Annual Report 23/24 Accessible Version

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) supports me in discharging my statutory responsibilities and delivering my manifesto, as set out in the Police and Crime Plan.

The staff do not change with the election of a new PCC and are politically restricted. This means they are not allowed to support me, as the incumbent PCC, or any other candidate to stand for election or become involved in party political work on my behalf.

The OPCC is a separate organisation to Kent Police, and therefore staff also have no operational policing responsibilities.

There are two statutory roles within the OPCC:

a) the Chief Executive who leads the office and is responsible for all the staff; and

b) the Chief Finance Officer who is responsible for the financial strategy and ensuring good value for money.

In addition, the OPCC senior leadership team consists of the following:Head of Standards and Regulations; Head of Commissioning; Head of Policy Coordination and Research; Staff Officer to the PCC; and Communications Manager.

With 25 established posts, the OPCC is smaller than many offices around the country. However, its contribution in terms of holding Kent Police to account on behalf of the public, supporting victims of crime and improving community safety should not be underestimated. For example, in 2023/24, my Commissioning Team was successful in securing a total of £3,172,439 in additional funding from central government to ensure new and existing services could be supported across Kent and Medway.

In supporting me, the team operates under the ‘seven principles of public life’. These principles were set out by Lord Nolan in 1995 and apply to anyone who works as a public-office holder. The seven principles are:

Accountability

Honesty

Integrity

Objectivity

Selflessness

Openness

Leadership

The OPCC is committed to providing value for money. In 2023/24 there was no increase in the cost of running the office, with the budget being maintained at £1.5m – the same level as in 2017. This was just under 0.4% of Kent’s total, annual policing budget.

In 2023/24, the OPCC received:

a) Over 5,000 pieces of correspondence via email, online through the website or in hard copy. This included requests for information, invitations to meetings/events, members of the public wishing to complain about Kent Police and promotional/sales material.

b) Of which, 3,300 were casework requiring a response from my Casework Officers. A high proportion were members of the public wishing to make a complaint about Kent Police and therefore referred to the Kent Police Professional Standards Department (PSD). Examples of other issues raised include: the processing of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks; the processing of firearms licensing applications/renewals; the use of e-scooters/e-bikes on roads and pavements; and the XL-Bully dog legislation.

c) 230 requests from members of the public for an independent review into how their complaint against Kent Police was handled by PSD.

d) 70 Freedom of Information Act requests and 20 Subject Access Requests.

Community engagement

As my role is to be the voice of the people, it is vitally important that I engage with, and listen to communities, residents, stakeholders and partners.

The corporate @PCCKent X account (formerly Twitter) had 11,500 followers, and interactions on the platform averaged at about 1,000 views per post. The number of people following the OPCC on Instagram grew to 855, and the Facebook page increased its reach to 911 followers. Videos were posted on the OPCC YouTube channel with the most popular content, including clips from my quarterly Performance and Delivery Board meeting, being viewed up to 1000 times. My office also utilised Nextdoor which has more than 350,000 members, with posts viewed regularly by in excess of 20,000 people. The OPCC and I also continued to engage via the website and a regular e-newsletter was circulated to more than 5,000 subscribers, almost 450 more than last year.

I have actively sought opportunities to engage face-to-face with residents by holding street stalls across the county, including in Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Bluewater and on the Isle of Sheppey. I have also attended various Parish Council, Women’s Institute, Rotary Club and Public Meetings. In addition, I joined students at the Medway Freshers Fair and visited the Gravesend Gurdwara, Thanet Synagogue and Margate Mosque.

Visiting charities the OPCC supports is equally important and this year I met with representatives from a wide range, including: SATEDA and DAVVS, both charities supporting victims of domestic abuse (DA); Choices Support, a charity that supports autistic people, people with learning disabilities and/or mental health needs; Dandelion Time, a charity that supports children who have suffered traumatic experiences; and SignHealth, a service that supports deaf people to lead independent, safe and healthy lives.

A number of the charities were also invited to join the OPCC in our marquee at the Kent Police Open Days in July 2023, which was attended by over 15,000 people.

Following the launch in February 2023 of my Victim Voice pamphlet which is designed to help victims of crime find the support and help they may need, I have continued to raise awareness and delivered presentations to a range of groups. It has also been promoted widely via social media and the OPCC website, where further information is available.