Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire, Matthew Ellis was joined by Young Police Cadets when he spoke to people in Cannock and Rugeley.
The ‘Let’s Talk – Saturday’ event saw surgeries at Morrisons stores in Cannock and Lichfield on 3 August. Two cadets were on duty to engage with the public at both shops.
During the morning, almost 1,000 people were involved in consultation on the Commissioner’s new Safer, Fairer, United, Communities strategy.
Mr Ellis said: “The cadets did a great job at engaging with the public and lots of families wanted to know about joining our Cannock scheme, which is coming soon. The cadets are the future of Staffordshire and it’s fantastic to see them developing confidence and skills as they serve their communities.”
“It was really useful to talk to people one to one about the issues that matter to them and to hear what they had to say about the strategy.
“There are lots of opportunities for people to give their views on the strategy which calls for a whole-system approach where public services collaborate on common agreed outcomes that make a difference to local people.
“It’s not NHS, local authority, CPS or police money….it’s all public money. We must scrap silo thinking, work to common goals – spend better, achieve more.
“We need a system which fits the people it serves rather than people having to fit the system. On Saturday, people were very positive about plans for a victims’ gateway which will be a single contact point where services wrap around victims and witnesses.
The Safer, Fairer, United Communities strategy is out for public consultation until the end of August. It can be viewed in full at www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk where people can also watch an animated video called ‘Meet Jen’ which focuses on how the strategy will affect the life of an ordinary Staffordshire citizen.
People can get involved now in a variety of ways and have their say – including joining the conversation on facebook.com/staffordshirepcc or on Twitter @StaffsPCC