Police boss highlights achievements

Kent police and crime commissioner Ann Barnes says she has delivered on key commitments on policing in the county - according to her own annual report.

The commissioner discussed her self-assessment before the all-party Kent and Medway crime panel on Tuesday, where she was quizzed over the youth crime commissioner and what the post has achieved.

In her yearly report, which all commissioners are required to produce, Mrs Barnes – who is paid £85,000 a year – identifies more than a dozen highlights.

These include the recruitment of a new chief constable, the launch of a crime victims charter and the appointment of a youth commissioner. It also picks out the establishment of a new referral centre in Maidstone for victims of sexual assault.

But there is no mention in the nine-page report of the disastrous Channel 4 documentary Meet The Commissioner, or the difficulties surrounding Mrs Barnes’ second choice of the youth crime commissioner.

Mrs Barnes writes in her blog about the report that she “hasn’t got room for every achievement”.

She said: “Despite the distractions that sometimes come with public office, it’s important to get on with the day job, to concentrate on what is important and to deliver on the promises you make.”