I was pleased to convene an opportunity for Staffordshire MPs to meet with Staffordshire Police Chief Constable, Chris Noble, and Staffordshire Commissioner, Ben Adams. We were extremely grateful to them for making the trip down to Westminster to meet with us in person and provide updates on a range of key issues, most importantly to hear about progress on the “Special Measures” process.
I know many constituents will have been concerned to see that in September 2022, the force was rated ‘inadequate’ in three areas following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which required the force to be monitored for a period of time to ensure improvement.
The Chief Constable updated us on progress towards improvement – I was pleased to hear about their proactive response to the monitoring process, and about their robust plans to improve, which are in the process of being introduced and bedded in - we are beginning to see positive signs in many areas.
I have been particularly pleased by the introduction of the new Local Policing Model, which has now been in place since June 2022. Designed to strengthen the force’s focus on local policing, I hope many of you will have noticed the increased number of officers working on the beat to keep people safe.
Crucially, we are seeing the results of this - since it was launched, Staffordshire Police have seen reductions in a variety of neighbourhood crime, better call-handling and an average of 82 more arrests each month in comparison to the previous model. The monitoring will continue, with regular meetings between the police, Home Office, College of Policing and other groups, but I was reassured to hear the Chief Constable’s clear commitment to improving the force and his obvious engagement with the process.
I was also keen to raise the issues of antisocial behaviour (ASB) and speeding. I know from my inbox both continue to be really high on the list of priorities for my constituents. Ben - who is the new chairman of Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership – updated us on progress towards installing new speed cameras to tackle our most dangerous roads and save lives, and the new mobile camera vans which will soon be out and about around the county.