The PCC is using his latest accountability session with the West Mercia Police Chief Constable to seek reassurance around work to tackle crime and to improve the victim journey.
In PCC John Campion’s Safer West Mercia Plan, he has put the public at the heart of policing, ensuring the force are doing all they can to tackle crime and provide high quality victim services.
The formal meeting follows feedback from victims who are disappointed in the service they have received and includes areas where performance could be improved. The PCC will hold the Chief Constable to account, as well as supporting and challenging the force to deliver promised improvements around some of the issues which matter most to the public. These include:
- Ensuring more victims, particularly victims of violent crime, are consistently satisfied with the response they get from West Mercia Police
- Ensuring calls for help are answered quickly – both in terms of call handling and response times to incidents
- Ensuring the force has the resources to tackle all types of crime – from acquisitive crime including vehicle offences, drugs offences and possession of weapons
- Ensuring more victims of crime get the right help and support through services funded by the PCC, such as the Victim Advice Line (VAL)
- Ensuring West Mercia Police meets the Victims Code, with crimes recorded swiftly and victims fully informed throughout the process
- Ensuring quality investigations lead to justice, and that a range of methods are used to ensure all victims get the best possible outcome, both in terms of support and through the criminal justice system.
- Tackling re-offending and ensuring persistent offenders are managed.
PCC John Campion said: “Victims, bringing offenders to justice, and reducing crime is at the heart of everything I do, and every crime is important. I am hearing too often from members of the public who feel the police response is lacking, that they haven’t received consistent updates or that victims aren’t getting the outcome they deserve, both in terms of support and through the criminal justice system. The data also shows that the satisfaction of some victims of crime has not made the promised improvements.
“I have provided West Mercia Police with significantly increased resources in recent years, and I am seeing progress but there is more to be done in some areas. I will continue to hold the Chief Constable to account to ensure crime reduces and victims get the level of service they would expect throughout the whole process.”
