Welcome to Staffordshire Police Authority’s web site. I hope you find what we have here of interest and do please let us have your comments and views on what we do and how we do it.
As a starting point a bit of information on what the authority does might be helpful. The Authority is an independent body, made up of nine Councillor Members appointed by Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, five Independent Members and three Magistrate Members.
Chairman: Mike Poulter
The Independent Members are appointed by the Councillor and Magistrate Members from the local community following advertisements throughout the Authority's area, and with the agreement of the Home Secretary. The Magistrate Members are appointed by the Staffordshire Magistrates' Courts Committee.
Staffordshire Police Authority covers the areas of both Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
We have a statutory duty to secure the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force in our area and deliver best value. In performing these duties we work with the Chief Constable and the communities of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. In particular the Authority:-
- Set a three year Strategy and issue annually a Policing Plan that sets out specific objectives, targets and performance indicators for the policing of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
- Publish an annual report on the achievements of the previous year's policing plan.
- Set a budget each year for the Authority and the Force, and in consequence decide the level that should be paid by council taxpayers.
- Monitor the budget, both revenue and capital, throughout the financial year.
- Publish performance indicators, as required by the Audit Commission.
- Consult people and communities throughout Staffordshire on local policing needs and issues and work with them in addressing these.
- Promote race equality as an integral part of their Strategies and Plans.
- Administer a custody visitors scheme as an independent check on the welfare of detainees at police stations.
- Monitor complaints against the police and keep themselves informed and satisfied as to arrangements for dealing with those complaints.
- Appoint the Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constables.
Under the Local Government Act 1999, they have a duty of best value to ensure continuous improvement in the Force's performance, "having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness". Our Best Value Performance Plans now form part of our Policing Plan.
The Authority holds full meetings five times a year and development seminar/workshop sessions five times a year. The Authority meetings are usually held at Police Headquarters, Cannock Road, Stafford and are open to the public. In addition to this the Authority has various committees, also open to the public, which meet throughout the year and report back to them, and are represented on a number of local and national bodies.
To enable consultation between the people and the communities of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent we have 23 Police Authority Community Consultation Committees (PACs) which meet regularly throughout the year. Members of the Police Authority chair and take a leading role in these meetings. This helps to ensure that issues of concern to local communities are be fed back and reflected in Police Authority's policies.
The web site includes information and documentation relating to the Authority, including its approach to the ongoing Police Reform Programme. If you wish to comment, or seek further information on specific topics please go to the main menu.
Thank you for visiting our site, and do return again.
