Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis is looking forward to the first live webcast of the Staffordshire Police and Crime Panel for the first time on Monday, 27 January.
The Panel regularly meets to give views on the plans and decisions of the PCC. Its next meeting on Monday at 10am at County Buildings in Stafford will be broadcast live online at http://www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk/2014/01/webcast/
Mr Ellis said: “This is about being open, honest and transparent so that public confidence across policing and criminal justice is improved. People can view the meeting in person or watch it live wherever they are via the web, and will also be available to view it online afterwards.
“This is an important meeting as I will be laying out my plans for a zero increase in the police and community safety portion of council tax for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent people in 2014/15. With the £4.3 million reduction in overall budget, the easy option would be to turn to local council tax-payers to meet the additional short-fall. But I don’t want to do that. Through good house-keeping I want to spend every pound of public money better, meaning Staffordshire tax-payers are the absolute last resort.”
Panel Chairman Councillor Frank Chapman said: “It is really important that the meeting is webcast so that people can see the role the Panel plays. It will help them understand how decisions that affect them about policing and community safety issues are made.”
2014 will see accountability, transparency and openness in Staffordshire Police, and wider, as a top priority for the Commissioner. He is aiming for Staffordshire to be the most open and transparent police force in the country, an ambition which is shared by the Chief Constable.
An independent body – the new Ethics, Transparency and Audit Committee – is one of the PCC’s drivers that opens the police to even greater public scrutiny. The new panel is made up of local people and established and funded by the Commissioner. It will have wider powers and a greater remit than the audit committee it replaces as part of the new dawn of transparency, putting decisions by the PCC as well as Staffordshire Police under the spotlight.
