Surrey Police and Crime Panel

Surrey PCP logo

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 underpins new governance and accountability arrangements for policing in Surrey, which include the formation of a police and crime panel.

The role of the Panel will be to examine the actions and decisions of Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and to make sure information is available for the public so that they can hold their Commissioner to account.

The Panel is a committee of Surrey County Council, and consists of one elected councillor from each of Surrey's twelve local authorities and two co-opted independent members.

Please find the meeting information, agendas and the contact details for the Panel's support officer on the Surrey Police and Crime Panel committee webpage.

Constitution

The Panel's Constitution sets out the terms of reference, Panel's arrangements and rules of procedure.

Please see document at bottom of the page.

Panel's Annual Reports

In accordance with best practice for scrutiny and transparency as noted in Schedule 3 - In-Year Monitoring Information Requirements of the Home Office Grant Agreement, an annual report by Police and Crime Panels is an important Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to be monitored and reported on.

The Surrey Police and Crime Panel first introduced its annual report in 2020 and will continue to produce one going forward highlighting its activity over the most recent year.

Please see the current and previous annual reports via the below links:

Public questions and procedural matters

The Surrey Police and Crime Panel will consider questions submitted by Members of the Council and members of the public who are electors of the Surrey County Council area, in line with the procedures set out in Surrey County Council's Constitution.

Please note:

  1. (3.18 - Panel's Constitution) Written questions from the public can be submitted no later than seven days prior to the published date of the annual or any ordinary public meeting, for which the Commissioner will be invited to provide a written response by noon on the day before the meeting, which will be circulated to Panel members and the questioner.
  2. The number of public questions which can be asked at a meeting may not exceed six. Questions which are received after the first six will be held over to the following meeting or dealt with in writing at the Chairman's discretion.
  3. Questions will be taken in the order in which they are received.
  4. Questions will be asked and answered without discussion. The Chairman or Panel Members may decline to answer a question, provide a written reply or nominate another Member to answer the question.
  5. Following the initial reply, one supplementary question may be asked by the questioner. The Chairman or Panel Members may decline to answer a supplementary question.

Webcasting

All meetings of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel are broadcast live via the county council's webcasting system. The recordings remain available for six months after the meeting and can be accessed via our webcasts page.

Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner

Lisa Townsend, the Conservative candidate, was re-elected as the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Surrey following elections on 2 May 2024. This will be Lisa's second term, having taken over from previous Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey David Munro, who was in office from 2016 to 2021. The Commissioner is responsible for setting the strategic objectives for policing in the county.

This includes setting and updating a police and crime plan, setting the force budget and precept, and appointing, and where necessary dismissing, the Chief Constable. The Police and Crime Panel will play a key role in scrutinising decisions made by the Commissioner in connection to these responsibilities.

These new arrangements are designed to increase transparency of the delivery of policing services, and to give the public the ability to ensure their police are accountable. As such, the Chief Constable of Surrey Police is accountable to the Commissioner, and the Commissioner is accountable to the electorate.

Please see the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner website for more information.

News

Public meeting dated 20 June 2024

At its public meeting of 20 June 2024, the panel voted to re-elect John Robini as chairman. Independent member, Ms Juliet Fryer was voted in as vice chairman. The panel gave their thanks to Martin Stilwell for his work as vice chairman over the past year. The panel held a confirmation hearing regarding the appointment of a Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (DPCC) for Surrey. Following a recommendation from the Police and Crime Commissioner, Lisa Townsend, the panel voted by a majority of votes cast, in favour of the re-appointment of Miss Vesey-Thompson to the position of Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey.

Public meeting dated 2 February 2024

At its public meeting of 2 February 2024, the Panel reviewed the Commissioner's proposed precept for 2024 to 2025 and voted on whether or not to endorse the proposal to increase the precept for a Band D property by £13 to £323.57. The majority of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel (which included the Chairman's casting vote) did not approve the PCC's proposal. However, the requirement for a veto to be agreed by two-thirds of the Panel membership (which equates to 10 Panel members) was not met. Therefore,

  1. The Panel accepted that the PCC's proposal to increase the Band D Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Precept by £13 to £323.57 would come into effect.
  2. The Panel expressed disappointment at the government settlement and the unfair funding formula which places a disproportionate burden on Surrey residents to fund the Force. This lack of appropriate level of government funding should be resolved and is a more appropriate way to meet Surrey's needs in the long term.

In accordance with Schedule 5 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 the Panel has a duty to make a report to the PCC on the proposed precept. The PCC must have regard to this report and respond to it in writing. This correspondence can be viewed as follows:

At its public meeting of 2 February 2024 the Panel also considered the recent His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) PEEL Inspection of Surrey Police PEEL 2023 to 2025: An inspection of Surrey Police - His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

The Panel noted that the Inspection report highlights areas of good performance (preventing crime, managing offenders) but also a number of areas for improvement that have been highlighted by the Panel including around call performance and response compliance. The Panel expressed its concern that 'responding to the public' is currently assessed as inadequate and asked the Commissioner to report to the Panel in June 2024 on progress addressing this and other 'areas for improvement', and on assurances sought from the Chief Constable.

Public meeting dated 29 June 2023

At its public meeting of 29 June 2023, the Panel elected Counsellor John Robini as Chairman and Independent Member Martin Sitwell as Vice-Chairman for the Council Year 2023 to 2024. The following new members were welcomed to the Panel: Counsellor Alex Coley, Counsellor Danielle Newson, Counsellor Nick Prescot, Counsellor Harry Boparai, Counsellor Richard Wilson, Counsellor Richard Smith.

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (2011) places a duty on the Police and Crime Commissioner to produce an annual report. Panel members considered the draft Annual Report 2022/23 on 29 June 2023 and sent a letter with its recommendations to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey. The Commissioner accepted the majority of the Panel's recommendations.

Confirmation hearing 17 January 2023

At a confirmation hearing on 17 January 2023, Surrey Police and Crime Panel unanimously recommended the appointment of Tim de Meyer as Surrey Police's new Chief Constable. He is currently Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing at Thames Valley Police. Surrey's outgoing Chief Constable Gavin Stephens will leave in April to become Chair of the National Police Chief's Council.

Public meeting dated 4 February 2022

At its public meeting of 4 February 2022, the Panel reviewed the Surrey Police Group Budget for 2022 to 2023 and the Commissioner's proposed precept for 2022 to 2023. The Panel agreed the following recommendations:

  • The Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Precept for a Band D property be increased by £10 to £295.57 in 2022 to 2023.
  • The Police and Crime Commissioner should not increase the budget of her Office using funds which could instead be provided to Surrey Police, as the Panel is of the view that such funds would be better used to support the Force's operations.

Panel review meeting dated 24 November 2021

On 24 November 2021 the Panel reviewed the draft Police and Crime Plan for Surrey 2021 to 2025, which was published the following month on the OPCC's website.

Confirmation hearing dated 30 June 2021

  • Following the Panel's Confirmation Hearing at its meeting on 30 June 2021 where the Panel recommended that the proposed appointment should not be appointed, having considered the Panel's recommendation and reasons, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey formally appointed Ellie Vesey-Thompson as the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey on 8 July 2021.
  • The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (2011) places a duty on the Police and Crime Commissioner to produce an annual report. Panel members considered the draft Annual Report 2020 to 2021 on 30 June 2021 and sent a letter with its comments to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey.
  • The Panel elected Counsellor David Reeve as Chairman and Counsellor Bruce McDonald as Vice-Chairman for the Council Year 2021 to 2022.
  • Lisa Townsend, the Conservative candidate was elected as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey following the elections on 6 May 2021.

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