THE POLICE and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, has laid out plans to further engagement between communities and the police in an effort to further build trust in policing.
The OPCC is launching an initiative to increase confidence in the police force by better understanding public attitudes and increasing communications with residents.
An annual survey has been commissioned which will seek views on policing, effectiveness of engagement, and public safety, following an initial sentiment survey in December 2023.
Initial data shows that 87% of respondents said they were willing to contact the police if they were the victim of crime, with 60% saying that TVP was an organisation they “could trust.”
It also showed that 78% felt safe in their neighbourhoods and 79% felt safe online, however 53% admitted they were worried about crime.
The OPCC is also setting out plans to restructure the methods of independent scrutiny of Thames Valley Police.
The Governance Review, jointly led by the Commissioner and TVP aims to deliver a “robust and consistent” structure across the force.
It will lay out a new structure of internal and external scrutiny, including volunteers from diverse communities who will take part in an independent advisory group.
That group will operate alongside a community scrutiny panel, which will examine how Stop and Search and police force and powers are used.
These measures will be rolled out over the next year, during which a Trust and Confidence support officer.
Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber said: “Both these areas of work are about how we listen, engage and involve our communities to improve policing and make it more accountable to the public.
“We are of course aware that incidents over recent years have damaged the public’s trust and confidence in policing and this will inevitably have an impact on attitudes here in the Thames Valley which we need to better understand.
“I know that trust and confidence can only be achieved by delivering effective policing on the ground so I will be looking at how the force effectively uses this insight to inform operational policing locally.”
He continued: “I am also pleased to be able to publish the Governance Review today which details plans to deliver a more robust and transparent approach to scrutiny across the force.
“Volunteers provide an essential role in advising, challenging and scrutinising policing but I know this has not been consistent across the force area.
“Following implementation of the proposals, we will have a fair and consistent approach and will be seeking increased representation from across our diverse communities to provide an independent voice on local operational and community issues as well as scrutiny on areas such as Stop and Search, Use of Force and Use of Powers.
“Independent challenge assists me in my scrutiny of the force, and I thank existing panel members who have fed into this review and I look forward to the ongoing work with them as we implement the proposals over the coming year.”
Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs of Thames Valley Police said: “I welcome the results of this snapshot survey and the findings of the review into the governance.
“Trust and confidence are the cornerstones of effective policing. Thames Valley Police’s mission is to be an excellent police force trusted by all our communities. To do this well we must first establish how our communities feel now. Only by understanding this will we know whether or not our efforts to improve are making a difference across all our communities.
“Building trust and confidence in policing hinges on our ability to listen to what our communities tell us. We maintain accountability through effective and transparent scrutiny and continually strive to strengthen the relationship between the police and the communities we are here to protect.”
Residents can find out more information about the full governance review and survey results via the thamesvalley-pcc.gov.uk
