Watch the Police Commissioner’s Scrutiny Meeting on Driving Change; Prevent Offending
15.06.22 - Merseyside
Merseyside's Police Commissioner will hold her fourth public Scrutiny Meeting with the Chief Constable tomorrow (Thursday 16th June), examining the police’s work to prevent crime and stop vulnerable people being drawn into the criminal justice system.
Emily Spurrell is responsible for holding the Chief Constable, Serena Kennedy, to account for delivering on her policing and community safety priorities and maintaining an efficient and effective police service in Merseyside.
One of the ways the Police Commissioner undertakes this crucial role is through quarterly public Scrutiny Meetings, which include questions from the public and are live-streamed to enable everyone to watch.
You can watch this meeting live here.
The meeting will focus on Pillar 1 of the PCC's Police and Crime Plan – Driving Change; Prevent Offending. It will cover Merseyside Police performance on crucial issues, including the force’s ‘preventative model of policing’ which aims to intervene early to stop crime, particularly by getting upstream to stop young people getting drawn into criminal or anti-social behaviour.
It will also cover Merseyside Police efforts to prevent those who are vulnerable, including those in mental health crisis or have substance misuse issues, being unnecessarily criminalised.
It will examine the outcomes for those arrested, how individuals are treated when they are in custody and referrals to support services, such as mental health support and drug and alcohol treatment to try and prevent people from reoffending.
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “The third priority of my Police and Crime Plan – Driving Change: Prevent Offending – really focuses on the work Merseyside Police are doing to stop crime and ensure the best interventions are in place for vulnerable people who come into contact with the police to prevent them from getting drawn into the criminal justice system.
“The best way to keep our communities safe is by preventing crime from happening in the first place. This Scrutiny Meeting will really examine the work the force is doing to help divert people from getting involved with crime, particularly young people.
“We also know Merseyside Police experiences a high demand of incidents involving vulnerable people in mental health crisis, and those who have substance misuse issues. This is a nationwide problem and impacts on the availability of police resources.
“We need to develop new ways to address this; we don’t want to see individuals being criminalised and becoming lost in the revolving doors of our criminal justice system because there have been missed opportunities to support them at an earlier stage.
“These are all areas that I know matter to our communities, so I would encourage people across Merseyside to tune in live, or watch the recording afterwards, and hear directly from the Chief Constable and her senior team about they are delivering on this priority.”
The Police Commissioner’s quarterly Scrutiny Meetings are part of a wider range of accountability arrangements which also include regular one-to-one meetings with the Chief Constable.
As well as being live-streamed, the three-hour meeting, which is taking place at Wallasey Town Hall, will be recorded so members of the public can view it later on the PCC’s website.