Firm foundations are in place but challenges remain for policing and security in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, says Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis.
Mr Ellis said the changing face of criminality, including the complexities of online crime and the threat from terrorism, means police must balance those priorities with the need to build more responsive, high-quality visible local policing.
The 2015/16 Safer, Fairer, United Communities Report sets out the progress and where more needs to be done on the Commissioner’s four-year strategy and its four priority areas: improving services for victims and witnesses; raising public confidence in policing; reducing reoffending by tackling the causes and intervening earlier.
Although finances remain tight, the better position compared to 2013, also means a £110m investment programme has started to provide new technology that reduces bureaucracy, allows officers to access more police systems whilst out of stations to improve visibility, and it will revolutionising the management of information police resources and intelligence.
Independent Safer Neighbourhood Panels and the countywide Ethics Transparency and Audit Panel mean openness and transparency has much improved, as well as accountability to the public.
The new Staffordshire Victim Gateway which supports all victims faster, not just certain categories, is considered a headline achievement alongside success in improving policing’s response to individuals with mental health conditions. Numbers ending in police cells despite not having committed a crime is down by 80% compared to 2013.
Mr Ellis said: “The scale and complexity of policing has been way beyond what I imagined before being elected. Changing society, the evolution of internet and technology crime and ensuring police are properly equipped to tackle fast changing issues is beyond what I had imagined.
“Making sure money is spent more effectively has not only meant that I have kept my promise to freeze for four years the part of council tax I set for policing but also means long overdue investment in the right tools for the job of policing is firmly underway.
“My first term in office has helped to ‘steady the ship’ and means that firm foundations are now in place. But the complexities encountered, the difficult financial position in 2013 and the changing face of crime means that we haven’t achieved all I wanted to.
“The second term that has just started provides an opportunity, from a better starting point, to address this and I am confident that policing at all levels will become better and stronger over the next few years.”
Key to the strong foundations is the investment in technology which has seen the securing of a “world-class” IT partner in Boeing. “Boeing will help us transform almost every aspect of what the police service does and be future-proofed as change occurs,” said Mr Ellis.
He said that working more closely with other public services was key to further progress in the coming years.
“My approach has been focused on improving outcomes and recognising that the police service is very often only one part of the solution to delivering improvement. Working effectively with others in local authorities, health, the criminal justice system, community organisations and many others is essential if we are to help people be safer and feel safer in their communities and have access to good support when needed.”
