A time to stop, think and reflect
WITH services of Remembrance taking place across the region today and over the weekend, my leadership team and I will be attending commemorative events to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Across the country, we will pay tribute to the courageous individuals of our armed forces who lost their lives in conflicts around the world. It is a time for us all to stop, think and reflect.
Moving on, this month I am supporting the National Crime Agency’s campaign focusing on protect and pursue activity against money mules.
The act of money muling is when you let someone else use your bank account to send criminal money. Criminals contact people and offer them cash to receive this money into their bank account and transfer it to another account.
The money that money mules transfer is usually stolen, profits of crime and is often used to fund crime like drug dealing, sexual exploitation, fraud and human trafficking.
Those who become money mules are often unaware of the consequences this offence can bring such as bank accounts being closed, problems applying for credit and even a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
I strongly encourage all parents and carers to spot the signs of your young person falling for ‘get rich quick’ traps and becoming a money mule. Opening new bank accounts or being in possession of designer goods they cannot account for are both examples of behaviour that could be considered suspicious.
Following on from this, last week we held another Performance and Accountability Board (PAB). The aim of this meeting is to increase public confidence and transparency so local people can see how I hold the Chief Constable to account.
In this month’s meeting, we discussed illegal money lending, shop-lifting, tackling disproportionality and racism, and I put questions to the Chief Constable relating to victim satisfaction and police visibility.
I also focused on burglary and asked how Avon and Somerset Police are improving outcomes for victims of acquisitive crime. The Chief Constable explained the importance of focusing on suspect behaviour, disruption, offender management and partnership working to reduce crime and detect more of them.
If you missed it this month, you can watch it back on the PCC’s website: avonandsomerset-pcc. gov.uk.
If you have any thoughts about the Performance and Accountability Board, you can complete a short survey to share your thoughts via our website.
We will pay tribute to our armed forces’ corageous individuals who lost their lives Mark Shelford