Wednesday 28 November 2018
Sir
I am grateful for the opportunity to update the States and the wider community on what has been happening within Home Affairs.
The Committee released in the last few weeks the full report on the independent inspection of Law Enforcement by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMIC). Considering the fact that Guernsey Police had not been inspected for 10 years it is not surprising that there are a number of recommendations.
The report identifies 26 areas for improvement and 8 recommendations, a number of which are being progressed and the Committee will be tasking the Head of Law Enforcement Designate to work jointly to identify the priorities to be achieved.
Understandably certain questions arise out of the report. It is important that these are addressed in an open and constructive way. Of course the Committee understands that following publication most of the focus has been on the shortcomings.
Such an approach however neatly misses the key message of the report which is set out in the opening words"... the Bailiwick of Guernsey's population is very well-served by its police force and border agency...".
No-one is suggesting everything is perfect or that there is not room for improvement, both in respect of the services delivered and the governance by the Committee.
The Committee has already made it clear its commitment to address all the recommendations. These have unilaterally been given a completion date of 31 January.
Now we fully appreciate the job needs to be done properly. The Committee has already begun work on these with the current Head of Law Enforcement and will be continued with the new Head of Law Enforcement, Ruari Hardy who formally starts in January. It would be unrealistic and unwise to pursue a programme expecting to have everything sorted with a month of the new Head of Law Enforcement taking up the post.
We also recognise that one of the most damming statements relates to the standard and quality of the I.T. which the report's authors describe as being "among the worst we have seen". This is serious.
We really do recognise although IT comes under P&R we do applaud the States IT staff for the lengths they have gone to keep the show on the road but it is not something of which either Home Affairs or the States of Guernsey can be proud.
As stated in the report technology provision is not to the required standard and this has been recognised by both Law Enforcement and Information Support Services (ISS).
Following direction from both P&R and Home Affairs, a full review of the IT in Law Enforcement has been completed and a recovery and stabilisation plan put in place.
Currently there are 21 projects underway covering areas such as the network connectivity, accreditation, TETRA and replacement of desktop PCs; indeed officers and contractors are in the Police HQ today working on some of these projects.
Given the legacy nature, incoherent approach to IT provision across the States and long term underinvestment in IT there isn't a quick fix. However progress is reported to the Committee on a quarterly basis and will now also be included in our regular joint P&R/ Home Affairs oversight meetings. It is also recognised that the needs of Home Affairs and Law Enforcement need to be fully integrated into the Future Digital Services project.
Considerable work is going on to address the Report's findings.
We recognise that it advises that during the course of the review some of those interviewed expressed views and opinions which do not fully accord with the facts as the Committee sees them and as such we as Members are looking to see if there is underlying evidence to support what has been said by some. That does not however change the fact that we accept fully the Recommendations and Areas for Improvement.
The Report is to be the subject of a Scrutiny hearing next week. If there are Members who have questions I would encourage them to talk to me directly or to the President of the Scrutiny Management Committee in order that they can be aired at the Hearing.
While I believe the Scrutiny Hearing on 5th December will be a positive way to allow for challenge and explanation I will of course be using the six monthly statements in this Assembly to update Members on the progress of the areas for improvement and recommendations during 2019.
In addition the Committee has today submitted the HMIC report for inclusion as an appendix to a Billet. Further than that the Committee has agreed that we will move a Motion to Debate.
I will turn now to other matters.
The prison population is 112, with a recent population peak at 121. There remains significant concern around the upward trend. The prison's 'Certified Normal Accommodation' is 134 and we cannot lawfully accept more than that number.
Although Early Conditional Release, which would include the mandatory use of Home Detention Curfew monitored using GPS technology (commonly known as tagging), the recent increase in the prison population has accelerated the Committee to endorse immediate investigation with a view to implementation.
It is important to recognise that pure figures on capacity do not tell the whole story. First, the prison is split into wings with multiple cells on each. Each wing can only be used for a particular category of prisoner, meaning different categories cannot be mixed on the same wing. Categories include females, vulnerable prisoners, eg sex offenders, ordinary prisoners, juveniles, etc.
I also need to dispel the myth that the prison is full of short term prisoners who could otherwise have been serving some form of non-custodial sentence. The majority or prisoners are serving in excess of one year.
At any one time the prison population will typically include one third which is made up of people on remand awaiting sentencing and those who are there because they have breached parole, bail or community service, of which there are currently 22.
Justice Framework - During the Update on the P&R Plan in June 2018, the States agreed the resolution that 'Home Affairs will work with P&R to establish appropriate governance and support for the Justice Framework Initiative by December 2018'.
I am pleased to be able to update this Assembly on this matter.
Home Affairs has been working closely with P&R since June through the forum of the Oversight Board which comprises of the Presidents and Vice Presidents of both P&R and Home Affairs.
At this stage the Oversight Board is providing the appropriate governance and support, both in terms of finance and human resources. It does however recognise this governance will need to evolve in the light of the work that is currently in train.
Reviewing 'Justice' offers the potential for transformational changes to be considered.
In previous debates in this Assembly even the word 'Justice' means different things to different people. To one it means that everyone is entitled to equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities, whereas to another the term justice might be thought of as being primarily the work of the courts, and of course there are many other perspectives.
Our starting place is to recognise 'Justice' is a large piece of work. It is about doing what is right for society, about the right interventions and family support from early childhood years to support those in chaotic or dysfunctional environments which are damaging. It includes the whole criminal justice system and leads us through to the effective rehabilitation and reintegration into society of those who have been imprisoned. As part of it we need to ensure that we provide structures, processes and safeguards that are equitable for all.
We need to aim to ensure we have a framework for justice that avoids people entering the 'criminal justice system' in the first place rather than solely focussing on what we do with them once they are in it.
This is not a quick fix policy area but it is a critical one.
Home Affairs, with the support of the Oversight Board has engaged Mr Nick Walker to undertake the first phase of a three stage review of the Bailiwick Justice Policy.
Mr Walker is the recently retired Clerk of the House of Commons Justice Committee. He has had extensive involvement in reviews such as Youth Justice; Transforming Legal Aid; Prison and Probation, Bribery & Money Laundering; Compliance with EU Justice requirements; and many others. We are grateful that he has agreed to support us, at least with the first phase.
Phase 1 of the proposal, which it is hoped can be completed by the end of this year, will establish the scope of the review and the governance structure and resources required to facilitate it. In this respect Mr Walker has been interviewing key stakeholders, primarily but not exclusively those involved in the criminal justice arena.
While Home Affairs is taking the lead we fully recognise that Justice spans our society and services and its effectiveness depends on and impacts many other parts of the States including Health & Social Care, Education, Sport & Culture, Employment & Social Security as well as the Law Officers, the Courts and many third sector organisations.
It remains our hope to bring the findings of this review to the Assembly by the end 2019.
I now turn my attention to Brexit.
The Committee remains heavily involved with this at both political and staff level, particularly in relation to the rights and movement of EU nationals, maintaining the common travel area and in ensuring that trade agreements and new customs arrangements are in place when Brexit occurs. This has been placing, and continues to place, a particularly heavy workload on officers within Law Enforcement.
I am pleased to announce that on Monday this week I signed a new Customs Agreement with HM Government, along with Jersey and the Isle of Man. This agreement will be presented as an annex to the Assembly with any subsequent legal establishment of a Customs Territory / Union with the UK.
The Committee is managing a wide and challenging portfolio and could of course talk much further on many issues under its mandate, but time does not allow.
I am happy to take questions.
