Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden has met with Chief Constable Chris Rowley and his Chief Officer Team for their regular scrutiny meeting, holding them to account through the scrutiny protocols given to each Police and Crime Commissioner.

Scrutiny meetings are a key part of the Commissioner’s role as the public’s voice in policing and ensure that the Constabulary delivers against the priorities he sets out.

The meetings, currently held quarterly between the Commissioner and Chief Officers of Lancashire Constabulary, saw the Commissioner receive updates on force performance, the impact of the introduction of Neighbourhood Taskforces as well as how the police is dealing with antisocial behaviour.

The Commissioner also heard how the Constabulary is expected to perform against HMICFRS inspection reports as well as how the Force Control Room was performing whilst facing an unprecedented level of demand.

Mr Snowden scrutinises the Chief Constable and his team, interrogating reports provided by Constabulary and questioning the updates on front line policing and the need to do more to tackle anti social behaviour, drug dealing and dangerous driving.

The scrutiny meetings lasted a full morning, with all the Constabulary’s Chief Officer team answering questions from the Commissioner as he focussed in on how effective strategies and policies at the corporate level are in actually gaining traction on the ground in the fight against crime.

Following the meeting, Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden said, “It was great to hear updates from Lancashire Constabulary’s Chief Officer Team on such a wide range of performance related issues – from 999 and 101 demand and response times through to the challenges the policing task force’s face in cracking down on crime”.

“The Scrutiny process is integral in making sure that the priorities of Lancashire’s residents are heard. As the public’s voice in policing it is vital that I am able to scrutinise effectively and ensure that the political oversight is in place to hold the Police to account for the performance.

“As I develop my Police and Crime Plan, scrutiny and accountability of the Chief Constable and the answers from his Chief Officer Team enable me to refine my own approach to pull together an overarching document which will set the strategic direction for policing in Lancashire over the next four years and give the Constabulary the tools, powers and backing to crack down on criminals and drive down crime in the County”.