Friday 15 November 2013 will mark one year since Sir Clive Loader was elected the first ever Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Reflecting on why he was drawn to the role Sir Clive, who lives in Wing, Rutland, with wife Lady Alison and has three grown-up sons, said: “The role of PCC presented a great opportunity to act on behalf of local people and represent their interests in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.
"I saw that in Leicestershire Police, a police force with a good reputation for effective local policing, there would be a solid foundation on which to deliver what local people tell us they need most from the public services which deliver a safer society.
“I believe that everyone in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland has the right to live free from the fear of crime, and that every person should have the opportunity to shape the future of policing in their local area.
“In my revised Police and Crime Plan, which was informed by what local people say matters most, I layout how Leicestershire Police and partner agencies are to work together to reduce offending and reoffending; support victims and witnesses; make communities and neighbourhoods safer; and protect the vulnerable.”
Outlining his unique role as the peoples’ representative, Sir Clive said:
“It is my role as PCC to act in the public interest and hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of local policing. This is achieved through regular Strategic Assurance Board (SAB) meetings with the Chief Constable and his top team where the concerns and issues raised by local people are discussed.”
Commenting on his achievements during his first year in office Sir Clive highlights his role inputting the views of people in communities and our young people at the heart of the work of his Office.
Sir Clive Loader was the first PCC to appoint a Youth Commission, supported by charitable organisation, the SHM Foundation, to bring together the viewpoints of at least 2,000 young people across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to influence the perceptions of young people and how they are viewed by the police.
Sir Clive concluded: “During the election, I said I would be a PCC for all. I stand true to that statement. The young people in our communities are our future, and we have a moral obligation to ensure that fewer of them are entering the criminal justice system for the first-time. Their views will be heard, and the Youth Commission is the cornerstone of that dialogue.”
In addition, Sir Clive launched a crime fighting Innovation Fund, a £100,000 sum, to be divided by those organisations who bid successfully to do new and inspiring things which will contribute to reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.
Sir Clive Loader said: “I commission outcomes, not services; I have been very clear about that. I want to see and hear that local people have felt the effects of the outcomes of our commissioned projects I have funded.”
Further achievements in his first year of office include:
- Tackling those who commit most harm – joining Leicestershire Police to launch Operation Tiger to tackle those who cause most harm in our communities by committing crimes which have a particularly harmful effect on their victims, including drug dealing and burglary.
- Collaboration – leading forces regionally as Chair of the Regional Collaboration Board. Independent evaluation report (released November 12, 2013) outlined how the police in the East Midlands region had taken the right steps to deliver benefits to the public in terms of cost savings and protective capacity. Sir Clive stated the intention to achieve further benefits through collaboration, and to deepen relationships between forces.
- Supporting victims of domestic abuse – funding a trial of body-worn video cameras to allow officers arriving on the scene of suspected domestic abuse incidents to collect the best evidence on behalf of vulnerable victims.
- Completing a revised Police and Crime Plan – the revised plan takes on board lessons learned, what people and communities have said, emerging threats, and new financial challenge.
- Listening to the views of local people and organisations – Sir Clive has completed 150 engagements during his first year in office. These are broken down as: 50 Community, 43 Strategic, 22 Operational, 22 Tactical, 5 Political, and 3 Civic engagements.
- Dealing with the implications of a reducing budget – the challenge is that Leicestershire Police now has to deliver the crime reductions spelled out in the Police & Crime Plan within a budget (currently £174M) which will reduce by another £20M by the end of FY 16/17. The Chief Constable and his team have now completed work on that change programme and it is expected that they will deliver the Police & Crime Plan despite those budgetary reductions.
- Set up the office of OPCC and developing a relationship with the Chief Constable and his team – and through them one with the broader Force as a whole and a working, honest and professional relationship with the Police & Crime Panel.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire has made the Police and Crime Plan available to the public on its website in original full text, executive summary, and Easy Read versions.
For more informationabout PCC Sir Clive Loader and the OPCC, or to become involved in shaping thevision for policing in your area, please visit the OPCC Website www.leics.pcc.police.uk
If you have any information about crime and anti-social behaviour in your area please contact your local police on 101 or call Crimestoppers, which is free and anonymous, on 0800 555 111.
Posted on Monday 9th May 2016