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Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel
Record of Meeting
Date: 12th March 2012 Meeting No: 8
Present | Deputy J. M. Maçon, Chairman Connétable M. P. S. Le Troquer, Vice Chairman Connétable S. W. Pallett |
In attendance | M. Haden, Scrutiny Officer |
Ref Back | Agenda matter | Action |
| 1. Minutes The Minutes of the meetings held on 9th and 14th February 2012 were approved as a true record and signed accordingly. |
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Items 2 & 3 09.02.12 516/1(44) | 2. Work Programme The Panel received an update report from the Scrutiny Officer on its work programme and noted related correspondence from the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, dated 6th March 2012, and the Minister for Home Affairs, dated 8th March 2012. |
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| 3. Medium Term Financial Plan The Panel received a briefing note from the Scrutiny Officer on the involvement of Scrutiny Panels in scrutinising departmental bids. The Panel noted that a Sub Panel of Corporate Service Panel had been established to co-ordinate responses from each Scrutiny Panel. Both Ministers had been requested to provide briefings to the Panel in due course. |
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Item 1 14.02.12 516/1(51) | 4. Customs and Immigration Department The Panel received notes of the meeting with the Head of Service on 14th February 2012. Members also noted the recent successful seizure of illegal drugs carried by the Department in collaboration with Staffordshire Police. They requested that a letter of congratulation be sent to the Head of Service. |
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Item 3 09.02.12 516/1(51) | 5. Jersey Youth Service The Panel received a presentation from the Principal Youth Officer on the Jersey Youth Service, its structure, curriculum and projects. Members noted that CSR savings of £60,000 had been achieved in 2011 through the loss of one management post and a reduction in the maintenance budget. In 2012 there was a requirement to make savings of £100,000. There was an ongoing programme of negotiations with partners aimed at achieving this target. As a result of these measures the States contribution to the Youth Service had decreased in the past two years from just over £1m to £868K but that income from external sources, such as from Parish |
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| partnerships, had risen to enable the overall budget to remain stable and services to young people largely unaffected by the savings. The percentage of the budget from external sources had risen from 24% in 2007 to a projected 38.4% in 2012. The Panel acknowledged the importance of good communication on the value of the work undertaken by the Youth Service as the Parishes were being asked to fill the funding gap in order to maintain the current level of services. |
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Item 1 14.02.12 516/1(51) | 6. Island's illegal drug market The Panel received a briefing from the Head of Crime Services, States of Jersey Police, on the current situation. The Panel was informed that the overall illegal drug market in the Island over recent years, as indicated by the street value of drugs and the number of serious enforcement cases brought by the police, appeared to be stable. Police operations focussed on disrupting the supply of the most serious drugs such as opiates. There was no open market for these drugs in Jersey and no indications of any significant increase in the availability and use of Class A drugs such as "crack". Although there had been a number of high profile and successful operations against organised criminal groups it was inevitable, due to the high value of opiates in the Island that other groups would attempt to exploit gaps in the market. The States of Jersey Police was not complacent about the level of drug activity in the Island but they believed that they had been successful in disrupting the supply of drugs and preventing organised crime from establishing a secure presence in the Island. The police had noticed a recent tendency for cannabis to be imported from the continent by less organised groups. In terms of acquisitive crime, which might be related to the need to pay for drug use, the Panel was informed that the figures for 2011 were the lowest for 10 years, although there had been an 8% increase in burglary. It was pointed out that the number of drug offences was directly related to police proactivity. In line with many other forces there was no dedicated drugs unit in the States of Jersey Police. Police activity against drugs was intelligence led; however, the police intelligence bureau covered a range of offences. The resources available to the States of Jersey Police to deal with drug offences were balanced against other competing policing requirements. The Panel was informed that the general findings of the Imperial College research study carried out in 2000 (Responding to Drug and Alcohol Use in Jersey) remained largely valid. It was estimated that there were approximately 800 problematic opiate users in the Island, which was consistent over the last decade, although there was an increase shown in the use of cheaper synthetic drugs such as "subutex". It was noted that this report highlighted the fact that a much larger number of people used alcohol and that misuse of alcohol resulted in much greater social damage in the Island. |
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516/29 | 7. Review of the financial report into Operation Rectangle The Panel was advised that the Chairmen's Committee had taken legal advice on publishing the transcript of the public hearing with Mr. S. Syvret in October 2011 during the review conducted by the previous Scrutiny Panel. The Panel noted that it would be asked to approve the posting of a redacted transcript. |
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516/32 | 8. Tasers: Proposed introduction into the Island The Panel received a briefing paper from the Scrutiny Officer on the proposed scope and terms of reference for this review. The Panel also received a briefing document from the States of Jersey Police together with two policy documents of the Association of Chief Police Officers. The Panel approved the following draft terms of reference and asked that they be forwarded to the Minister for comment. The Panel requested the Scrutiny Officer to identify possible sources of independent advice Deputy Tadier , who had accepted the Panel's invitation to participate in the review as a co-opted member, had sent his apologies as he was out of the Island. | MH |
| 9. Quarterly hearings with Ministers The Panel noted the following dates:
Members agreed to meet on 19th March at 10am to prepare for the meeting with the Minister for Home Affairs |
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