South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Newsletter
Summer 2019

After ten years of austerity we got used to the government saying that policing would have to stand more and more cuts.

By this year, government grants to policing had been slashed by 25%. During the first few years of austerity, crime continued to fall. But more recently it has begin to creep up and violent crime is showing really quite disturbing increases.

So, as you will see below, we are now having to get used to money being thrown at us – though only for a year. The latest is the pledge to fund 20,000 officers across the country.

The public will welcome this sharp reverse in government policy, as I do. What we may fail to realise is that if a police force is to be effective it needs more than officers. It needs support staff.

Police staff perform a great range of jobs that are absolutely vital if the force is do its job. We all know, for example, that there are police staff who handle calls at the call centre in Atlas Court. They receive calls for assistance and have to make quick and accurate decisions about how to respond – how to respond when there may be a limited number of police officers available to do anything immediately. Is this a call that demands officers go at once – or can it wait while more urgent matters are dealt with?

What we are less knowledgeable about are other roles. As with any organisation there have to be those who handle the finances – from payroll to financial planning. There are those who buy uniforms and vehicles. Those who ensure we have the right number of police stations in the right places. Those who analyse patterns and trends in crime so that we have officers appropriately trained. (Long term, they are telling us that most crime will be committed on the internet rather than on the street.) Their work will be essential if we are to tackle crime effectively as its nature changes.

It must be very discouraging for police staff to read and hear all the time from politicians and the public about how we need more police officers – which we do – without ever mentioning police staff.

I have resolved that during the remainder of my time in office this term, I will try to say more about them and what they do.

STATION HOUSE CHILDREN’S CENTRE SHOWCASE THEIR HOLIDAY FUN COURSES

Station House in Thurnscoe, Rotherham opened their doors to Dr Billings, over the summer break to showcase the targeted work they do with children from the Thurnscoe community.

Station House applied for funding from the Commissioner’s community grant scheme and were successful in receiving £3,500 to fund the ‘Summer Fun 4 Everyone’ four week holiday programme.

£1.6m FUNDING FOR A VIOLENCE REDUCTION UNIT

The policing minister has today, (Monday, 12 August 2019) announced that South Yorkshire have been awarded £1.6m funding to set up a violence reduction unit (VRU).

The violence reduction unit will bring together South Yorkshire Police, local authorities, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners to tackle violent crime.

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “If serious crime is to be reduced we need to tackle not only those who are committing crimes now but also find ways of steering people away from crime in the first place.

I met with the Barnsley Youth Council in August to discuss young people's anxieties around knife crime. The meeting was arranged by Adele Saywell, Barnsley's Youth Voice and Participation Co-ordinator.

The Youth Council had also invited Barnsley's head of crime, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Murphy. I was interested to see that these young people were prepared to give up quite a bit of their college and school holiday to debate serious issues.

It was soon apparent that what really concerned them was not so much knife crimes - by and large Barnsley has not had the sort of incidents we have seen elsewhere - as a more generalised feeling of being unsafe. We talked about the meaures the police are taking, not least seeking to get to the roots of violence through the new Violence Reduction Unit.

One young person also asked a really important question about what measures the police were taking to ensure the public had confidence in them. The DCI spoke about the importance of the police listening to what people say, and one of the youth workers said how valuable it was to have police regularly calling in to schools.

The idea that young people are not interested in these and other issues, or have nothing to contribute, could not have been more wide of the mark.

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

At this time of year I am often invited to drop in on summer activities for young people, some of which I may have funded through a small grants scheme I run.

They can be in church halls or community centres, sports grounds or boxing clubs. I am always happy to do so since one purpose they serve is to keep young people out of mischief and away from those who might otherwise lure them into anti-social activity or even crime.

I recently found myself at the Pitsmoor Adventure Playground, which occupies a quite steeply sloping site next to Burngreave Cemetery.

RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT’S PLEDGE FOR MORE POLICE OFFICERS

Dr Billings has responded to the announcement from the government to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers across England and Wales,

Dr Billings said: “For some time Police and Crime Commissioners have been warning of the dangers in cutting police numbers and urging the government to increase them. I believe there is a link between numbers of officers and the force’s ability to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. I therefore welcome the clear pledge of the new government to increase numbers by 20,000 nationally. I look forward to hearing from them how many that equates to for South Yorkshire.

PUBLICATION OF THE
ONS CRIME STATISTICS – JULY 2019

The crime statistics for 2018 have today (Thursday, 18 July 2019) been published by the ONS and South Yorkshire has seen an overall 2% increase in crime, compared to an 8% increase nationally.

The main areas for crime to increase in South Yorkshire are violence against the person (19%), public order offences (6%), Robbery (5%) and a 2% increase in knife crime

Theft in South Yorkshire has decreased by 8%, criminal damage by 8% and sexual offences by 4%.

VISIT TO THE RING FARM STABLES IN BARNSLEY

On Tuesday, 16 July 2019, Dr Billings visited the Ring Farm Stables in Barnsley to see how the horses were settling in to their refurbished home.

The South Yorkshire Police Mounted Section have relocated back to their home in Cudworth after a short collaborative stay with the West Yorkshire Police Mounted Section at Carr Gate, Wakefield.

The Commissioner said: “I visited the Mounted Section of South Yorkshire Police. They have now returned to from West Yorkshire. The collaboration there did not work out. So Ring Farm has been refurbished and the horses have returned.

RESPONSE TO THE PUBLICATION OF THE
FRONT LINE REVIEW

Dr Billings has commented on the publication of the Front Line Review.

He said: “The report highlights the impact that the years of austerity have had on crime and policing across the country.

“The government chose to invest less in policing and as a result we have seen a fall in the number of officers and a rise in crime. Nationally there has been around 20,000 fewer officers and in South Yorkshire numbers fell by about 500.

SENIOR LEADERS DISCUSS THE IMPACT OF SERIOUS AND VIOLENT CRIME

The daughter of a victim of knife crime has told a gathering of senior leaders, including the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, of the devastating impact of her father’s murder.

Tasmin McGuigan, whose father was murdered a decade ago, read out her poem titled ‘Seventeen’, at a Home Office event aimed at bringing local partners together to take action against serious violence in communities.

LAUNCH OF PROJECT 0114

Project 0114 – the partnership project set up with Home Office funding through Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner focussed on tackling child criminal exploitation and associated knife and gun crime across the city is underway.

Sheffield Futures is leading the initiative in conjunction with Sheffield City Council, ACT Sheffield, The Unity Gym Project, St Marks Church, Broomhill, Manor Castle Development Trust, My Life Project, Princes Trust, and Change Grow Live (CGL).

South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Ground Floor, Carbrook House, Carbrook Hall Road, Sheffield, S9 2EH

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South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner · Carbrook House · Carbrook Hall Road · Sheffield, South Yorkshire S9 2EH · United Kingdom

South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Newsletter Summer 2019

South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Newsletter
Summer 2019