THOUSANDS HAVE THEIR VIEWS ON POLICING & CRIME HEARD, AS POLICE COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCES FUTURE POLICING PLAN
Northumbria’s Police & Crime Commissioner calls on residents to give their views on her proposed Police & Crime Plan following months of feedback, consultation and opinion gathering across the region.
The Police & Crime Plan, the document used by the Police & Crime Commissioner to hold the forces Chief Constable to account, has been published in draft form and the Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, is calling on residents to have their say on it.
Following months of consultation, the Commissioner has now proposed her plan for the next 4 years titled ‘Fighting Crime, Preventing Crime’ – priorities in the plan include tackling anti-social behaviour, preventing violent crime and focusing on neighbourhood policing.
Commenting on the response to the consultation, Kim said: “I’m delighted that the people of Northumbria have come forward and given their views – this plan reflects those and aims to deliver on our communities priorities and concerns.”
“I will use the plan to hold the force to account and ensure that we are continuing to deliver a high quality service that our communities expect. Despite the challenges the force have faced in the past 12 months, we’ve still managed to proactively fight crime and this is reflected in the continued fall in crime across the region.”
As an impact of national lockdown and other resulting factors, there was a 13% fall in total recorded crime during the recorded period ending June 2019 in comparison in the same period ending 2020.
Kim continued: “There have been some clear themes and issues highlighted during the consultation period, and I will work with the Chief Constable to address these and ensure they are addressed. Within the plan I have committed to reporting back regularly on our progress, and I believe this transparency is important for communities to understand how we are addressing their concerns.”
Of the priorities identified in the draft plan, anti-social behaviour was the crime with the noticeable increase in reported instances, largely attributed to Covid-19 related issues. Overall ASB increased by 68% during April to August 2020 in comparison to the same period of the previous year.
At the peak during April and May, up to 53% of ASB instances were linked to Covid-19.
Commenting on the changing crime types, Kim said: “The past year has of course been a different one for the force, but they’ve responded professionally and responded accordingly. There has obviously been a change in crime patterns as a result of lockdowns, curfews and restrictions, but as we edge towards a way out of this pandemic, my focus is very much on ensuring crime levels remain as low as we’ve seen throughout the Covid period.”
The plan can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/PCP21Draft – and the public can have their say by emailing enquiries@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk until Thursday 21st January 2021.
