Members of an independent group established by Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis to bring new rigour
to crime recording have been scrutinising offences in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
The group, which is part of the Ethics, Transparency and Audit Committee, reviewed records from wide-ranging crimes including rape and other sexual offences, affray, anti-social behaviour including those marked for no further action. Out of a sample of 80 crimes only three required further explanation, two needed clarification and one was re-examined.
Members concluded that recording and auditing methods were robust and the public should be reassured that Staffordshire Police have a high degree of accuracy and quality in their crime recording systems.
The Ethics, Transparency and Audit Committee was launched under the new dawn of transparency by Mr Ellis who is aiming for Staffordshire to be the most open and transparent police force in the country, an ambition which is shared by the Chief Constable.
An independent body, the panel is made up of local people and is one of the Commissioner’s drivers that opens the police to even greater public scrutiny. It has been provided with wider powers by the PCC and a greater remit than the audit committee it replaced, putting decisions by Staffordshire Police under the spotlight, as well as those made by the PCC.
Mr Ellis said: “These has been an extremely valuable piece of work by the ETA and is exactly what they are here for – to open up the police to even greater public scrutiny.
“Honest and independent scrutiny by the public is crucial as we strive to set the bar higher and create a new dawn of transparency in policing.
“This new added rigour and a bigger remit that has been given to the ETA has certainly helped scrutinise crime recording to make sure decisions made by the police are correct and in the victims’ best interests.
“The committee is holding Staffordshire Police, and myself as the PCC, to account and ensuring actions taken and decisions made are open, honest and transparent.
“It’s about making sure things change where change is needed, so that public confidence is increased.”
Chief Constable Mike Cunningham said: “We rely on the trust and confidence of our communities for our delivery of effective policing, and our openness and accountability enhances the trust that public have in us.
“We put a great deal of effort into ensuring that we record crimes accurately and this then supports the detail investigative and intelligence work required to help us target the criminals committing these offences.
“The work of the committee is a critical element of holding the force to account and is therefore absolutely welcomed by myself and colleagues.”
More details about the committee are available at www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk/eta
