Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe
An independent review, commissioned by Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe, has begun this week examining Warwickshire Police’s response to anti-social behaviour, road safety and crime reporting in relation to hunting activity in the county.
The review will help to provide the Commissioner and the wider public with an informed insight into the effectiveness of Warwickshire Police’s response to such matters, enabling recommendations for improved practices in future hunting seasons.
It follows the decision in December 2022 by Warwickshire Police to issue a Community Protection Notice to the Warwickshire Hunt for anti-social behaviour and disregard for road safety. In August 2023, the CPN was withdrawn and a legal settlement agreed with the Warwickshire Hunt, which provided a protocol to address road safety concerns during the 2023/24 hunting season. The force has subsequently published guidance for lawful hunt and lawful protest activities for the current hunting season.
In March 2024, Mr Seccombe committed, should he be re-elected, to an independent report to look at the issuing of the protocol and make recommendations to the force on how it can move forward to fully restore public confidence.
Following his re-election in May a procurement process was undertaken to identify a suitable independent reviewer. David Peet, an experienced chief executive and organisational leader with decades of police governance experience, was selected earlier this month to lead the review, with the start date confirmed for today (Monday, 30 September).
Commenting on the commencement of the review, Mr Seccombe said: “I am keen to get an independent view of how Warwickshire Police handles matters relating to hunting and anti-social use of the roads, in order that the public can have an informed insight into these matters. This is vital for wider public confidence in how the police respond to hunt-related matters and should help to identify any additional measures Warwickshire Police can take to improve their response further.
“Ultimately, I want to ensure that the public has full confidence that the force has an independent and impartial operational stance to hunting-related activity and that members of the public know how to report any concerns about potential breaches of the law. I expect the review to conclude later this autumn and will publish the findings once I have received them.”
The full terms of reference for the review have been published on the OPCC website and can be found at: https://www.warwickshire-pcc.gov.uk/key-information/holding-the-police-to-account/terms-of-reference-review-of-policing-of-activities-related-to-hunting/
Findings are expected to be published later in the autumn.
