Government launches new Beating Crime Plan
Marc Jones, Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and PCC for Lincolnshire said:
“Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) welcome the Government’s new plan, published today, to reduce crime, protect victims and keep our communities safe. These priorities are at the heart of everything that PCCs do.
"We are pleased to see the strong end-to-end focus of the plan – from tackling serious violence and high harms, to driving down neighbourhood crime, to tackling anti-social behaviour. We know from the victims and community groups that we speak to, that these crimes destroy lives, and it is imperative that we work together at a local and national level to tackle them. We are particularly encouraged to see the strong focus on Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), which for too long has been neglected. PCCs already work closely with local authority partners and community groups to tackle ASB but we want to do more and go further. We would like to use the platform of the Beating Crime Plan to galvanise local and national partners to come together to stop ASB in its tracks – ensuring we use all the powers available to us to tackle perpetrators, support victims and invest in local communities, and where we need more powers – to make the case to Government for them.
"PCCs recognise the critical role played by neighbourhood police in tackling crime and it is good to see that this is given prominence in the plan. We have already invested heavily in recruiting additional police officers - in addition to those recruited through the national police uplift programmes, to enhance and strengthen the work of local neighbourhood teams. PCCs, working with their chief constables, have also invested in technical solutions to deliver virtual services so the public can report crime and engage with local police officers online 24/7.
"PCCs want to ensure the public have full confidence that when they need help and pick up the phone to make a 999 or 101 call, they receive a swift response. However we have some concerns about the proposal in the plan to publish league tables. Whilst we recognise the critical importance of speed with 999, we believe that quality is also important particularly with 101 calls. We have raised this issue directly with the Policing Minister and he has committed to working with PCCs to ensure that any league tables capture a range of measures and are as much about quality and consistency of service as speed.
"Finally, PCCs welcome the announcement in the plan that the Government will be enhancing the role of PCCs by launching the second part of the PCC Review to equip Commissioners with the tools they need to drive down crime and anti-social behaviour in their local areas. PCCs have a key role in driving forward improvements in the wider criminal justice system, working with local partners to tackle reoffending and help prevent crime from happening in the first place. We want to deliver even more in this space. This focus on prevention underpins all of our work and we are heartened to see it given such prominence in the plan.
"PCCs are committed and determined to deliver on the priorities in the plan, keeping our communities safe and putting victims at the centre of everything we do.”