Police chief presses for more officers on streets in Cov
WEST Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has reiterated his desire to deliver more officers to the streets of Coventry.
Of the 1,200 officers West Midlands Police has welcomed under the government’s Beating Crime Plan, which set out to put 20,000 additional officers on the streets by 2023, 450 are neighbourhood officers.
And, of that number, 117 are based in Coventry - 33 as neighbourhood officers people pass on the streets. In his manifesto pledge, Mr Foster promised to recruit an additional 450 neighbourhood officers across the West Midlands.
A total of 211 have so far been drafted in but, as he enters his second year in office, Mr Foster is pressing for more with a significant number of those officers likely to be based in Coventry. He said: “Representing the people of the West Midlands is an honour and a privilege.
“I take the trust and responsibility placed in me by the people of the West Midlands very seriously. It drives me on to take the action that is required to ensure our police force is the best it can possibly be, in order to prevent and tackle crime and to keep people, their families and communities safe and secure.”
In his first year at the helm, after the 2020 election was delayed because of the pandemic, Mr Foster has overseen the preparation and launch of a West Midlands Police and Crime Plan, doubling the number of specialist advocates available to support domestic and sexual abuse victims.
He is said to have established a new service for victims of hate crime, launched campaigns to combat violence against women and girls and domestic abuse, invested in safer streets schemes and commissioned victims support services. Mr Foster is also credited with expanding a drug treatment programme to reduce shoplifting and has called on the government to provide ‘fair funding’ for West Midlands Police.
“Significant progress has been made in my first year,” he said. “I am grateful to the team around me for delivering at such pace. However, the year ahead will be busier still as we continue to commit ourselves to constant and unremitting action to prevent and tackle crime, ensure perpetrators are held to account via the criminal justice system and victims of crime are able to access the right support services at the right time.”
Mr Foster has also overseen the work of the Violence Prevention Reduction Unit, which aims to prevent and tackle violent crime by focusing on prevention, early intervention and its underlying causes. And he intends to confront a rise in car crime ‘head on’ with a campaign targeting manufacturers, auction sites and lawmakers.
Mr Foster must also find a new Chief Constable after the incumbent, Sir David Thompson, steps down. The new Chief will have one of the biggest jobs in policing and their appointment is said to be ‘a top priority.’