Police & Crime Commissioners (PCC) were established in 2011. Suffolk Police & Crime Commissioner is Tim Passmore . As part of community engagement, Mr Passmore held a public meeting at 6.30pm Tues 10 Oct 2023, at The Wherry Hotel , Oulton Broad .
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| PCC meeting, The Wherry Oulton Broad |
Suffolk Chief Constable Rachel Kearton also attended along with local police managers including Insp Ed Scott (Halesworth & Southwold). The meeting was well attended by about 50 members of the public and this blogger spotted 3 or 4 Lowestoft area councilors among the audience .
The main message of the meeting is that with effect from December 2023, Suffolk Police are changing their local policing model. At the moment we have Neighbourhood Response Officers (respond to emergencies) and Safer Neighbourhood Teams (deals with local issues eg Anti social behaviour).
From December 2023 There will be Response Investigation Teams (RIT) which will largely be made up of officers from the former neighbourhood response & safer neighbourhood teams.
In the Eastern area of Suffolk including Southwold & halesworth, we will have 5 Inspectors, 15 Sergeants and 95 police Constables to look after us 24/7. Looks like it's the best area for the Inspectors because the other 2 areas (West & South there is no North) - also have 5 Inspectors despite being larger .
As well as RIT's there will be 50 community policing teams which have a police officer(s) backed up by PCSO's.
Lastly there is a community partnership and prevention hub which reads as though it is 9-5pm office type policing: liasing with police partner organisations, dealing with hate crime , child issues and neighbourhood issues
Right care right person
The Chief Constable spoke about the need to ensure that the right person attends jobs especially in relation to mental health incidents. She gave an example of police being sent to a mental health incident to check on welfare , and where there was no crime. Police did not attend and the job went to the ambulance service.
Although this blogger can't re call the Chief Constable mentioning it specifically in the meeting, I would think that she was referring to the "Right Care Right person" guidance issued recently by the college of policing. The guidance is aimed at giving vulnerable people the care and support that they need.
The Suffolk Police and Crime Plan (2022 - 2025) explains how the PCC will deliver 4 main objectives for policing in Suffolk. The 4 objectives are:
- An efficient and effective police force for Suffolk
- Provide services which support victims of crime and invest in initiatives which reduce crime and disorder
- Engage with communities to understand their views about policing and crime and keep them informed and updated about the work of the PCC and the Constabulary
- Work in partnership to improve criminal justice outcomes and enhance community safety
Contact details for the PCC - click here: Tim Passmore
Useful note for Councils & Community groups
The PCC has some funding available for Suffolk based community and voluntary groups, charities. This is for the purpose of reducing crime and disorder and/or supporting victims of crime. The fund is administered by Suffolk Community Foundation and is open 4 times a year.