‘I’ll put new police in the right places’
More investment in policing must be spent wisely, says
THERE is a tangible sense of excitement around policing at the moment as our force and the 42 others in England and Wales gear up for what is likely to be the largest recruitment drive of a generation.
The fact that Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid announced £750m in funding for new officers next year, and £45m to kick-start the process this year, was well reported, but the implications for our communities and those interested in joining our forces are perhaps not so well understood.
Predictably it was one of the subjects that came up at a very positive meeting of the Truro Parish Liaison Group I was invited to on Thursday, when a councillor observed that fewer officers now join under the age of 20 and serve 30 years or more.
It’s certainly true to say that the type of person attracted to policing has changed over the years, with the proportion of Black and Minority Ethnic and female officers increasing year after year. And according to the Home Office’s latest Police Workforce report 44% of officers in England and Wales are now aged 41 to 55.
I think this diversity – and the fact that plenty of officers now had a life before they joined – can only be a good thing when it comes to dealing with the vast range of people they will come into contact with.
I was pleased to see a tweet from PC Emma Buley recently commenting on the fact that she had completed her first year’s service after joining at 45. Being a frontline cop isn’t easy, especially during the
summer when a huge influx of visitors adds to the strain, but anyone who follows Emma’s Twitter feed will be in no doubt that she feels she’s doing a valuable and important job for her community.
Unwittingly she has also become something of a recruiting sergeant for the police, encouraging others of her generation to give it a go.
Fortunately for anyone considering the leap that Emma made our force was welcoming applications even before the Government announced its desire to recruit 20,000 additional officers for England and Wales. The challenge of filling these positions is significant, but it’s made easier by the fact that we’re among forces already open for those wanting to become an officer.
That’s thanks to the fact that our communities told me they were happy to support a rise in the police precept (the part of council tax that helps to pay for the police service) if we were able to present the force with a budget that would allow for an extra 85 officers - taking overall numbers in Devon and Cornwall to 3,100 by March 2021.
Part of our pledge was to invest in 27 officers - one for each sector – with a brief to concentrate on problem solving and connecting with communities. The Truro policing team told councillors that the post has been advertised and will be filled soon and that situation will be mirrored in all sectors. I think my job as PCC is now to ensure that the uplift in police service strength is felt by our communities and not chipped away at by national structures.
From the conversations I’ve had up and down Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and the polling work done by my office, it’s clear to me that people want to see officers back out on the streets.
The problems experienced by our Cornish councillors, and those in Devon I met on Tuesday at our councillor advocate seminar, are typical. Road safety might not be the most glamorous of subjects, but it’s certainly one that people feel passionately about when drivers speed in their streets, park inconsiderately and drive dangerously.
Walking the beat might be seen as old fashioned when police are required to respond from one incident to another, but if we can use this uplift to satisfy a demand in our communities for just that type of policing, then I think we should. Many of those I speak to feel that foot patrol and high visibility tactics help to reduce crime, as well as reassuring communities.
I’ll be making this case in London later this month, when I deliver our bid for additional funding to recognise the fact that Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are policed by a force which receives not a penny for the extraordinarily high number of visitors it receives between April and September.
Yes, more funding for police officers is fantastic news – but let’s make sure our communities feel every penny of this investment.
Tomorrow:
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