Marc Jones

Winston Churchill once said “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”.

That attitude is at the forefront of my mind as I face the challenges the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner presents; because there is no doubt the role has its difficulties. We face some tough financial issues and challenges with the budget for policing in the county.

It is also true that those difficulties provide opportunities and it is because of those opportunities that I am hugely excited about the next few months.

We will soon be appointing a new Chief Constable who will bring fresh ideas, a new perspective and, I’m confident, great skills to the role – helping to create a Lincolnshire Police ready and committed to delivering outstanding service to the public for years to come.

The new chief will take charge of a force in good shape; a force recognised for its efficiency and its will to work with other forces and organisations to improve services for all.

They will join a force planning to recruit hundreds of new Officers, PCSOs and take in trained transferring officers too.

And while I know setting our next budget will be no easy task I am also confident that the process brings with it exciting opportunities to seek new ways of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of our service.

New technology allowing officers to spend more time in the community and less at a desk, new types of vehicles giving our force the ability to respond quickly and reach all corners of the county in all weathers are just two of the options being examined.

We are also working with colleagues from other emergency services on a “blue light collaboration” project looking at ways of sharing skills and resources so we can work together in responding to the needs of the community.

And what I am really positive about is that we are opening up the discussion to the people we serve.

I have launched a consultation to give the residents of Lincolnshire the chance to shape those decisions and already the response has been incredible. In less than a week around 1,000 people have responded, giving their views about the priorities we should be focused on.

More than 97% of the respondents, so far, have backed the move for emergency service closer working and 91% support additional funding for the force, but I want more people to respond to the survey.

The role of the PCC is to be a voice of the people when setting the agenda for policing and I want my voice to be informed by the people who I represent.

My questionnaire is your opportunity to do just that. There are only five questions; it will take just a few minutes, but will play a crucial role in the future of your community; and before anyone asks, yes I will genuinely take account of your views and, yes there is an email address at the end to send in your comments in your own words.

You can even see in simple coloured graphs how your views stack up against everyone who has taken part so far. A truly open and transparent survey that really will inform your services into the future.

With your support, I am hugely optimistic that we can provide a police force that meets the needs of the people it serves and does so in the most efficient way possible.

The survey can be accessed here.

When I speak to residents across the county about policing there is one thing that I know I’m going to hear without fail. People want to see more uniformed presence on their streets; as simple as that.

It doesn’t matter if I travel to the safest district in the whole of England, and yes, that is in Lincolnshire, I still hear the same thing, “We don’t see enough bobbies on the beat.”

There is an interesting set of issues to unpack in this and, please bear in mind, I am a resident first with a family who live in Lincolnshire and of course I want them and everyone else to feel safe and be safe.

This being said, my first thought is surely the questions should revolve around what is being done to prevent crime, tackle crime, protect people from crime, help victims of crime etc, rather than focusing on the specific point of whether you’ve personally seen a uniform lately.

This becomes even more the case when you throw into the mix the fact that residents are busy people who often work in the day and sleep at night so the chance of looking out of your window at the exact moment to see that uniform is pretty low anyway.

To be clear, there should be, and quite rightly is, a commitment to neighbourhood policing and I’m certainly not advocating the removal of the local policing of our communities; far from it.

There are however a vast number of ways that the police and other agencies need to work together to achieve the goal of keeping us all safe, which ultimately should be their aim and patrolling our streets is but one of them.

In addition to this there is an ever growing list of ways that those wishing to harm or take from our communities and our families go about their business and the police must rise to the challenge of this changing threat.

There are so many new and emerging crime types and dangers to be tackled, all of which take up officer time and money from the budget and none of which can be left without resource.

We face huge and growing issues around very uncomfortable subjects that affect so many people and destroy lives if left to fester.

Areas such as hate crime, elder abuse, modern slavery and tackling the growing demand around mental health related issues too, all need addressing by people you largely just won’t see on your street.

Believe me when I say though, that the people dealing with these issues and more are just as proud to serve you and to keep you safe from harm.

Probably the most challenging area that totally flies in the face of the idea of local policing is the area of online crime.

Whether it’s trying to take money by fraud, tricking young people into behaviour that leads to blackmail, or grooming our children for some of the vilest crimes imaginable, this world is as real as the one outside your window.

Can any of us truly know what a 12-year-old is doing online in their bedroom, who they are actually talking to – not just who they think they are talking to?

I strongly believe that the ultimate in neighbourhood policing has to be reaching into your home to protect your children from harm; often a harm neither you nor they can see; a harm that is so dangerous that its full extent is still being understood.

To face down this evil and many more besides, it takes dedicated, hardworking people to do their job often away from our streets.

In the land of hard choices we still want it all, but the trick is how much of one do we give up to fight the other?