Rutland & Leicestershire crime priorities confirmed
Officers will focus on tackling knife crime, violence against women, and drugs
Knife crime, violence against women and drugs have been highlighted as top priorities for Rutland and Leicestershire’s police force in a new crime-fighting plan.
The areas are included in the new Police and Crime Plan, which has set out the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) priorities for the coming years, under the slogan of ‘more policing is good, better policing is better’.
There will also be an effort made to tackle rural crimes such as hare-coursing, farm robberies and fly-tipping, and crimes against businesses, such as theft and cyber-attacks.
The plan – now approved by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Panel – sets out commissioner Rupert Matthew’s priorities and ambitions for Leicestershire Police, which also covers Leicester and Rutland, up to 2025.
Mr Matthews said: “For far too long the debate over policing has been dominated by talk of inputs, not of outputs.
“As the PCC I will expect tangible outcomes to the investment in policing and the wider criminal justice system.
“We could double or even treble the number of police officers, but if they do not have the infrastructure to deliver high quality policing such as cars, radios and computers to promote agile working they would not be very effective in fighting the modern criminal.
“The Leicestershire Police is already a highly regarded police force in England and Wales. But that does not mean that it cannot get better and strive to be one of the top performing forces in the country.”
The plan has different strategies for tackling crime in rural Leicestershire and Rutland and in urban Leicester.
However, the PCC said ultimately it is about ‘making life safer for everyone who lives, works or visits Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland’.
In Leicester, there will be a focus on reducing crime and violence related to the night-time economy, working with partner organisations to reduce crime and the fear of crime on our public transport systems, reducing ‘the scourge of drug misuse and the trafficking of drugs into our city’, and lobbying for tougher knife-crime sentencing.
Across the two counties, the PCC hopes to introduce dedicated rural crime teams, work more in partnership with parish councils, neighbourhood watch groups, community speed watch and volunteers, and to look at bringing the Mounted Volunteers Scheme to rural areas.
He has also pledged to reopen a police station accessible to the public in Rutland.
Greater officer visibility within neighbourhoods and more community engagement are also key points in the plan.
Through the public consultation phase of the plan, 53% (954) of people said ranked more visible policing as being of upmost importance (10 in a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest) and 50.5% of respondents (899) ranked community policing as being equally important.
Mr Matthews said: “I intend to make sure that Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland’s (LLR) police officers and staff are more visible in order to actively deter criminals, prevent crime and provide more reassurance to residents.
“Community policing is the bedrock of British Policing. It reduces the fear of crime, it enhances trust and confidence and puts policing back into our local areas.
“I will put more police into our communities to cut crime and catch criminals and ensure that the Police adopt tactics to maximise their visibility.”
To achieve this, the force will recruit more officers of diverse backgrounds from local communities, who will be dedicated to those communities.
It will also ensure there are more officers and staff ‘routinely working in and around schools, universities, youth clubs, festivals and places where groups of people gather’.
Neighbourhood watches and other community groups will be encouraged and worked with to ‘revitalise the spirit of volunteering and unleash the power of communities’.
Mr Matthews has promised to himself regularly host public meetings, surveys, visits and other activity to listen, learn and respond to residents.
A more sensitive and supportive victim-centred approach will also be adopted, for example through the greater use of body worn cameras responding to domestic abuse cases.
The motion was moved for approval by county councillor for Cosby and Countesthorpe, Les Phillimore, and seconded by panel chair and county councillor for Bradgate, Deborah Taylor.
No city council representatives were present to vote on the plans, although deputy panel chair, Kirk Masters, attended virtually.