Provide resources to the Force for emerging crime areas

This commitment acknowledges the fluid nature of crime and community safety matters and the need for the police to be flexible and responsive to those challenges.

At the time of re-election the Police and Crime Commissioner was particularly concerned with a potential growth in elder abuse cases. More recently, county lines drug related activity and the criminal exploitation of the vulnerable has come to the fore as a major concern locally and nationally.

While austerity and cuts to police funding have clearly had a significant impact, the Police & Crime Commissioner  (PCC) works closely with the Chief Constable each year to try and maximise available funding, targeting it towards key areas of demand.

Policing prioritisation in recent years has very much focused on threat, risk and harm in order to target resources most effectively. 

In terms of the precept and budget decisions during the term of office:

• 2019/20 – creation of a £1m Innovation Fund for initiatives including extra resource for the rural and marine crime teams, improving road safety, reducing re-offending; and tackling county lines
• 2018/19 – enable delivery of further cost savings, assist with creating a modern digitally enabled workforce, and allow greater transparency around the use of public money locally.
• 2017/18 – investment in protecting adults at risk of harm, improving the response to common non-emergency crime and incidents, and embracing new technology to assist in meeting the challenges faced by modern policing.
• 2016/17 – preventing the need to make further savings and allowing for modest investment in dealing with cyber-crime, child sexual exploitation and public accessibility.

Annual reviews of the Police and Crime Plan ensure our strategic priorities and objectives remain current and reflect any trends in crime or community safety challenges locally.

Our annual reports outline our progress against these priorities throughout the PCC’s term of office.