July 26, 2019 11.11 am This story is over 56 months old

PCC meetings open to the public for first time

The first public meeting will take place in August

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones. | Photo: Steve Smailes for the Lincolnite

People will now be able to attend and send in questions about the performance of Lincolnshire Police after PCC Marc Jones decided he will open his accountability meetings to the public.

Marc currently holds regular meetings with Bill Skelly, Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police, to review police performance.

The first ever public meeting will take place on Monday, August 12 in the Council Chamber at Lincolnshire County Council’s office in Lincoln. The meetings will be held four times a year.

Residents will also be able to send in questions in advance of the Public Assurance Meetings for the first time. This applies if they fall within the scope of the meeting and, if so, will be answered by the Chief Constable.

Questions from the public will need to be submitted in writing and five working days in advance of the meeting. Deadline for submission of public questions for the first meeting will be Friday, August 2.

The meeting will also be used to present information about police performance for the previous three months. This will include statistics on crime, police response, demand, how quickly the force processes cases and their outcomes.

All answers and reports from the meeting will be published in the days following the discussion. A link for tuning into the meeting will be made available nearer the time.

PCC Jones said: “I passionately believe in the democratic process and I believe it is crucial that the public get a chance to both be well informed and able to ask questions about the performance of their police force.

“I believe this is an important step towards our residents seeing how well their tax money is being spent and I am delighted we have been able open these discussions to everyone.”

Chief Constable Skelly added: “This is another fantastic opportunity for us to engage with our communities. Not only will residents in Lincolnshire now be able to see the process by which their police service is held to account, but they can also now be involved in that very process.

“This means we can tackle the topics that are important to people who live and work here, and I would encourage anyone who wants to put something to myself and the Commissioner to get involved.”