A Week in the Life of a Police & Crime Commissioner

I have spent some time this week talking to and listening to many residents of Cheshire about a wide range of policing matters and I thought I would share with you some examples of the public engagement work I do during a typical week.

I feel that it is important for me to gather as many views from people as possible in order to shape my Police & Crime Plan which I am in the process of refreshing for next year so that I can effectively hold the Chief Constable to account on your behalf and also so that I can make sure that the needs of victims are at the centre of policing.

On Sunday, the Chief Constable and I hosted an event to thank Police Support Volunteers for the valuable contribution they make to policing. Police Support Volunteersplay an integral role in policing the communities we serve. Volunteers come from all walks of life and bring a whole host of different skills to individual roles that help and support police officers and staff. Their dedication and commitment makes them all valuable members of the policing family.

On Monday I went to deliver a talk to the Over 50's Lunch Club at Campbell Community Hall in Boughton where I met some delightful people. It is important that people understand the role that Police & Crime Commissioner's carry out whether or not they choose to vote for me in the next election. I took advantage of being in the West of the county and visited Ellesmere Port Police Station to test the Police Contact Point on the outside of the police station. The facility worked really well and I was able to web chat with an operator who dealt with me in a professional manner. I am pleased that this new approach to technology is now up and running across the county.

Tuesday saw an early start as I had been invited to go to the South Cheshire Business Club's breakfast meeting to talk about business crime, something which is a key priority in my Police & Crime Plan.
Then it was over to Headquarters where the Chief Constable and I hosted a visit by the Minister for Policing, Mike Penning. We took an opportunity to celebrate White Ribbon Day whilst he was here. I attended a Cheshire Crimebeat evening where I was delighted to learn about the work being done by the charity to reduce crime.

On Wednesday, I visited a resident in Wilmslow who has some concerns that she wanted to discuss personally with me. I aim to be as accessible as possible. Some people write to me or email me, others prefer to engage with me on Twitter or Facebook, some attend public meetings. Some need a one to one conversation in the comfort of their home and I am more than happy to visit them, listen to them and bring their concerns away to raise with the Chief Constable. The advantage of this model of police governance is that for the first time, people have a single individual that they can turn to when they feel that the system has failed them.
In the evening I went to meet the residents of Ellesmere Port at a public meeting.

This week, the Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner, Margaret Ollerenshaw has also been out gathering the views of older people in a series of focus groups with Age UK to see whether they have any specific policing needs that should be addressed.

This is a typical week in terms of the people I meet and the places I visit. There are over a million people in Cheshire over an area which covers urban and rural areas and I would love to speak to everyone. I know that it not possible but I do want to make sure that people know who I am, what I do and how they can contact me if they need to.