South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Newsletter
April 2019
Much of the past month has been dominated by national concerns about serious and violent crime, especially knife crime.
Although in South Yorkshire this still remains an issue, it is worth pointing out that according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, knife crime actually fell here in 2018.
This seems to have bucked the national trend and we must work hard to ensure it stays that way. We are receiving £2m from the government for the force to do some targeted activity this financial year – more stop-search, more focused operations against known gang members, more investigations, more work with young people and so on.
But over and above that we are trying to get upstream of crime happening, preventing young people getting drawn into crime in the first place. And that means working with partners – local authorities, the NHS, schools, community groups, and so on.
Congratulations to Linsey Jordan, my PA, on finishing the London Marathon – in 5hrs and 18 minutes
I spoke at the national conference of the Christian Police Association last Saturday.
This was held in the Police Treatment Centre in Harrogate. There were police officers and staff from all over the country. Other speakers from the region included the Acting Chief Constable of Humberside, Chris Rowley, and an Assistant Chief Constable from West Yorkshire.
I told the conference:
"The French philosopher, Simone Weil, once said that feeling safe was an essential need of the soul. We look to the police not only to keep us safe, through enforcement, but also to help us feel safe, through visibility and engagement.
"All citizens had a part to play in making their communities good places to live. In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, we should seek the well-being of the place where we are set … because in its well-being lies our own."
The Yorkshire and Humberside regional Cyber Crime Unit are pleased to announce the launch of this year’s Matrix Challenge.
This competition is open to every child and young person aged between 11 and 17 years of age who receive their education in the Yorkshire and Humber Region.
The main aim is to educate young people about the Computer Misuse Act, provide online safety advice and test several cyber skills through a number of online challenges.
Dr Billings is asking victims living in South Yorkshire to take part in a short survey to help him understand their experience through the criminal justice system.
The Commissioner would like to gather the views of people who have been victims of crime within South Yorkshire to help him identify which support services are working well and whether any further support may be required.
The crime statistics for 2018 have today (Thursday, 25 April 2019) been published by the ONS and show a mixed picture both nationally and in South Yorkshire.
Overall, while crime nationally increased by 7%, in South Yorkshire there was a slight fall of 2%.
Crimes that have decreased in South Yorkshire include: sexual offences (-5%), thefts (-11%), criminal damage and arson (-12%). Most significantly, knife crime and sharp instrument offences fell by 3%.
The Minister for Policing, Nick Hurd, has written to Police and Crime Commissioners to say that £100m of additional funding is to be made available in 2019/20 to tackle serious violence, in particular knife crime.
£80m of this is new money from the Treasury. Two thirds (£65m) will support a surge in police activities in areas most affected. The remaining third is for funding longer term preventative measures.
I set out in this document the considerations I would like the South Yorkshire Police (SYP) Review Team to take into account in developing final options for SYP’s Senior Command Team, as part of their PCSO Review.
The Anti-Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU) in Sheffield has recently received £1,000 funding from the Commissioner’s Community Grant Scheme to offer advice sessions to people in South Yorkshire who might be victims of human trafficking or modern slavery.
The funding makes available high quality legal advice for victims of modern slavery in South Yorkshire who need extra help before they enter the government’s process to identify victims, called the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
The Government have announced that they are empowering more officers in South Yorkshire to authorise enhanced stop and search powers to help tackle the rise in knife crime.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid is also making it simpler for police to use Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. This empowers officers to stop and search anyone in a designated area without needing reasonable grounds for suspicion if serious violence is anticipated.
Dr Alan Billings South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “I give this a cautious welcome. Stop and Search only works if the community supports it and it brings results.
