us: not with us. Our job, at best, is to hand-over policing governance to others — not to bring about a seamless transition of oversight.
Let me make it clear: we don’t believe in that sulky, resentful approach in Kent .
We believe in actively taking ownership and positively paving the way. And this conference itself is testament to that very commitment, which is why we are active across a wide range of transition activities.
Unless involved you would not believe the utter complexity of the transition process, but at the end of today you will. That I promise.
So, I would like to talk about some of the important principles that underpin our approach.
These include:
1. Creating options and flexibility for the Commissioner
We know that we have no right to impose a governance model on the new Commissioner for Kent - it would be foolish indeed to do so, but we shall create some sensible, workable options for him to consider.
There is a difficult balance to strike here isn’t there. How detailed should that work be? For example, we could spend a lot of time developing new accountability mechanisms just for the Commissioner to arrive and say:
‘not for me, chaps, start again’.
But we still feel it is our duty to present choices to the Commissioner, so that he can begin his governance role from day one in office, rather than spend weeks or possibly months building a new oversight framework.
2. We will be open and transparent in everything we do towards PCC transition
And we are not an authority who is reluctant to share our transition work and ideas with others. I have already given copies of all our work to the national transition board chaired by the policing minister. The Board is free to use whatever it wishes and anyone here is welcome to take any of our plans if they are helpful to you.
We don’t see this as some kind of competition between police authorities, but it would be nice to have our helpfulness reciprocated and I look forward to hearing about and seeing colleagues’ plans — we have much to learn from each other after all.
3. Pragmatism will prevail — so we will use good material wherever it comes from.
As you will see as today unfolds, we are not an authority who sits about waiting for national guidance and then moans about it when it arrives because it’s either a long time coming or rubbish anyway.
Neither are we an authority who are so conceited as to believe that we can do it all ourselves or that we know best.
We are using a blend of material to inform our transition work — national guidance, good practice from other sectors — such as the directly elected mayoral model which you will hear about from one of our guests, Sir Steve Bullock, later today — along with our own in-house thinking and expertise.
We think this combination will deliver a successful PCC transition plan. ………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. Working Collaboratively With Partners
Thirdly, we will work collaboratively with our partners at all time. The KPA team was touring the county as far back as last autumn, raising awareness amongst local authorities, Crime & Disorder Partnerships and, well, really anyone who would listen!
After all there will be significant consequences for partners of the PCC model and we feel it our duty to get out there and talk to them.
Of course there are some boundaries we must not cross. For example, the creation of the Police & Crime Panel is entirely a matter for the relevant local authorities in an area to discuss and arrange.
We have no right to steer or lead any discussions on those, but we have offered ourselves as a resource to our local authority partners to be used as they see fit.
It is our intention, then, to keep close to our partners throughout the remainder of this year. They can have complete confidence in this out-going Police Authority that police governance will be transferred in a sensible manner.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. Informing the Public
And finally, we will do our best to keep the public informed, because they are, after all, the main stakeholders and we must never forget that.
Of course the government has the biggest part to play here in publicising their own reforms - it’s their idea after all, but we will ‘do our bit’ in highlighting what’s happening to police oversight to the people here in Kent.
We have already made a start. There are prominent sections on PCCs on our website, the publication of a joint authority/force protocol on information to prospective PCC candidates, and we are happy to address the media on factual aspects of the PCC model.
We also hope to work very closely with the Dover District Council, the nominated local authority for the PCC election for the whole of Kent, to ensure they can tap into any information that we have on PCCs.
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Lastly, before I hand over to our next speaker I would like to make just a few closing remarks.
We will be approachable, open, transparent and fair to all Commissioner candidates, but we expect them to be fair, accurate and truthful in their electioneering campaigns.
This Authority does not go out to dominate the airwaves - the actual business of policing is far too time consuming and important for that. We just get on with the job and we deliver time and time again.
If people want to criticise our work and the work of the Force, then do so, but on the basis of fact please, backed up by evidence, and let’s not forget that KENT POLICE is one of the most successful forces in the country, with a long and proud history and the Force and the Authority do not deserve to have their fine reputations tarnished unjustly.
I am quite sure that we shall have some lively debate about policing in the coming months and if public debate improve public services, then bring it on. But it must be based on what is true and what is fair – it’s truth after all that informs sensible debate isn’t it , not spin, and vague innuendoes.
These then are the facts: In the county of Kent:
- crime continues to fall - bucking the national trend I might add,
- there is rising public trust in the service the force provides,
- we deliver time and time again on every efficiency and savings target that we have been presented with,
- we are a debt free Authority, have one of the lowest council tax levels in the land and sensible reserves
- our collaboration with Essex is truly in the forefront nationally and has delivered a better service to our two communities and saved millions of pounds, and that’s just the start of it
- our savings plan in the face of 20% cuts is not only bang on target, but we will realise all the savings early in the fourth year — I believe the only force and authority in the land to be in that position
- we have started recruiting police officers again , again bucking the national trend — and we are one of only a handful of forces in the country to be in this position
- the new model of policing for the county- based around NHP - went live in November with very few teething troubles and it puts another 400 plus officers at work in our communities. That’s now around 1200 officers in our neighborhoods’ alone .
This Police Authority is not anonymous and we do our job effectively - I am an avid football fan , so to use a football analogy, we are at the top of the Premier Division and not in the Vauxhall League — and that’s not our own assessment, but that of independent outside agencies such as HMIC, the Audit Commission and the Home Office itself. Just read any of the plethora of inspection reports, don’t just take my word for it.
When this Police Authority closes its doors for the final time, we will leave behind us an impressive and proud legacy, and we will leave a police force that is well- respected, hard working and one which delivers a first class service.
The Force and the Authority will be defended against the untrue, the unfair and the unjust in the forthcoming election campaign. Obviously it will be difficult for force personnel to do that, after all they will have to work closely with whoever is the victor, but that of course doesn’t apply to me.
Well, it’s time I finished – I am getting the look from Graham! – and we have a lot to get through today.
Ladies and gentlemen, you are very, very welcome. I am quite sure that you will find our conference an interesting and informative experience and I look forward to speaking with as many of you as possible.
Thank you for listening.