Scrutiny

The Police and Crime Commissioner scrutinises the Chief Constable, and those decisions are also scrutinised by the Joint Audit Committee and the Police and Crime Panel.  

COPS: Commissioner’s Oversight of Policing Services

The PCC scrutinises the Chief Constable and puts your questions to her.  Find out more about COPS meetings here.

Joint Audit Committee

The Joint Audit Committee was established by the PCC and Chief Constable to support them and statutory officers in ensuring that effective governance and risk management arrangements are in place and functioning efficiently and effectively.  The Committee also scrutinises the draft statement of accounts, and considers whether appropriate accounting policies have been followed, and makes recommendations for improvements to anti-fraud and corruption strategies.  The meetings are open to public to attend.

Police and Crime Panel

The Police and Crime Panel is responsible for scrutinising and supporting the Police and Crime Commissioner, and meetings are held in public. Members of the public are encouraged to attend meetings and submit questions.

The Panel is made up of representatives from each of the local authorities in the Hampshire Constabulary area, which includes the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton, the eleven Hampshire Borough and District councils, and the Counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Out of Court Disposals Scrutiny Panel

Out of Court Disposals are responses to crime that the police can administer locally without having to take the matter to court. These disposals are a valuable tool for the police when tackling low-level crime and can represent an effective response to offending that focuses on the needs of the victim.

The Out of Court Disposals Scrutiny Panel meets every two months to review a dip-sampled selection of cases where the outcome was an out of court disposal.