Residents of the force area might be forgiven for thinking I have spent the last month dealing exclusively with leadership issues.
It is true the appointment of Interim Chief Constable James Vaughan has taken considerable effort – and I am delighted with the start he made getting to grips with the issues which matter most to our residents.
I am also, however, focussing attention on the small matter of how we raise, and prioritise spending, for around £430m required for policing in 2025-26.
One option that the Chief and I will discuss is the use of a second homes tax windfall to put more high visibility patrols across Devon and Cornwall and keep officers out of back-office jobs.
With its high proportion of holiday properties the force is one of the key beneficiaries of a decision by councils to double council tax rates for second homes.
Pending discussions with the Chief Constable I may use some of the additional revenue to expand my Street Focus project and maintain high visibility patrols in communities across Devon and Cornwall. Street Focus, piloted in Torquay, tackles antisocial behaviour and drug dealing through a partnership approach with councils and local businesses.
We learned a lot about the impact of police and uniformed patrols from the highly successful hotspot policing project funded via my office, which delivered 13,016 targeted foot patrols between May and November 2024. Officers on these patrols made 70 arrests and spoke to 58,000 members of the public.
The additional hotspot patrols established in 2024 have been hugely impactful in the 13 towns and cities where they have taken place and I want to build on these. We know that when people see officers in their community and engage with them their confidence in policing improves and these patrols prevent crime in the first place. People understand this and are frustrated when they feel their force is remote and disconnected.
I also plan to invest in keeping people safe with money set aside for additional CCTV, night buses and street marshals to tackle alcohol and drug-related crime and antisocial behaviour. And I want to work with Chief Constable Vaughan to use the funding to keep sworn officers out of back-office roles which can – and should – be done by civilians.
The draft 2025-26 budget will be linked to the priorities laid out in my 2025-29 Police and Crime Plan, which are to tackle theft, antisocial behaviour, serious violence and drugs and alcohol related crime in Devon and Cornwall’s towns and city centres, in its countryside and coastal areas, on our roads and in our homes and neighbourhoods.
If you want to give me your priorities for policing in 2025-26 – and tell me if you support my plan to use the second homes windfall to pay for Street Focus projects in more town and cities in our force area, please take the time to visit devonandcornwall-pcc.gov.uk and complete my Your Safety, Your Say survey.