Community Scrutiny Panels

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We are seeking members of the public to join us in scrutinising the work of Wiltshire Police.

The Community Scrutiny Panel meet approximately every six weeks to view body worn video footage of Officers at work. The themes to be scrutinised are Use of Force by officers, either baton, TASER or PAVA; an incapacitant spray. Stop and Search and Out of Court Resolutions.

It is important that you are able to view the Body Worn footage of officers in the process of their work and provide an objective and constructive opinion. You will share your own thoughts on what you see, and whether you think the police response is appropriate or not. There will be guidance and support available at the meetings but you do not need an in-depth knowledge of police practice and procedures.

As a valued panel member, you will help provide assurance for your community and impact directly on the work of your police force.

Panel members say that the meetings are always interesting and provide an insight into the situations the police encounter across Wiltshire, and how they manage them. It is a fascinating and real view of the police at work.

If you would like more information, please get in touch by clicking on the How do I apply? drop down box below.

Find out more

When deciding the outcome of less serious criminal investigations and incidents of anti-social behaviour, and particularly when dealing with offenders who have little or no criminal history, police officers have several options; offenders can be charged or summonsed to attend court but those who admit or take responsibility for the offence may also be eligible for an Out of Court Resolution (OoCR) as described below:

Adult Community Resolution
Adult Conditional Caution
Youth Community Resolution
Youth Simple Caution
Youth Conditional Caution
Youth Restorative Intervention (Outcome 22 - No Further Action)

All these resolutions require the investigating officer to consult with the victim and gain their views about the outcome. All will include a reparative, rehabilitative, or restorative condition aimed at diverting the offender from future criminal behaviour.

As these resolutions are managed entirely by the police (the outcome of some youth cases are decided in a multi-agency panel which includes the Youth Offending Service), forces are required by the Ministry of Justice to convene independent Scrutiny Panels as a governance tool reporting to the OPCC.

The purpose of the panel is to ensure that the police utilise OoCR’s appropriately and in accordance with all national and local policies (NPCC Strategy; MOJ/Force Policies) taking into account the gravity of the offence committed, the victim wishes and the need to reduce future offending.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) supported by Wiltshire Police run an Out of Court Resolution Panel 4 times a year. The OPCC decides which locations within Wiltshire require focus, selecting two station areas. 8 cases per location area are randomly selected (4 Adult and 4 Child) providing a total of 16 cases for the panel to review. Panel members are provided with anonymised information which includes summaries of the investigation and police decision making rationales.

Inspectors that cover the chosen areas are invited to attend the panels to offer any operational clarity that may be required.

Following the presentation of each case to the panel, members are invited to immediately cast their vote having considered the appropriateness of the police offering and administering an OoCR.

The Panel does not have the authority to change the outcome of any case, but they can provide feedback to the Force about the decision to resolve by way of an OOCR.

The panels vote using RAG voting system of Green, Amber or Red:

Our panels vote using a RAG Voting system:

Green – On the information provided, in the view of the member, the OOCR was appropriate

Amber – On the information provided, in the view of the member, it isn’t clear whether the OOCR was appropriate, or there are some concerns

Red – On the information provided, in the view of the member, the OOCR was not appropriate

The panels cannot change the outcome of any case but can provide feedback to the Force about the decision making. All feedback is submitted to Wiltshire Police via the OPCC.

Community Scrutiny Panels (CSPs) allow members of the community to review individual police interactions with the public.

The CSP aims to develop trust and confidence between the police and the community they serve, including those disproportionately impacted by the use of police powers, through achieving transparency, accountability, engagement and understanding of how police use their powers, and how improvements can be made through process or policy changes.

The findings of CSP’s offer an effective feedback mechanism to police forces, for organisational learning and to individual officers for training or development needs, as well as identifying examples of good practice.

CSP’s support police officers to use their powers appropriately, develop a better understanding of the communities they support and aid public understanding of how and why police powers are used.

We welcome panel members from across Wiltshire who are interested in scrutinising the work of Wiltshire Police and helping us to promote the importance of procedural justice and accountability.

You must be over 18 and live or work in Wiltshire.

Anyone that meets the above criteria can volunteer to join the CSP. If you are interested in the treatment of people during their interactions with police and committed to giving an objective and constructive review of police work, then this is for you.

We are particularly keen to recruit younger members and those from diverse backgrounds. Every opinion helps us understand how policing affects individuals and communities across Wiltshire.

Panel members are given guidance and training to assist them in understanding the demands on officers in these testing areas of policing. However, we do not want ‘experts’ in police practice. The ‘feel’ of an interaction, the attitude of police and the fair treatment of people can all be considered by the panel members without a thorough knowledge of legislation and policy.

We are more than happy to provide training on request and can provide learning material to any panel member that wishes to develop further understanding.

This CSP aims to review, scrutinise and quality assure police interactions with members of the public that include the use of force by Officers. Specifically, we will focus on the use of Baton, Taser/Conducted Energy Device and PAVA (Pelargonic Acid Vanillylamide), which is an incapacitant spray.

Body worn video footage, chosen at random, will be viewed by the panel members for consideration. The panel is concerned with procedural justice, disproportionality, the appropriate use of force and use of approved practice and process. Panel members are encouraged to give an objective opinion on the footage they view, and their comments both positive and negative are feedback to the individual officers to enhance their own professional development.

The aim is to improve performance, to allow Officers to consider their approach to the use of force and how their intervention into the life of an individual may impact upon them, their opinion of the police and the criminal justice system.

We are looking to set up a new panel for 2025 – Use of Force - Police Dogs. Currently in its infancy and as such we are keen to recruit members of the public that would like to join this panel. Further information will be published in due course.

The degree to which someone perceives whether they have been treated fairly and justly by authority will inform their opinion and their behaviour. For this panel it is important that we consider not only the justification for Police intervention into someone’s life, but also if the intervention complied with authorised professional practice. We will also consider how the interaction would make the individual feel, for example:

they do not feel unfairly targeted
officers give them a good and credible reason for the encounter
they are treated politely and with respect by officers
the encounter does not last a long time

Feedback from the panel will be delivered to individual officers involved through their chain of command. By highlighting the importance of procedural justice, the CSP can help to maintain good relationships with police and communities, avoid disproportionality and unfair treatment.

Out of Court Resolution (OoCR’s) are an important tool in addressing early stages of offending behaviour. They allow the Police to deal quickly with low-level offending without making recourse to the courts. They are also an opportunity to provide intervention and support to potential offenders at the early stages in criminal behaviour, diverting them into rehabilitative services to help reduce escalation of offending.

CSP’s are an important tool for ensuring that the Police are held accountable for their use of OoCR’s, as well as providing assurance that difficult decisions to administer such resolutions are justified. The findings of CSP’s offer an effective feedback mechanism to police forces, for organisational learning and to individual officers for training or development needs, as well as identifying examples of good practice.

Scrutiny of the use of police powers, which includes Stop & Search and Use of Force, occurs every six weeks, in person at Devizes Police HQ. The schedule rotates through the three use of force areas: Baton, Taser, PAVA, with a Stop & Search panel between each of them.

The Out of Court Resolution Panel is held quarterly via Microsoft Teams and is currently being trialled via Microsoft Teams. There is some pre-reading required for this panel which is sent out 7-10 days prior to the meeting.

Your attendance at all meetings is not mandatory, but regular attendance is encouraged to maintain your knowledge and provide consistency of the process.

We are not currently recruiting for this role, however if you would like to be placed on the reserve list please contact [email protected]

The role of a CSP member is not demanding, although it may be challenging. The nature of the body worn footage may include violence, and what you may consider to be inappropriate language which is important to note. The panel is welcoming and inclusive where everybody has a chance to express their opinion.

A willingness to scrutinise objectively and constructively are very important, we continually look to identify areas for improvement and development as well as good practice

If you would like to be involved, we would love to hear from you. To begin the process of becoming a Community Scrutiny Panel member please email your expression of interest to the following email address [email protected].

We are proud of being a truly inclusive organisation who provides fair and equal consideration to all our volunteers. We encourage and welcome applications of interest from people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, disabilities, sexual orientation, religions, or beliefs, and of neuro divergence.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail please contact Katherine Eddie on [email protected] who will be more than willing to discuss this further with you.