Panel criticises West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner

The West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has been criticised for the late publication of a report.

The West Mercia Police and Crime Panel, made up of councillors from Herefordshire, Shropshire (including Telford & Wrekin) and Worcestershire, met to discuss the police and crime plan activity and monitoring report.

It is an overivew of activity undertaken by John Campion in his role as the PCC in support of his Safer West Mercia Plan, and provides an update on police performance. However, Councillor Barry Durkin, the chair of the panel, said the report was overdue.

“This in effect means we cannot put forward into what you’re envisaging, and we need to make sure that goes forward appropriately,” said Cllr Durkin.

“There was discussion of referring this matter because of the inability to scrutinise what you’ve proposed, but we’ve decided in the end to hear what you put forward and assume that is accurate and will be accurate going forward. This isn’t what we want to see.

“We need to ensure you provide us with the information at least one week before the meeting. I will be writing to you about this. This is not something I would like to see recur.”

In response, Mr Campion said he was disappinted the force didn’t provide him with the report in the timescale that should have been expected.

“The paper you have before you is written based on the right data and the appendices published online,” he said.

“I can reassure you that the information written in the report is accurate. So you have the right information, what you didn’t have in a timely fashion was the publication of the appencies.

“Between my office receiving it and it being published was under half an hour, so I can reassure you I take every human effort possible to make sure the information is published when we received it.”