A trouser incident – A visit to the call management centre – An away day – Under scrutiny at the Panel – The disabilities event
Monday 29 November
After the Monday morning Chief Officer Team meeting, Kevin Harris from the Chamber of Commerce arrives. Business crime is an insidious drag on society that is largely but unjustifiably forgotten. People are rarely hurt and insurance covers the losses. But when businesses become less profitable they employ fewer people, fail to maintain their property and eventually leave an area altogether. If we want our communities to be prosperous as well as safe, we will need to deal with crimes against business.
Next up is the Elf Run. I’ve volunteered to do the 5km walk and have brought in my Santa outfit to wear. I have just dropped my trousers and am bending over to pull on the Santa trousers when the Deputy Chief Constable walks in.
“Oh! Pardon me, Commissioner,” he says. I explain about the Elf Walk. “Oh yes, Rupert,” says Mr Nixon. “Of course.” Good. He clearly believes my reason for being trouserless at work.
After the Elf Walk, I welcome the Bishop of Leicester to my office. He has come to talk about various issues affecting the Church – most obviously the repeated thefts of lead from church roofs – and also to invite me to join the board of one of his charities. I accept.
Tuesday 30th November
The day starts with a visit to the St Philips Centre in Leicester to discuss interfaith relations and the work of the centre. That is followed by two radio interviews – Gem and Fosse 107 – to discuss the £550,000 Safer Streets funding that my office gain from the Home Office and the way we are using the money to introduce safety features to parks and open spaces where women or girls have been attacked recently. Important stuff.
I then head over to the Call Management Centre. I start by sitting next to Jenny who is taking calls from the public. First up is a lady worried about a workman who is sitting in a van outside her house. He appears to be asleep, but has been there for 3 hours with the engine running and he does not respond when she bangs on his window. Second is a call from a lorry driver who has hit something on the M1 near Lutterworth. His lorry has come to a shuddering halt and is blocking two lanes of the road. Third is a long and emotional call from a lady who says she is being harassed by her ex-boyfriend. The details are distressing. Jenny deals with it all with admirable calm and efficiency. I then switch over to sit beside Dave in Despatch. The case involves a report of a youngster seen carrying a knife in the street. Despite repeated to and fro between the officers on the ground and the control room, nothing is found.
Finally, I drive over to County Hall to meet with the Cllr Nick Rushton, the Leader of the Council. We discuss speed cameras, visible policing, care for the vulnerable, domestic violence and other matters of concern to Leicestershire County Council.
Wednesday 1st December
Today is the staff “Away Day” for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. We spend the day doing workshops, team building and other activities. Amid more serious work, we have a session where we form teams and then have to build a tower out of uncooked spaghetti and Sellotape – not as easy as it sounds especially as it needs to be strong enough to support a marshmallow. Our tower collapses the instant the marshmallow is put in place. The star turn is by Samira who came along to lead a highly interactive hour revolving around our team values – and we end up developing a Team Motto. We are joined by the new Chief Executive for the OPCC, who introduces himself to everyone. This is David Peet, currently the Chief Executive at the Derbyshire OPCC. He is starting with us in the New Year.
Thursday 2nd December
Today is the Police and Crime Panel, always a stressful event. The Panel is made up of a representative from each of the local government councils in our area, plus two independent persons. Their job is to scrutinise how I do my job. Some PCCs detest attending their Panels and consider it all a waste of time. I disagree. The tight deadlines that the Panel imposes on me and my office concentrates the mind wonderfully. It means that we don’t slip behind with things and stay on track. Quite useful, actually.
But first it is over to New Parks, one of our People Zones, for their Christmas Fair. I am welcomed by a gigantic inflatable Santa, then have a great time mingling with the crowds and inspecting the stands. I leave with a festive cake. Yum!
Then it is time for the Panel. We cover a wide range of subjects, but the members of the panel are most interested in two things. First, the ways in which the OPCC is funding support for victims of Domestic Abuse. Second is the way we have introduced a new method of holding the Chief Constable to account [my main task] more effectively than before. The meeting is closed, then immediately reopened again for the “confirmation hearing” to approve my new choice of Chief Executive. Mr Peet is subjected to some rigorous questions by the Panel, which he answers with aplomb. They approve Mr Peet. A relief!
Friday 3rd December
My day starts with half an hour at the event in the Lecture Theatre to mark "International Day of people with disabilities”. After the Chief Constable has opened the event, I give a short talk on hidden disabilities. Both of my surviving children have a disability, so I know of which I talk.
Back to the office to clear the emails and read a lengthy report on the National Police Air Service before I head off to the Leicester Tigers ground for the Chamber of Commerce annual lunch. The place is packed. Everyone wants to talk to me about crimes against business. And so the week ends where it started.
You can follow Commissioner Rupert Matthews on a daily basis on Twitter - @Rupert_Matthews
