Listening, responding and being accountable
Effective engagement with all sections of the community, partners and the public is a fundamental part of my role as PCC; representing the public and their voice in policing. I recognise that the needs and concerns of communities differ and that we cannot adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach to consultation and engagement. Everyone deserves a say in what we do and I will listen and respond to voices across the county and will engage with all communities. I will ensure that engagement is fair and representative in terms of geography, demography, and identity, and includes those who may be underrepresented, seldom heard or disengaged.
I will undertake ongoing engagement, recognising that need, opinions and perceptions change over time. I also recognise that public expectations of how they interact with policing and the wider Criminal Justice System are changing and we need to be responsive to this, providing a range of mechanisms for communication in both the real world and the virtual. I will use my role to hold partners as well as the police to account for what they do so that all public money is used wisely to provide effective, responsive services. I will explore opportunities to work collaboratively with partner agencies to minimise duplication and share skills, resources and the results of consultation and engagement activity across partner agencies.
Key priorities:
Empower and involve communities, working with them and partners to prevent and reduce harm.
- Actively engage at a local level through the Safer Together Team to better understand the issues, concerns and needs of the public, partners and stakeholders. Respond to and act on what we hear to improve public confidence.
- Continue to raise awareness of the value to communities of the role of PCC and the work of the Office of the PCC.
- Consult on the link between public feelings of safety and the visibility and perceptions of policing.
- Establish online community meetings with the PCC and partners, including police where appropriate, through which they can update and be held to account by the public.
- Give young people the chance to have their say about policing and crime in their area and enable them to support, challenge and inform the work of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Lincolnshire Police.
- Provide victims with a say in the way offenders are dealt with when they commit low level and minor crimes or anti-social behaviour (ASB) by consulting on the existing Community Remedy.
Give the public easier and simpler access to the police to report crime and answer questions by investing in new technology.
- Replace the existing Lincolnshire Police website with an online platform which offers the public an easy-to-use, national digital contact service where they can communicate effectively with the Force.
- Introduce the ‘Digital Desk’ which will provide members of the public the opportunity to contact the Force in live time via social media platforms.
- Continue to explore emerging technological solutions to improving contact between the public and the police to report, prevent and tackle crime as well keep victims of crime updated.