Column | PCC Mark Shelford – 10/10/2023

My next Performance and Accountability Board will be broadcast live from the Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Facebook on Thursday, 12th October from 4.00pm.

The purpose of this monthly meeting is to hold the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police (ASP) to account in delivering policing that is efficient, effective and legitimate by scrutinising and asking questions about police performance and priorities.

This month’s topics are hate crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB).

Hate crime and ASB are unacceptable any time of year, but National Hate Crime Week, which will take place between 14th – 21st October, provides an opportunity to reinforce that Avon and Somerset is no place for hate.

Reducing and preventing these crimes, which is priority one of four in my Police and Crime Plan requires us to all work together, encourage reporting and ensure any victims receive support.

I look forward to learning more about what ASP is doing for National Hate Crime Week and beyond.

Last month, I hosted the first event of our Autumn Councillor Forums for the Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) constituency. The session was a chance for councillors to gain an overview of my Police and Crime Plan. During the session, I was joined by officers from the Bath

Neighbourhood Police team and representatives from the Bath and North East Somerset Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), where both teams addressed concerns about young people.

I am delighted to announce that earlier this month, the Prisoners Building Homes (PBH) Programme – backed by myself and other South West Police and Crime Commissioners Alison Hernandez, David Sidwick, Chris Nelson and Philip Wilkinson – won the ‘Collaboration’ category in the Government Property Awards at a ceremony in Westminster.

The awards recognise excellence and innovation in public-sector property management.

PBH is an innovative collaboration between public and private sector partners to unlock land and deliver affordable, high-quality, low carbon, sustainable modular homes nationally; while creating job opportunities for serving prisoners and prison leavers to enable them to turn their lives around and reduce the cycle of reoffending.

The programme is important for the prevention of reoffending but also for providing people on a low-wage high-quality accommodation that every council and housing provider should have a call to arms to become a part of this programme.

Preventing crime is the single most important thing I want to achieve through my Police and Crime Plan. By preventing crime we reduce the need for a police response, reduce the need to punish people and, most importantly, reduce the amount of harm to our communities.

Preventing crime is about addressing the causes, not just responding to the symptoms. The causes of crime involve much broader societal issues such as deprivation, substance misuse and Adverse Childhood Experiences to name but a few.

There is a focus on these underlying causes when working on reducing reoffending but we must aim to bring that focus forward to early intervention. This means identifying and working with people at risk before they have even committed their first offence. Addressing these causes requires the police to be proactive and work closely with partners across the public sector and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors.

With a focus on prevention, we can reduce the amount of crime and ASB but we will never eliminate it. When incidents do happen I urge reporting to the police and I want to see justice done. Reporting of crime and ASB can be done online as well as reporting through calling 101 and 999.

Together we can reduce and prevent crime.