Meeting with Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner

Chiltern Community Forum Chairman Andy Garnett and Robert Gibson recently met Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) Anthony Stansfeld at his office at Thames Valley Police Headquarters at Kidlington. A useful discussion was had on how the Forum can complement, at a grass roots neighbourhood level, the work of the PCC and senior police authorities.

Following the meeting, Anthony Stansfeld encouraged the Chiltern Community to support and participate in the Forum:

A police force that enjoys the support and trust of the public requires transparent, accountable neighbourhood policing.

As Police and Crime Commissioner, a major part of my role is to be the voice of the community and hold the police to account. By ensuring communication between police and public, and working in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level, I seek to ensure a unified approach to preventing and reducing crime.

It’s heartening, therefore, to meet Chiltern Community Forum, and learn of its very similar approach at a grass roots level.

Chiltern Community Forum works in conjunction with Chiltern District Council’s Community Safety Partnership and Thames Valley Police. In the first place, it exists to discuss and set neighbourhood policing priorities for the Chiltern district, comprising Chesham, Amersham, the Chalfonts and the Missendens.

Quarterly public meetings are held to set local policing priorities. Beforehand, residents are invited to express their views and preferences through an online survey. A separate survey is held for young people. These help inform decisions on priorities taken at the meeting. The meeting is also an opportunity to meet members of the neighbourhood policing team, and for informed discussion on policing and crime.

In addition, the Forum seeks to promote community engagement, and encourage involvement by individuals, businesses and other stakeholders within the area. It asks the question: how can we as citizens help make our community a better and safer place?

Through its website (www.chilterncommunityforum.org) and active Twitter presence (@ChilternForum), Chiltern Community Forum seeks to spread the word on matters important to individual and community safety, ‘join the dots’ between needs and community support organisations, and point visitors in the right direction to report or request assistance for crime-related and other concerns.

Budget cuts since 2010/11 exceed £100 millions per year within Thames Valley Police. Initiatives such as Chiltern Community Forum are therefore not just welcome, but necessary to complement the work of neighbourhood policing teams.

I encourage all Chiltern residents and businesses to participate in the quarterly survey, attend meetings and visit the website and Twitter page.

📽️ This @AssocPCCs video provides an overview of the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) in Thames Valley:

🗳️ Your PCC is elected by you
⚖️ They help improve the local criminal justice system
👮 They appoint @ThamesVP Chief Constable#PCCsMakingADifference pic.twitter.com/dgPU7kSH5i

— Thames Valley PCC (@TV_PCC) August 11, 2020