Every day police officers put themselves in harm’s way in order to protect the public, deal with criminals and keep vulnerable people safe. Tragically, there are occasions when they make the ultimate sacrifice and lose their lives through the criminal actions of others. While thankfully this is extremely rare, it is a possibility that every officer has to carry with them when on duty and something that I know is a source of worry for their families.

That's why I am supporting the Harper's Law campaign, which seeks mandatory life sentences for people who kill emergency services workers.

Murder already carries an automatic life sentence and, where the victim is a police officer doing his or her duty, the statutory 'starting point' is already life without parole.
 
Harper's Law will mean that those guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter will also receive a life sentence, where the victim is a police officer, paramedic, firefighter or any other emergency services worker. 
 
Lissie Harper began the campaign to introduce the law following the death of her husband, PC Andrew Harper, who was dragged to his death by a getaway car along country lanes in Berkshire in August 2019. He had become entangled in a strap attached to the vehicle as he tried to deal with three quad bike thieves. When his killers were spared life sentences at their subsequent trial, PC Harper’s widow launched her campaign for tougher punishments.

It can only be right that the criminal justice system applies its full force against those who are found to be criminally responsible for the death of police and other emergency services workers. Stronger sentences than are available now are not only the very least that the families of these personnel deserve, they are also what I think the public overwhelmingly expects. There can also be no better deterrent than knowing that causing a death in this way will result in a life sentence.

Warwickshire Police has welcomed 18 students on to its first ever Detective Constable Degree Holder Entry Programme.

These new student officers started earlier this month at the force’s Leek Wootton Headquarters and will be studying a two-year, intensive, trainee detective development programme, which will provide them with specialist training in investigations. Warwickshire Police is one of the country’s first forces to launch this course and the pioneer for the West Midlands region.

The ground-breaking programme will see the graduates combine a mix of on-the-job practical policing experience with the force's detective teams, alongside additional, remote academic tutoring. The whole course has been specially designed by Learning and Development and Investigations teams within Warwickshire Police, in partnership with three other regional forces, Staffordshire, West Mercia and West Midlands, and our education partners at Staffordshire University.

Part of my pledge to increase officer numbers to pre-austerity levels and beyond was to ensure that Warwickshire Police is in a position to improve its capabilities across a range of functions. Up until now, our new student officers have gone into patrol policing roles, boosting visibility across the county and ensuring more resources are available to answer 101 and 999 calls from the public - but this is only part of the picture.

Victims of crime rightly expect that every effort is made to detect crime as it occurs, especially in more serious and complex cases. That requires officers with specialist skills and training, so increasing the numbers of detectives across the force has been something that I have been keen to fund and see happen quickly.

That’s why it is pleasing that Warwickshire Police is among the first in the country to be able to recruit new detectives in this way and I was delighted to join the Chief Constable in welcoming them all in person on their first day at Leek Wootton and later on to attend their Attestation Ceremony.

Forty thousand road safety magazines funded through my Road Safety Fund have been distributed to schools, colleges, GP surgeries, leisure centres, cycle shops, opticians and motorcycle retailers across Warwickshire.

The magazines are part of a Vulnerable Road User Education Campaign, following a bid from First Car to the Commissioner’s fund and are aimed at helping Warwickshire’s older drivers, new motorcyclists and cyclists to stay safe when using the roads.

Almost 20,000 Ultimate Guide to Cycling magazines have just been distributed to 32 schools, four colleges, 31 leisure centres and cycle shops around the county. Five hundred of these will also be used by Warwickshire Police engaging with cyclists during road safety operations.

The magazine provides students who cycle or would like to become cyclists with information and advice to help keep them safe on the roads and encourage healthy travel choices.  Advice includes buying a bike, how to improve your visibility and safety including road skills such as road positioning, effectively indicating intentions, obeying traffic signals and reading the road to help riders stay safe.

Also aimed at young people, over 6,000 copies of First Bike magazine have been distributed to 32 schools, 4 colleges and 13 motorcycle retailers across Warwickshire during September.

Meanwhile 14,000 Drive On magazines for older drivers have been distributed to a mix of 75 doctor surgeries and opticians across Warwickshire to provide just that. DriveOn magazine also provides suggestions for handling the transition away from driving and onto other means of mobility, at the appropriate time. Stopping driving doesn’t have to mean losing independence and it can turn out to be cheaper and easier than running your own car.

We know that cyclists, motorcyclists and older drivers are over-represented in collision statistics and we believe that better education targeted at each road user group can make a big difference. This campaign aims to empower vulnerable road users by giving them the knowledge required to maximise their safety on the roads.  We are also encouraging sustainable transport alternatives and supporting road users in making good travel choices.

A quick thank you to everyone who took part in the Road Safety Survey organised by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.

The results from Warwickshire followed very closely the collated results from around the country, with more than 80% saying they saw road traffic offences on a daily or weekly basis.

Seven out of ten of respondents to the survey either agreed or strongly agreed that fixed penalty notices for road traffic offences like speeding and failure to wear a seatbelt (currently £100) should be increased in line with other serious offences like driving while using a handheld mobile phone (currently £200).

And 89% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that some of the money raised through fixed penalty notices should be reinvested into enforcement and road safety measures to deny criminals the use of the roads.

Presently money from speed camera fines goes to central government for general expenditure rather than directly to police.

We've led the way nationally in Warwickshire by using the surplus generated from our efficient delivery of the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme to directly fund road safety schemes. It is therefore encouraging to see that there is public support for an even wider roll out of using monies generated from those who break the rules of the road to directly fund road safety work.

Clearly, there is  also strong support for continuing to enhance enforcement activity, as well as ensuring that we do more to educate road users to help themselves be more safe.

That's something I'm committed to continuing, through the Warwickshire Road Safety Fund and supporting operational policing activity, as well as working with other agencies as chair of the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership.

We are continuing to operate as normal, though our offices in Northgate Street, Warwick remain closed to the public and my staff are working remotely. You can continue to contact us as normal however by email at opcc@warwickshire.pnn.police.uk or by phone at 01926 412322.  Wherever possible, please try to contact us by email in the first instance, but please note that due to our revised working arrangements, it may take us longer than usual to provide you with a reply.