The Police Authority
While the Constabulary is responsible for operational matters the Police Authority is a separate organisation responsible for overseeing and securing the maintenance of an efficient and effective police service for the people of West Mercia. The 17 Police Authority members (9 Councillors, 3 Lay Justices and 5 Independents) are drawn from across the force area.
Although as a Police Authority its members cannot interfere with day to day operational decisions they aim to consult upon and reflect public opinion on policing issues and, in discussion with the Chief Constable, are able to influence key policing issues and oversee complaints.
The Authority’s main duties are to:
- Secure the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force in West Mercia.
- Hold the Chief Constable to account for the direction and control of the force.
- Set the annual budget and precept (collected through the council tax).
- Issue, in consultation with the Chief Constable, a single rolling policing plan each year for West Mercia, which takes into account the views of local communities in developing priorities and sets out policing objectives for the year and proposed arrangements for the three year period.
- Issue an annual report each year on the implementation of the previous year's policing plan.
- Ensure that there are satisfactory arrangements for consultation with local communities regarding the policing of their area and monitor the effectiveness of the arrangements.
- Administer an Independent Custody Visitors Scheme as an independent check on custody procedures so as to maintain the welfare of detainees at police stations.
- Monitor the way in which the police investigate complaints made by the public about police officers up to the rank of Chief Superintendent and to determine complaints against the chief police officers.
- Appoint the Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constables.
- Co-operate with the Constabulary, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Local Strategic Partnerships, including contributing to the development and delivery of Local Area Agreements and of Community Safety Plans.
- Produce and distribute an annual policing summary to every household in West Mercia.
Meetings
The Police Authority meets in public four times a year and receives reports and recommendations on matters considered by its five standing panels and its five Divisional Policing Boards. Each Panel adopts an annual work programme which is continually refreshed.
Copies of agendas and reports, which are available in other formats, are available on the Authority’s website www.westmerciapoliceauthority.gov.uk or from the Chief Executive, West Mercia Police Authority, PO Box 487, Shrewsbury, SY2 6WB.
Website
The Authority’s website www.westmerciapoliceauthority.gov.uk provides information and invites responses as part of our consultation exercises. It provides details of planned consultation and feedback on completed consultation exercises.
The website also enables users to contact individual members and/or the Police Authority in general.
Police Authority Structure
The Police Authority is an appointed, rather than a directly elected body although its membership draws heavily upon councillors from local authorities throughout the force area. It is for most purposes treated in law as a local authority. In addition to its statutory duties (e.g. appointing senior police officers and setting the police element of the Council Tax) it can call for reports from the Chief Constable on any aspect of policing and, in practice, monitors performance levels and any major investments. Members of the Police Authority are able to enter into dialogue with the Chief Constable and the Constabulary by personal contact and through the Authority’s committee and panel structure as shown below.
The structure reflects the key areas of the Police Authority’s work and is intended to enable the Authority to focus on its key tasks and responsibilities. The structure builds on four key panels together with an overseeing Strategic Panel.
| Panels | Tasks and Responsibilities |
| Strategic Panel | Overseeing and directing the business of the Police Authority generally, including the approval of member appointments to panel vacancies, working groups and outside bodies |
| Force Performance Monitoring | Focussing on Force performance measurement and target setting issues |
| Inclusivity & Community Engagement | Focussing on outward facing responsibilities including partnerships, consultations, communications and customer focus issues |
| Finance and Resources | Monitoring the budget and dealing with other financial and capital programme issues |
| Human Resources Management | Considering Human Resources and Professional Standards issues |
The panel structure is supplemented by five committees which meet as required to discharge specific delegated functions, for example: approval of the Audit Report and to deal with disciplinary issues as these arise. The Appointments and Remunerations Committee deals with senior police officer appointments.
In addition the Authority has four working groups:
Editorial Working Group
This group comprises the Chairs of the Authority, Finance and Inclusivity and Community Engagement (ICE) Panels, the Vice Chair of the Authority and the Chief Constable. The Group is supported by officers from the force and Police Authority. It oversees the production of key planning documents i.e. the Policing Plan, Consultation Leaflet, Council Tax Leaflet, Annual Report and Local Policing Summary.
Estates Working Group
The Estates Working Group consists of three members appointed by the Finance and Resources Panel. The group performs a monitoring role on the development of the property asset portfolio by appropriate site visits and attendance at project boards.
Complaints and Survey Working Group
This group is made up of members nominated from the Human Resources Panel and the Inclusivity and Community Engagement (ICE) Panel, supported by officers from the force and Police Authority. The group receives reports on trends, issues and underlying causes in relation to complaints and surveys undertaken by the Constabulary, which enables detailed and informed scrutiny of complaint and survey issues. The group may report direct to any panel or to the Chief Constable as appropriate.
Partnership Co-ordination Group
This group is made up of the Chairs of the five divisional Policing Boards, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Inclusivity and Community Engagement (ICE) Panel, the Chair of Force Performance Management Panel and the Assistant Chief Constable (Territorial Operations). The Group is supported by officers from the force and Police Authority and is tasked with the further development of the joint (Constabulary and Police Authority) Community Engagement Strategy and co-ordinating partnership working, in particular with regard to Local Area Agreements. The group provides regular progress reports to ICE Panel and Strategic Panel.
Future Community Engagement Arrangements
Given new statutory frameworks and local policing developments the Police Authority recognises the need to streamline engagement arrangements. The Authority intends to ensure that there will be the opportunity:
- for local people to meet their Divisional Commander and Local Policing Authority Members and have a say about policing within their Police Division;
- to improve community links with PACT, Policing, the Police Authority and local Community Safety Partnerships; and
- for obtaining the co-operation of the public in preventing crime.
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