Annual Report

Crime and Criminal Justice

Crime and Criminal Justice Business Area

 

The Crime and Criminal Justice Business Area met three times in the year 2008/9:

 

16th & 17^th April 2008, Billesley Manor, Warwickshire

 

28^th and 29^th October 2008, Naval Club, London

 

13^th & 14^th January 2009, Lygon Arms Broadway, Worcestershire.

 

The Committee has undergone a considerable re-build following the loss of several key members and the April and October meetings were dominated by planning the future.

 

A new Chair, NEC member Steve Burrows, (Warwickshire), was elected, together with a Secretary, Kathy Morris, (Metropolitan Police), following the retirement of Paul Stickler, longstanding and much appreciated Secretary to the Business Area. Another notable retirement was George Frame (Nottinghamshire) who was for many years a stalwart of the Business Area and will be sorely missed.

 

Kathy also retired during the year and Andy Rowsell (West Mercia) is the current Secretary. We have been indebted to Viv Howells , Head of Crime in West Mercia for allowing his PA, Sue Wilcox, to be administrator and minute taker for the Business Area, a task she fulfils with efficiency and professionalism.

 

We embarked upon a recruitment drive which has resulted in a strength of 20 committed Superintendents with a vast range of expertise now sitting as Committee Members. It is particularly pleasing to see a number of Criminal Justice Members, an area of particular shortage in the past.

 

We are always looking for new members, the proviso being attendance at meetings (subject to operational considerations), and a willingness to engage in representing the Association at ACPO Crime Business Area meetings, relevant conferences and responding to consultation papers or working parties in a member’s subject area.

 

We have decided to base our meetings permanently at the Lygon Arms Hotel in Broadway. This is a central location, convenient for the Secretariat, providing excellent facilities at very good rates. This decision also reduces the burden upon Committee members having to host and help organise a moving meeting.

 

We have written a comprehensive Business Plan, setting out the constitution and arrangements for meetings (now three a year), and we have restructured around ACPO Crime Business Areas with our other regular agenda items reflecting live topics either outside the ACPO areas or requiring special focus.

 

The following are our priority areas of engagement for the year (reviewed at the final meeting of each Calendar year):

 

·         Interoperability between Forces

·         Workforce Modernisation and Detective roles

·         Interception Modernisation Programme

·         Professionalising the Investigative Process

·         Counter Terrorism

·         Flanagan Criminal Justice Pilots

·         Transnational Crime

·         Public Protection and MAPPA

 

The ACPO Portfolio Areas covered are:

 

·         The ACPO CBA itself, to which we have a standing invite and send a representative

·         Forensic Science

·         Organised Crime

·         Drugs

·         E Crime

·         Violence & Public Protection

·         Acquisitive Crime

·         Standards, Competencies and Training

·         Economic Crime

·         Asylum and Immigration

·         Intelligence

 

We also have regular presentations on topics of interest to the meetings, for instance developments in the arena of tackling Serious and Organised Crime at the January meeting.

 

We are routinely engaged in consultation (much ongoing), including in the past year:

 

·         Homicide Act

·         Bail Review

·         ID Cards

·         Interception Modernisation

·          PIP

·         RIPA Review

 

In summary, 2008/9 has been one of successful rebuilding and the Business Area goes from strength to strength.

 

Steve Burrows

Chief Superintendent