The West Midlands Police Crime Commissioner was in sandwell to talk about his plans going forward and tells us how he is asking goverment for more money for more Police Officers.
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00:00So, good morning. Simon, why are we here today?
00:05Well today we're here to launch my new Police and Crime Plan. That plan is
00:11important because I have a statutory duty to issue that plan. It sets out the
00:16needs, priorities and objectives for policing the West Midlands. The Chief Constable
00:20has to have regard to that plan and I can use that plan to hold the Chief
00:23Constable to account on behalf of the people of the West Midlands who have
00:27elected me as Police and Crime Commissioner. Thank you. And what are some
00:32of the key points or issues that you're outlining in that plan? So this plan sets
00:38out my vision for policing over the next four years. It sets out my key priorities
00:44which include continuing to rebuild community policing, preventing and
00:50tackling violence against women and girls and youth violence and knife crime
00:53and also reducing the number of people who are killed and seriously injured on
00:59our roads and it represents my commitment, my pledge to the people of
01:03the West Midlands to prevent and tackle crime, promote community safety and keep
01:08the people, families, businesses and local communities of the West Midlands safe and secure.
01:12500 fewer police community support officers than they did back in 2010.
01:18A national police bonding formula that disproportionately disadvantages West
01:23Midlands police in the sum of 40 million pounds a year and yet there are many
01:31police forces across the country that now have more police officers than they
01:35have ever had in their force histories. In addition, by way of comparison with our
01:42most similar police force, Greater Manchester Police, that force now has an
01:47almost equivalent number of police officers to what it had back in 2010 and
01:52if we were to receive the same level of funding per head of population to that
01:56of Greater Manchester Police, West Midlands police would be 40 million
02:00pounds a year better off. That is inexplicable, it is inexcusable, it is not
02:07fair, it is not just and it is not right and I will continue to campaign
02:12relentlessly for our fair allocation of police officers and fair funding for
02:17West Midlands police and for that wrong to be righted. It is not acceptable that
02:23we in the West Midlands continue to be shortchanged and ripped off when it
02:28comes to our fair share of police officers.
02:30Media coverage in relation to knife crime. Knife crime involving young people is a
02:37real important priority for us. It is for society. We're no different than
02:42anywhere else within the Western world, within the country with regards to knife
02:48crime. Our knife crime numbers are going down but it's really important, I say to
02:53you, that we cannot label the generation that's coming through. Most young kids are
03:00good kids, they're not bad kids. The media quite often will run away with a story
03:07about something terrible that's happened and I say to you, our murder rate has
03:13reduced by a third in the last year. Serious youth violence has reduced by 15%
03:19and it's important that we remember we want to recruit these young people into
03:25the organisation. We want them to lead good and successful lives. It's important
03:31that with some of the negativity we remember that most young kids are good
03:36people and as well as talking about them as being the offending age group, they
03:41are also the peak victim age group and that shouldn't be lost. So when we hear
03:46the Commissioner say he's put some more money into prevention and the
03:50violence reduction partnership, I say as Chief Constable that it's
03:55absolutely the right way to go. You never see those results absolutely immediately
04:00at your fingertips, but the longer-term intention is very clear that prevention
04:06is better than detection. Thank you.
04:19In terms of budget, we know that there's issues surrounding the amount of police
04:26officers and the reduced number of them that we've seen in the last decade and a half or so.
04:31How are you envisioning that that will improve in the next few years?
04:37Well in the West Midlands we still have 700 fewer police officers than we had
04:42back in 2010. We still have 500 fewer PCSOs than we had back in 2010. That's
04:47deeply unfair, particularly when you consider there are many other police
04:51force areas around the country that now have more police officers than they've
04:54ever had in their force histories. So I am continuing to campaign to lobby
04:58government to right that wrong because it's deeply unjust. However, the Chief
05:04Constable and I have recently submitted to the Home Office a bid for 150
05:09additional police officers as part of the government's neighbourhood policing
05:13guarantee. We're awaiting on the Home Secretary to approve and sign off those
05:18150 additional police officers and in the event that that bid is successful
05:22those additional 150 officers will be allocated into continuing to rebuild
05:29community policing in the West Midlands.
05:31And finally, and just picking up on another point that you mentioned, tackling youth crime is one of the big things that the Express and Star in particular has been campaigning to just see that we can just try and get rid of this issue of youths getting their hands on knives and using them against each other.
05:52So what's in your plan for that?
05:54Well, preventing and tackling serious youth violence and knife crime is a top priority for me and it's a top priority for West Midlands Police and that is reflected in my new Police and Crime Plan.
06:05And that plan reflects the need for robust policing to deal with those people who are intent on causing harm to others so that they are apprehended and brought to justice.
06:15But we also need to invest in prevention and early intervention and diversion and addressing the underlying causes of youth violence and knife crime and the plan sets out my vision to do exactly that.
06:28Thank you very much.