I will reduce harm and protect people in communities right across West Mercia, particularly our most vulnerable people.
From my perspective, this is a non-negotiable part of policing and a key commitment from my partners. Together we can build a more secure West Mercia by understanding and tackling the causes of crime, improving community resilience and cohesion and being more responsive to emerging threats.
My particular focus areas will be:
- The most serious crimes committed against individuals and the most vulnerable in our society
- Bringing those responsible for carrying out the most serious crimes in our society to justice
- Protect young people who are at risk of committing crime or being exploited
- Crimes and incidents that impact our communities on a daily basis
- Crimes hidden from public view whether online or in our local communities which are often responsible for causing the greatest harm
- New or emerging crimes.
I will hold the Chief Constable to account for:
- Making sure the police provide the right response to incidents at the right time
- Working closely with partner agencies to reduce harm and prevent victimisation
- Ensuring officers and staff effectively identify and support people with vulnerabilities, understanding and managing associated risks
- Proactively finding the causes of crime so threats are identified and targeted before they escalate
- Using an effective problem solving approach, working with partners and local communities to prevent, solve and reduce crime and anti social behaviour
- Ensuring the West Mercia Road Safety Team works with partners and local communities to improve road safety, using practical, evidence led approaches to enforcement and education, reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries.
Together the Chief Constable and I will:
- Work with partners to increase the proportion of hate crimes reported to the police.
- Ensure local partnership Joint Action Groups address serious and organised crimes in their areas.
As your Commissioner I will:
- Ensure partners work together to provide efficient and effective support to victims and use early intervention to prevent victimisation
- Develop strategies based on evidence to support the delivery of my key aims and objectives, and ensure the commitments I set out in these strategies are followed through with activity
- Make sure public funding used in support of this objective is allocated responsibly, is outcome focussed and based on proven need
- Use a commissioning framework to ensure funding for community safety partnerships represents value for money
- Develop and implement a Road Safety Strategy to work with partners to coordinate activity, respond to community concerns and reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads
- Provide oversight and support to West Mercia’s Reducing Reoffending Strategy.
What I will deliver for West Mercia:
- A reduction in harm and an increased feeling of safety as a result of fewer repeat victims and offenders and an increase reporting of offences
- An effective prevention and early intervention network to reduce the number of young people involved in, or falling victim to low level, serious and organised crime
- West Mercia Police will sustain its ‘Good’ rating in HMICFRS’s PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy programme) effectiveness (vulnerability) inspection
- An increase in confidence to report an offence to the police from both victims and witnesses
- Increase the proportion of hate crimes reported to the police.
