Watch the Police Commissioner’s Scrutiny Meeting on Fighting Crime; Proactive Policing
28.03.22 - Merseyside
Merseyside's Police Commissioner will hold her third public Scrutiny Meeting with the Chief Constable tomorrow (Tuesday 29th March) at 1.45pm, examining the police’s work to fight crime and deliver proactive policing to communities across Merseyside.
Emily Spurrell is responsible for holding the Chief Constable, Serena Kennedy, to account for delivering on her policing and community safety priorities and maintaining an efficient and effective police service in Merseyside.
One of the ways the Police Commissioner undertakes this crucial role is through quarterly public Scrutiny Meetings, which include questions from the public and are live-streamed to enable everyone to watch.
This meeting will focus on Pillar 1 of the PCC's Police and Crime Plan - Fighting Crime; Proactive Policing. It will cover the force’s performance on crucial issues, including how the force works to prevent and tackle serious and organised crime, violent crime, and drugs, as well as business crime and fraud and cybercrime.
It will also examine the way Merseyside Police delivers visible and accessible local policing, including its work to prevent acquisitive crime such as burglary and robbery and improve road safety.
The meeting will provide Chief Officers with the opportunity to give the Commissioner a detailed account of the force’s progress into how they address these issues, work to bring perpetrators to justice and make our communities safer, enabling Emily to identify if there are any areas of risk.
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “The first priority of my Police and Crime Plan – Fighting Crime; Proactive Policing – really focuses on the police’s core business, so this is a crucial meeting to review how Merseyside Police is progressing on some of the issues that matter most to our communities.
“It will cover how the force works day-to-day to tackle incidents of violence, knife crime and drugs. The meeting will also focus on Merseyside Police’s ongoing commitment to tackling the criminal gangs whose activities blight our communities, its efforts to ensure our towns and centres are safe at night and keep people safe from burglary and robbery.
“It will also examine how responsive the force is to our communities – online, over the phone and in person. When I consulted local people, 98% of respondents felt that a visible police presence was a priority for them, so I know how much people want to see officers on their streets, on their roads, in their communities, keeping people safe.
“Cybercrime and fraud are also areas of hugely growing demand for our police service, and I will ask the Chief to detail the work Merseyside Police is undertaking to make sure it can respond to these complex and challenging crime types.
“Improving road safety will also be a significant area of focus for this meeting. Too many people are still dying or being seriously injured on our roads. While this is not an issue the police can fix on their own, I will scrutinise Merseyside Police’s efforts to enforce the law on our roads and educate drivers on how to use them safely.
“These are all areas of huge interest to our communities so I would encourage people across Merseyside to tune in live, or watch the recording afterwards, and hear directly from the Chief Constable and her senior team about they are delivering on this priority.”
The Police Commissioner’s quarterly Scrutiny Meetings are part of a wider range of accountability arrangements which also include regular one-to-one meetings with the Chief Constable.
As well as being live-streamed, the three-hour meeting, held at Knowsley Council Chamber, Municipal Buildings will be recorded so members of the public can watch later.