YOUR POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER JONATHAN EVISON

I’m pleased to bring you the latest update from my office on the work we are doing to improve community safety in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

In my role as Commissioner, I oversee the governance of Humberside Police on behalf of the public and I am delighted that the recent influx of new officers continues, bringing more police to our streets to cut crime and improve your safety. In April I attended an attestation ceremony with Chief Constable Lee Freeman where another 81 officers were sworn in and are now undergoing their basic training.

MORE POLICE = BETTER SERVICE

The number of police officers in the force is now at its highest for thirteen years and I was proud to be invited by the Chief to see them starting their journey to serve the public. The difference is being felt in our communities too, as the numbers of neighbourhood officers and patrol teams are swelled. We are constantly reviewing our financial situation to make sure that the numbers of police officers can stay at a high level, and I’m pleased to report there is no sign of that changing soon.

There will never be a time when we have enough police, which is why we are working hard to maintain and increase the numbers of officers. Crime will always occur, and the wide variety and types of crime is a completely different world, when compared to a few decades ago. Serious crime such as drugs, violent and sexual offences need highly trained officers and staff to investigate these offences, find and arrest those responsible and bring them to justice. Recently Humberside Police has been recruiting more detectives in addition to uniformed officers, which will improve investigations and convictions. More police means the Chief Constable can also staff other specialist teams, particularly the rural crime team based in Driffield working across the many rural communities of the East Riding. There have been some excellent results combatting theft of agricultural machinery, reducing wildlife crime and working with farmers to make their land and property more secure. I was particularly pleased to see recent arrests made for hare coursing, a cruel practice which brings offenders from far and wide into our countryside to hunt hares for sport and engage in illegal gambling.

The use of off-road motorcycles on farmland also causes disruption and officers are now better equipped to tackle this anti-social behaviour as part of Humberside Police’s Operation Yellowfin, which targets offenders both in urban and rural communities and has resulted in many stolen bikes being recovered. If you are experiencing problems with anti-social motorcycle use, don’t sit in silence, contact Humberside Police on 101 to report it, quoting Operation Yellowfin, which enables intelligence to be gathered, hotspots identified, and patrols deployed to the right areas.

Last year the Humber Violence Prevention Partnership was launched with funding from the Home Office. I chair the partnership board which brings together the Police, Councils, Probation and Public Health to examine the root causes of violent crime and co-ordinate the local response to reducing and preventing violence, including domestic abuse, violence against women and girls, knife crime and drug-related crime which sees criminal gangs exploiting young people to become involved in drug supply.

To make a positive difference in these areas of crime we need to change the culture, educate our young people, and provide programmes to divert children and young adults away from crime into more positive lifestyles. The Violence Prevention Partnership has made an impressive start in its first year with almost 30 projects given funding to work with young people. In Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire there are sporting activities such as Goole Youth Action’s ‘In Your Corner’ which engages with challenging and vulnerable young people aged 14-18.

The project has a strong boxing ethos of self-discipline, respect, self-belief, physical and a positive mental health, involving the support of a boxing coach and dedicated youth workers. Other programmes are working with adults who supervise or work with young people to train them in spotting and dealing with the signs of sexual harassment which could lead to abuse, sexual assault or rape. These projects are aimed at changing behaviour, encouraging bystanders to spot signs of abuse and what to do when it occurs. Over 200 people have been trained so far and there are more projects coming this year. For more information on the Violence Prevention Partnership visit www.humbervpp.org