The Commissioner is required to publish a “Police and Crime Plan” which sets out the priorities for Merseyside Police and the strategy for working to achieve them. The current Plan is here.
There is not much to disagree with in this Plan and my approach would be to continue the process of evolving it, but with the inclusion of the missing key priority to reduce road traffic crimes, particularly excessive speeds.
I would like to see if the Plan could be made shorter, a bit less general and have more quantitative targets. I have a concern that the Plan is not known to or used by the general public and few police officers are familiar with it.
Supporting Victims of Crime
The PCC has significant responsibilities for directing a budget for supporting victims which has been transferred from central government. The current arrangements are set out here. Again, there is much to agree with. My approach would be to conduct a review of the way we support and listen to victims, starting with a look at the unpublished consultation report.
Victims of road traffic crashes, many of which have been road traffic crimes, need to be given more consideration by police and the courts. I am a member of RoadPeace, the national charity which supports these victims.
Neighbourhood Policing
All candidates agree with the importance of strong neighbourhood policing. It is one of the successes for Merseyside Police. Pressure on the number of PCSOs has caused them to be spread more thinly on the ground. Elsewhere I have stated that they should be encouraged to use cycles as preferred transport and to enable them to be visible, covering more ground than is possible if they are always on foot.
I think the Office of the PCC (the team of talented people who work for the PCC) should be asked to see how communication can be improved between neighbourhood policing teams and the population they serve. One improvement I would like to see is publication of detailed performance data for each neighbourhood. Local people should be able to see how their area is progressing, over time, and how it compares with other areas.
Building Confidence in Reporting Crime
As a ward councillor, I have often come across people who no longer think it is worthwhile reporting crime or passing on intelligence to the local police. They may have contacted police in the past, but have not seen a positive outcome and so they become disenchanted: they lack confidence that making a report will make any difference.
The limit on policing resources is always going to mean that positive outcomes cannot be guaranteed, but we need to find ways to report back to local people when they take the trouble to make a report to the police.
Having a population that is willing always to report crime will have a deterrent effect on those who intend to commit it.
Pro-active Consultation
As well as the (valid) consultation methods already used by the PCC, I think it is important to try to reach the people who do not come forward to respond to invitations to take part in consultations.
I would set up surveys to sample the whole population, borrowing methods from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. In that way we can reach out to victims of crime who may not have even reported an offence and we can give ourselves a second chance to talk to those who have become disengaged from interacting with the police.
A Green Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside 