Tuesday 4 January
My first day back in work [as opposed to working from home].
My first, and most pleasant task, is to welcome our new OPCC Chief Executive, David Peet, to the office. David is highly experienced having been working in police governance since before PCCs had even been invented, and most recently being the Chief Executive of Derbyshire OPCC. We share a cup of tea as I bring him up to speed. He is going to be a real asset to the organisation.
Then I’m off to Spinney Hill Police Station. I start by sitting on the front desk with Amy. Apparently I have just missed a visit from a local “character” who routinely claims to be a movie producer looking for sets and actors. Amy very kindly fills me in on the local area and the issues that the police have there. Then a gent comes in to report a road accident. Amy takes down the details, but we hit a hitch when it transpires that the man was not involved himself, his wife was driving. Amy deals with the situation with aplomb.
Then I go out on patrol with PC Thompson. We drive around his area, ending up on foot along the shopping parades on the Uppingham Road. We drop in on the shops and chat to passersby, most of whom seem to know PC Thompson. We chat with a café owner about burglaries in the past and what is being done about them. I buy some cakes to take back to the office – well, they are on half price offer.
Back at Force HQ, I meet with BBC radio who want to interview me about the scourge of hare coursing which causes so much criminal damage and heartbreak to our farmers. This is a follow up to the meeting I held with farmers before Christmas – see Blog No.8.
Wednesday 5 January
The news breaks publicly about Chief Constable Cole’s retirement from the Force. My phone starts ringing. It doesn’t stop for the next two hours. Everyone one seems to want to either offer their commiserations on Leicestershire Police losing such a fine Chief Constable, or offer me advice on how to go about recruiting a new one. Sometimes both. The final call comes in at 1:25pm. It is BBC Radio Leicester wanting me to do a live interview about Mr Cole’s retirement. I oblige.
The afternoon is taken up with a very looooooong meeting with the Chief Officer Team regarding the Budget for next year. Although I have responsibility of a a budget is in excess of £215 million we still don’t really have enough resources to deal with the ever increasing demands on policing, the ever increasing scrutiny, ever increasing public expectation and ever increasing complexity. Forensic scrutiny of every proposal from the Chief and his team is required to ensure I am able to convince the public we are meeting their expectations and secure next years budget.
Thursday 6 January
This is the first of my Community Days for 2022, ably organised by Sophie, the OPCC Events and Visits Officer. We are going to Market Harborough.
We start with an early morning bacon cob in the Park Café where we meet with Cllr Whelband and officers from Harborough District Council. We discuss about various local issues before heading out into the heavily frosted park to see where the Community Safety Partnership [Cllr Whelband is Chair] are going to be erecting CCTV and other safety measures using funding gained from the Home Office by the OPCC. Cllr Whelband offers his commiserations on us losing Chief Constable Cole.
Sophie and I then head off to the Indoor Market to meet with Joseph the market manager and some of the stallholders. There is not much crime in the market itself, but there is some ASB in nearby areas that they are concerned might make shoppers feel unsafe and so lower footfall. After leaving the market, we have a few spare minutes so I call in on some of the shops. It is a similar story.
We then head off to a farm just north of Market Harborough to meet with local farmers and owners of rural businesses. Due to Covid restrictions we meet in the barn. By gum it is cold, but we get fed hot tea and mince pies. The general concerns seem to centre around the criminal damage caused by hare coursing, and fly tipping – though fly grazing is also an issue. Sergeant Archer is present to deal with queries about recent changes in the law and how the Leicestershire Police and dealing with this via training. The cold gets worse and worse, then the snow comes. By the time we finish two hours later, I can’t feel my toes.
It’s a good job I had that mince pie as by the time we finish, I have to drive up to Loughborough to attend a meeting organised by the parish council in Shelthorpe. About two dozen locals have braved the cold wind to join us in the local hall. Inspector Oswin and Sergeant Else are there. Together we deal with questions about ASB, speeding traffic and Home Office funding of the Leicestershire Police, among other issues – including the loss of the valuable Chief Constable Cole.
Friday 7 January
We are recruiting new members to the Ethics and Transparency Panel, so the first four hours of the day are taken up with reading and marking the 27 applications that we have received. I’m pleased to see such a big response from the public – and there are some top quality candidates in there who are clearly from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and qualifications. i want people who will be critical friends, deliver uncomfortable truths and act as our ethical and moral barometer. It is essential that the public can be reassured that the Leicestershire Police act ethically and transparently at all times – and this panel is a key tool in making sure that this happens.
That epic session is followed by some paperwork – much of it reading emails about the retirement of Chief Constable Cole [he is clearly very popular] – and a word with Mr Peet about his first week as my Chief Executive Officer. Then off to meet the Glenfield Parish Council to discuss ASB, speeding traffic and drug dealing.
You can follow the Commissioner on a daily basis on Twitter - @Rupert_Matthews
