Commissioner’s scheme to create more police stations
Draft police and crime bill unveiled
MORE high street police stations could be on the cards under plans unveiled by the county’s crime commissioner.
Conservative Donna Jones has revealed her draft police and crime plan, vowing to make police more visible to the public.
The elected politician has launched a month-long consultation on the document, vowing to have 600 more officers in place by 2023.
Ms Jones has also said keeping young people out of trouble and tackling antisocial behaviour are key priorities, along with a better 101 system.
As reported, Ms Jones has agreed to a review of police buildings. That comes after years of them being sold off and closed, including Fratton and Southsea stations in Portsmouth, and Gosport’s station.
Police made £48m selling off stations following swingeing government cuts.
Now Ms Jones said neighbourhood teams will be ‘where they are needed most’, with ‘mobile police contact points’ brought in and ‘better located police buildings in communities’.
Her draft plan said: ‘I will work with Hampshire Constabulary to improve police visibility by bringing neighbourhood policing to your community.
‘By seeing more police officers not only will you be able to share information with them, it will help to make people feel safer.’
In a statement she said: ‘More police, safer streets is my draft plan to deliver for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It does what it says on the tin and will mean a stronger and more visible police presence able to investigate more crimes and secure more convictions.
‘There is also important work to be done on improving working with the court system.
‘As part of a balanced approach, I propose more provision to help keep young adults away from crime and for working with partners to help drug users who want to break their addiction.
‘Last summer, I ran a big survey and received thousands of replies.
‘That told me a lot about what people wanted to see from policing and helped me write my draft plan.
‘I now need your help to ensure that this plan is the right one for our area.’
The consultation runs until October 1 and can be found at morepolicesaferstreets.com
It follows 3,000 people responding to a crime survey this year.