Anthony Stansfeld, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley has recently published his new five year Police and Crime Plan which sets out the priorities for policing and other crime reduction organisations across the Thames Valley, including the response to regional and national threats.
The full plan can be found on the PCC website here and a short summary of the plan; it’s broad strategic priorities and how it has been developed is below.
Police and Crime Plan 2017 – 2021
This new Plan consists of five broad strategic priorities which are:
- Vulnerability – Managing demand on services through working together with a particular focus on mental health, elder abuse, hidden abuse, and the criminal justice experience for victims of domestic and sexual abuse
- Prevention and Early Intervention – Improving safeguarding in both the physical space and virtual space including tackling cyber crime, road safety, peer on peer abuse, hate crime and female genital mutilation (FGM)
- Reducing Re-offending – Targeting and managing harm and risk with a focus on substance misuse, violence involving weapons and offender management including perpetrators of domestic abuse
- Serious Organised Crime and Terrorism – Improving the local response including increased public awareness, promoting a ‘dare to share’ culture, and preventing violent extremism and the exploitation of vulnerable people.
- Police Ethics and Reform – Increasing the pace of change with a focus on improved support for victims, accelerated uptake of new technology, and improving the perceptions of police among young people
The priorities and aims in the Plan will be addressed in greater detail through the delivery plans of Thames Valley Police, the Office of the PCC and other partner service delivery plans, particularly Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs).
The plan was developed using a broad range of information including the evaluation of research documents, analysis of crime trends, horizon scanning to identify future trends and consultation with partners including the police and local authorities.
It was also informed by the views of the nearly 5000 residents of Thames Valley, including over 1000 young people, who took part in the PCCs policing and crime survey in 2016.
Police and Crime Commissioner Anthony Stansfeld said “I am pleased to be launching the new Police and Crime Plan which sets out my priorities for keeping communities across the Thames Valley safe. The plan seeks to address current and emerging threats from crime over the next five years.
“I have kept my strategic priorities broad to allow organisations to interpret them to meet local needs but I will be working closely with partner organisations to understand how they will address the issues identified.
“The demands on policing and community safety concerns have changed over the last few years and my new plan reflects this. Issues such as mental health are placing a growing demand on police and partners, as has the increased reporting of domestic and sexual abuse. Hidden and/ or newly emerging crimes such as female genital mutilation, hate crime, honour based violence and cyber crime also need to be tackled. It is important that we work together to raise awareness of these crimes as well as bring to justice the offender and support the victims.
“To effectively take on this work there is a need for police to take advantage of new technologies, while at the same time continuing to foster the trust of the people they serve. My recent survey showed that adults were largely satisfied with the service provided by the police, however, young people’s perception of police was less favourable and I would like to see more work with young people to address this.
“As the recent tragedy in London has unfortunately highlighted terrorism remains a very real threat and the work in preventing violent extremism will continue. Serious organised crime must also be tackled and very vulnerable people, who are exploited as a consequence, protected.
“My new Plan focuses on many new and emerging issues for policing but more traditional crimes such as household burglary and rural crime will also remain a priority.
“Tackling new demand, as well as maintaining support for the investigation of more traditional crimes, won’t be an easy task. However, as recent Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) inspections have shown, Thames Valley Police is a force we can be proud of and I have faith that they will be able to rise to this challenge and continue to safeguard the communities of Thames Valley.”