PCC newsletter – January 2023

This month’s edition includes stories on holding to account, alcohol related incidents and new officers.

Keep reading to find out more…

I would like to wish you and your family a prosperous and happy New Year. I’m sure you will join me in expressing gratitude to the police officers and other emergency workers who have worked tirelessly throughout the festive period keeping us safe.

I know communities across West Mercia value and support their local police officers. As your Police and Crime Commissioner this gives me a huge sense of pride and I look forward to working with you to ensure your police force continues to deliver on the matters that mean the most to you in 2023.

Have you got a question on public confidence you want West Mercia Police’s Chief Constable to answer? Let me know!

On Monday 30 January, I will be putting questions the public submits to the Chief Constable in a live Facebook session from 6pm.Public confidence remains a central priority for the PCC as the communities of West Mercia need to have a police service they can both trust and rely on.

Thank you to everyone who completed my recent budget consultation.

More than 500 of you have helped to shape West Mercia Police’s budget for 2023/24.

I will share the results of the consultation on my website over the coming months.

I recently took part in a BBC Hereford & Worcester interview on nitrous oxide with MP for Wyre Forest, Mark Garnier and West Mercia Police’s DCI Gerry Smith from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit.

The interview focused on nitrous oxide and its availability across the internet. Nos is the second most popular recreational drugs amongst young people and evidence of its use is regularly seen in public spaces.

During the interview, I talked about my commitment as Senior Responsible Officer for the local Combatting Drugs Partnership to tackle drugs and drive change in our society.

Keep a close eye on my social media channels to see when the interview will go live.

As the voice of the public in policing, I really value hearing about your views, experiences and confidence in West Mercia Police.

In the latest public perceptions survey, residents and victims had their say on the force.

I am reassured to see confidence in the police remains high with more than 80% of respondents confident they would receive a good service.

The increase in police officer numbers, I have funded and championed, is also being positively received with over half of respondents saying they are satisfied with the level of policing in their area.

The latest statistics have shown that alcohol related incidents have decreased across West Mercia by 8%. This is reassuring to see as it continues my commitment to make West Mercia a safer place to both live and work.

This month I attended the Reset launch event with Shropshire Council and other partners to talk about a new and innovative project the focuses on tackling alcohol addiction in the community. I will continue to support project and services like this to help support the communities of West Mercia and tackle alcohol related incidents.

I had the pleasure of meeting 40 new recruits beginning their policing journey with West Mercia Police.

The students are taking part in the Degree Holder Entry Programme and within a year will be patrolling on a street near you, keeping you and your family safe.

Each student brings with them a wealth of experience and knowledge and are great additions to the growing West Mercia family.

In the latest episode of my Safer West Mercia Podcast I sat down with Pete Martin from Redditch Self Defence to talk about how his workshops are helping young people turn away from knife related crime.

As your PCC I will continue to support projects of this kind to help tackle knife crime at the root and give young people a way out

Find out more about the project below.

I am committed to giving you the opportunity to have your voice heard. Over the last year I have received over 500 pieces of correspondence from you the public covering a range of topics including road safety, local policing, ASB and plenty more.

Do you have a  question or concern? You can find a range of ways to contact my office in the link below.

I am looking for two Assistant Policy Officers and a Senior Finance Officer to join my team.

If you are a motivated and passionate individual looking for a new challenge then visit the link below to find out more.

PCC welcomes funding boost to support victims of domestic abuse

£490,000 Government funding secured for crime prevention

Job vacancies

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