I have recently presented my first annual report as Hertfordshire’s police and crime commissioner.
It charts only my first few months in office, but in those few months I have set a budget, distributed grants to a range of partner organisations who can help keep our community safe, worked hard to implement the new arrangements and, most importantly; consulted on and published my first police and crime plan for Hertfordshire, Everybody’s Business.
I have an important role in holding the chief constable to account for maintaining an efficient and effective police force.
I scrutinise constabulary performance and highlight areas of concern or success.
So, I am pleased to report that following a 6.3 per cent reduction in crime during 2011/12, this year shows a 14.7 per cent reduction – equivalent to 9,148 fewer crimes.
We also saw dwelling (home) burglary fall by 8.6 per cent (84 fewer crimes) and an impressive 28.5 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour.
At 38.6 per cent, Hertfordshire Constabulary also has one of the highest detection rates in the country.
Other highlights from across all areas of policing include nearly £1.5m confiscated from criminals, which is up 17.5 per cent on the previous year; a 20 per cent drop in crimes involving young re-offenders and a big reduction in the number of young people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions, down from 32 to 20 (comparing April to November).
Unfortunately the total number of people killed or seriously injured on Hertfordshire’s roads increased by 22 to 263 in that same period but I hope that my Community DriveSafe scheme will help improve driver responsibility and have a positive impact on these figures.
I would like to see continued improvement in results for people being satisfied with the service they receive from the police after becoming a victim of crime or anti-social behaviour but, overall, it is a very impressive report on a force that is performing well.
My task now is to ensure that improvements continue and that I bring together the police with other agencies, including councils and criminal justice agencies, to help them to play their part in further reducing crime, working together to meet shared goals and ensuring that all local resources are used in the most effective ways.
David Lloyd is the Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner. You can contact him through his website at www.hertscommissioner.org