The Police and Crime Commissioner is responsible for holding the Chief Constable to account for maintaining an efficient and effective police service in Merseyside.

One of the ways the PCC undertakes this role, is through her Scrutiny Meetings.

The Commissioner uses her Scrutiny Meetings to monitor how Merseyside Police is progressing against the priorities set in her Police and Crime Plan and to scrutinise the performance of the Chief Constable and her team.

At these quarterly meetings, Chief Officers provide the Commissioner with a detailed account of progress in the previous quarter specifically in relation to the number of crimes reported and the performance of crimes against appropriate targets. She also has the opportunity to examine the budget and the projected savings plan.

These meetings also allow her to correctly identify the risk areas to the Force. This enables her to work with the Chief Officers to find improvements and alternative ways of tackling any issues.

Regular items will include:

  • Progress towards objectives of the Police and Crime Plan;
  • Monitor the Medium Term Financial Strategy;
  • Keep abreast of all national and local developments with regard to police performance;
  • Provide oversight of local performance and where necessary consider exception reports on the context of poor/outstanding performance;
  • Regularly monitor performance of estate matters;
  • Consider any issues regarding the Commissioner’s consultation and partnership arrangements with a view to maintaining their effectiveness in obtaining the views of the public;
  • Monitor compliance and receive annual reports on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Data Protection Acts;
  • Monitor compliance of the Independent Custody Visitor and Animal Welfare Schemes.

To further increase oversight and transparency in policing in Merseyside, in May 2023, the PCC appointed three independent Panel members who will take it in turns to attend the quarterly meetings, asking questions on behalf of the public of Merseyside and help her to scrutinise the work of Chief Constable Serena Kennedy.

Remaining independent from both the PCC's office and the police, the independent panel members will sit alongside the PCC, providing an  voice on behalf of the communities of Merseyside. Find out more here.

Upcoming meetings:

The next Scrutiny Meeting will take place 1pm - 4pm on Monday 11th March 2024.

You will be able to view the agenda and presentation here five days before the meeting:

In the interest of transparency, these meetings will be live-streamed to enable the public to watch. You can watch the Scrutiny meeting live here. 

Future meetings

Please find dates for future meetings of the Police Commissioner's Scrutiny Meetings:

  • Monday 17th June 2024 13:00 - 16:00 

Previous meetings:

Please use the links below to find the agendas and papers for previous Scrutiny Meetings, according to year. These meeting were previously called Force Inspections.

Please note, the reports provided below are third party content produced by Merseyside Police.

If you need this information in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please Contact Us.