Ask policing questions on Facebook

Police and Crime Commission Sue Mountstevens wants local people to send her their questions ahead of the next 30-minute Facebook Live with the Chief Constable at 11am on Wednesday, 27 September.

The topics include police funding and resources, restorative justice, stalking and harassment and rape and sexual assault and the session will end by taking a selection of other submitted questions.

The webchat will be broadcast on Facebook live via the following link  www.facebook.com/AandSPCC. You can submit your questions by:

• emailing them to pcc@avonandsomerset.pnn.police.uk
• calling 01275 816377
• via her Facebook page
• on Twitter using the hashtag #PCCinconvo

For more information see here.

Have your say on Police and Crime Plan

The Police and Crime Commissioner wants you to help shape the Police and Crime Plan for Avon and Somerset. Have your say online before Tuesday, August 30, 2016.

Support for those suffering racially motivated abuse

Sadly since last week's referendum result there has been an increase in racially motivated incidents nationally and some problems have been reported here in South Gloucestershire. On Wednesday local councillor Claire Young proposed a motion to South Gloucestershire Council condemning such incidents, which received cross-party backing. If you have experienced such abuse, you can get support from SARI. The Police and Crime Commissioner has also urged people to report hate crime to the police.

Police and Crime Commissioner re-elected

Congratulations to independent candidate Sue Mountstevens on her re-election as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset. You can read more here.

The Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Crossley has posted his thanks on Facebook.

Paul Crossley to stand for Police and Crime Commissioner

Paul Crossley, an experienced local community leader from Bath, has been announced as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner.

Local people across the Avon and Somerset force area will have the chance to vote for a new Commissioner in elections to be held on Thursday 5^th May 2016. The Commissioner’s role is to hold the service to scrutiny and account on their behalf,

Paul’s top priorities are to:

• improve the way public services and communities work together
• cut the costs of the Commissioner’s office.

Paul was the Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council from 2002-7 and from 2011-15, turning it into one of the most successful Councils in the area with low unemployment, high investment, great schools and low crime.

Paul Crossley said: “I am delighted and honoured to have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate. My experience running a large Council enables me to improve efficiency whilst cutting waste and bureaucracy. I have the highest regard for the people who make the Police their career. I want to help Avon and Somerset Police be the best and most effective Police Force in the country. My full manifesto will be issued at the start of the election in early April and I encourage all residents to have their say in the vote on May 5th”

Police Officers, PCSOs and Special Constables want to make a difference and keep us safe. Paul believes that they need the personnel, equipment and resources to do this. Since 2010 the number of police in our area has reduced by over 500. And far too much police time is spent on issues that should be addressed by other services, for example for those relating to people who are vulnerable or with mental health problems. Paul believes this is a shared responsibility across the public sector and much more partnership working is needed.As your Police and Crime Commissioner Paul Crossley would prioritise five areas:

• Closer working with Councils, Health and Social Services to ensure that people with mental health problems get the proper care they need rather than ending up in a police cell because there is nowhere else to go.
• Rejuvenate community schemes such as Neighbourhood Watch and Farm Watch to ensure that communities feel involved and want to work with community based policing. Encourage the work of the 'Street Pastor' schemes that help keep our city and town centres safe at night and also help people who have had a good night out get home safely
• Increase the use of restorative justice and work to ensure that proceeds from crime are reclaimed from criminals and returned to victims and communities affected by criminal behaviour. We must improve the resolution rate in solving crimes so that victims of crime can get closure on the event and not feel blighted by worry.
• Ensure that young people at risk of getting into a life of crime are diverted into positive channels for their lives.
• Reduce bureaucracy, to enable our police to spend more time working in the community and less behind a desk, and cut the size of the office of the PCC to save vital funds.

You can  join Paul on Facebook.com/CllrPaulCrossley, email him at paul.n.crossley@btinternet.com and follow him on Twitter @paulncrossley

Make sure you're registered to vote

If you want to be able to vote for the next Police and Crime Commissioner on 5th May but are not yet registered at your current address, you can do it online at www.avonpccelection2016.org.uk/register-to-vote before midnight on Monday 18 April.

If you can’t go to the polling station on Thursday 5 May, then if you have registered by 18 April you can apply to vote by post or you can appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf. The deadline for postal vote applications is on 5pm on Tuesday 19 April 2016, while the deadline for proxy vote applications is 5pm on Tuesday 26 April 2016.

Registering now for the elections in May will also mean you are registered in good time before the EU referendum on Thursday 23 June.

The police are after you! (To help them)

The Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner would like to appoint three local, independent people to contribute to the work of the Independent Residents' Volunteer Panel. Members of the Panel are an important means of enhancing public trust and confidence in the handling of complaints against Avon & Somerset Police and supports the governance role of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

You can find out more on the PCC website. The closing date for applications is 16th January.

Chance to question the police

The Police and Crime Commissioner, Sue Mountstevens is, holding her next public forum on Wednesday, December 3rd from 6.45 - 9.00pm at The Shire Way Community Centre, Yate, Bristol, BS37 8YS.

It's a chance to hear from North East's Area Commander Chief Superintendent (C/Supt) Caroline Peters, and to ask any questions to the PCC, C/Supt Peters and other senior police officers.

If you would like to attend, you are asked to register here, email the PCC team at pcc@avonandsomerset.pnn.police.uk or call 01275 816377. They would also like questions emailed to them ahead of the event, so they can bring the relevant information to the meeting and so those who cannot attend can still ask questions. You can also tweet your questions to @AandSPCC using the hash tag #YPCCYV

Police and Crime Plan roadshow

Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens will be visiting South Gloucestershire on Thursday 7 February to find out what local people think should be in the Police and Crime Plan. She will be at the following locations:

10:00 – 12:00 Coniston Community Centre, Patchway

15:00 - 17:00 Hanham Library

You can take part in the consultation online at www.consultation.avonandsomerset.police.uk, pick up a printed survey from local libraries or call 01275 816377. The consultation closes on Friday 22 February 2013.

Have your say on Police and Crime Plans

For the first time ever there will be a Police & Crime Plan for each of the six policing districts of Avon and Somerset. The views of residents, community groups, businesses and victims of crime are being sought to make sure that the Police and Crime Commissioner and the police are concentrating on the things that matter to local people.

The Police and Crime Plan for Avon and Somerset and the six policing districts of Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset West, Somerset East and South Gloucestershire will set out the vision, aims and objectives for the new PCC Sue Mountstevens' term in office.

You can have your say online or you can call the Commissioner's office on 01275 816377 or email pcc@avonandsomerset.pnn.police.uk for a hard copy of the survey.

A good week for independents

Congratulations to independent candidate Sue Mountstevens who will be sworn in tomorrow as the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset.

Also congratulations to George Ferguson, the newly elected Mayor for Bristol. South Gloucestershire works closely with Bristol and the other West of England councils on shared concerns like transport.

We wish them both well and hope that they will be able to work effectively with local communities for the good of the whole region.

Vote today for the Police and Crime Commissioner

The whole of our area has an election today for the new post of Police and Crime Commissioner.

The new Commissioner will cover the whole of the Avon and Somerset police area, so it's going to be an important job.

 A lot of people are asking what the PCC will do, so here are a few key points:

What are the objectives for the new Commissioner? 

The PCC is supposed to bring a public voice to policing and hold our police force to account for delivering the kind of policing you want to see. Their aim will be to cut crime and to ensure your police force is effective.

 What will the PCC actually do? 

• engaging with the public and victims of crime to help set police and crime plans 
• ensuring the police force budget is spent where it matters most 
• appointing, and where necessary dismissing, the chief constable. 

So this is a key appointment. If we elect the wrong candidate, we could find our local police services cut drastically. 

What are our choices? 

Lib Dem candidate Pete Levy has served in both the civilian and military police and has been a member of the Police Authority for several years, so he's got lots of relevant experience. He has pledged to keep police services rather than cut them - you can read all about his proposals on his blog. You get two votes, a first and a second preference, so naturally we suggest that you give Pete Levy your first preference vote.

There are three other choices - Conservative, Labour and Independent. You can read about the various candidates here - but there's one key difference between them. The Conservative candidate has a record of cutting funding for police services - in Somerset he chopped the council funding for PCSOs, the Police Community Support Officers who provide much of our local police front line. So please don't even give the Conservatives your second preference.

KEEP OUR LOCAL POLICE SERVICES - VOTE FOR PETE LEVY

Safer Streets with Pete Levy

Former Police Officer and Bristol City Councillor Pete Levy has launched his campaign to become the first elected Police Commissioner for Bristol, Avon and Somerset.

Pete is a leading member of the Police Authority and is a former Police and Military Police Officer. He will use this experience to deliver safer streets here in South Gloucestershire. His priorities include:
Protecting frontline police services
Effective community sentencing that cuts reoffending and delivers a benefit for local people
Better support for victims of crime

You can find out more about Pete on his website.

His main opponent is the former Conservative Leader of Somerset County Council. Somerset councillor Sam Crabb said, “Our police are too important to put in the hands of a man who cut funding for Police Community Support Officers and who tried to close vital local services like libraries.”