Members actually agreed in principle for the Chief Constable to push ahead with rationalising operational police buildings at our Full Authority meeting the other week. The main consideration will always be to work with communities and to make sure they have the right communication channels. However, we cannot escape the fact that we are in a time of austerity cuts and the force has to find £53million worth of savings in four years, so this balanced approach makes perfect sense.

Did you know that only six per cent of the public communicate with the force through a public enquiry office, so times are changing. For me this is about having a new strategy for a new age. It’s a very emotive subject but people all over the country are making hard decisions everyday on how to spend their money.

It’s useful to look at other ways of talking to the public. Take for instance the police pod approach. There’s some really good police partnership work here between Kent Police and ASDA in Canterbury. Together they have a pod – like a mobile office – where locals can drop in and talk to neighbourhood officers and other partners. Getting feedback this way is a great idea and it’s very convenient to just be able to stop by to talk to who you need too.

Talking of being out and about in the county – has anyone seen the latest idea in Lancashire. A mobile jail is giving young people a taste of what it’s like to be in prison. It’s quite literally stuck on the back of a lorry. A group of former criminals, working with volunteers and police staff, hope the project will teach young people about what will happen to them if they commit a crime – scary but effective, I hope.

Also I saw some research the other day that shows just what a good job drug rehabilitation programmes are doing. The latest research on criminal behaviour shows that crimes committed by known offenders fall by almost half if they successfully complete a drugs treatment programme. So this is great news. These findings will be of interest to the new Police and Crime Commissioner who will have a new role to commission services from providers. The providers will of course have to prove that their services directly impact on crime reduction and will be paid accordingly.

Tonight I’m heading off to help open the British Red Cross HQ in Canterbury. Talking of launches I’m also looking forward to Friday where I’ve been invited to launch a new online initiative called STATUS – Stay Safe and Tell us. The event is in Margate on Friday night with music bands, and upcoming artists! I probably won’t recognise any of their names mind you. The new online social media site is a dream for parents’ everywhere as it’s monitored 24/7. It’s the first online initiative of its kind in the UK that joins partner agencies together such as CXK, formerly Connexions, the Kent People’s Trust, Achieve Digital Ltd and Amelix Ltd.

Lastly about a month ago we asked stakeholders for their views on our new way of policing the county. Thanks for everyone who gave feedback. All the views have been presented to senior officers – good or bad.

Lots in the news today of the rise in cannabis farms around the UK with media reports that the police are discovering 21 factories daily in Britain, you wouldn’t believe but that’s a street value of £100million. Here in Kent I’m really proud of our Serious Crime Directorate – a dedicated team that deals with hard-hitting crimes – including drugs. I’m very happy to say that there have been a handful of cannabis incidents in the county in the last couple of months, so that’s really good news.

We’ve just launched our Commissioning Conference that will be held on the 25 May. This is a very exciting initiative by the Authority to help raise awareness about the changes ahead under the Police and Crime Commissioner.

I personally believe that commissioning will play an enormous role in the new governance arrangements. So we decided to open the debate and to inform our stakeholders of the changes ahead and what it might mean for them.

We have a very busy agenda but I think one that captures everything from those who provide a service and could potentially bid, to private companies who are already doing this. We will hear from a variety of speakers – some from Kent – as well as the national perspective. I’m confident it will be a very interesting day and will get lots of people thinking about the future of commissioning police services.

Another busy week ahead, what with the usual admin work to be done, briefings with the Chief Constable, two meetings in London with colleagues on the Police Negotiating Board, representing the Association of Police Authorities on the group that looks at performance issues for forces and our own Protective Services Board. The latter looks carefully at the work done by officers and staff who deal with the really difficult ‘bits’ of policing, from child exploitation, to countywide illegal drug activities, all the things that cause untold misery, but which the average person in the street rarely thinks about.

We all tend to be too focussed on what is happening where we live in our neighbourhoods – understandably so – but we should never lose sight of the other issues that affects our lives so deeply in one way or another.

At the Full Authority meeting last week we had to say a sad farewell to one of our members, Graham Hodkinson. Graham spent five years as our South Kent lead and has made inroads with risk assessments and worked really hard to improve policing in the Folkestone area. He is now off to become a Magistrate – so congratulations to you Graham – you’ll be missed.

I just had a meeting with the Chief Constable and heard that our Kent officer, PC Appleby, came 3rd in the National Dog trials! Very well done.  I’m also pinning my hopes on our Kent Police football team – think the final is next week.

On a lighter note, I went to the Turner exhibition in Margate last week – stunning! If you haven’t been to the Elements exhibition, then give yourself a treat. You could also do what I did and treat yourself to a really delicious lunch at Eddie Gilbert’s fish restaurant in Ramsgate. Marvellous food and really nice service – all in all a great day out.

Currently police staff and officers who work under the direction and control of the Chief Constable can be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). This includes investigating anything from a death in custody, a public complaint, to misconduct.

However, any member of a private company who is working for a force, carrying out a police function, cannot be investigated by them.  This really doesn’t make sense to me when both work side-by-side. It strikes me as totally bizarre that this accountability doesn’t cover everyone.

I was really glad to see that the IPCC have written to the Home Office requesting the power to investigate all private staff who carry out police duties. Ultimately the statutory duty on the IPCC is to increase public confidence in the police complaints system in England and Wales, so it will be an interesting one to watch.

Commissioning is a hot topic and I personally feel this is going to be one of the most difficult areas to put in place for whoever secures the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner post. Commissioning services will have an impact on crime and public safety and it is one area that will need really strong skills to manage. Here in Kent we are busy preparing to host a Commissioning Conference in May – more details on this next week.

I received a letter from Victim Support the other day. They are very worried about future funding for victim services and highlighted their concern that services would be diluted when funding is moved across to the Police and Crime Commissioner. The Government has consulted on these changes and I hope they publish the findings.

It’s another busy week for me. I had my weekly one-to-one with the Chief Constable yesterday to discuss all force matters. Then today I’m in London at the Association of Police Authorities (APA) meeting. We also have the Full Authority meeting on Wednesday and there’s a lot on the agenda, particularly around the future and transition. On Friday I’m back in London attending the Police Negotiating Board where we will be having an in-depth look at the Winsor Review Part 2, detailing terms and conditions for staff and officers.

Finally I was delighted that the Gills match went ahead at the weekend, the right result – quite literally – as Gillingham stole the show 3-1. We’ve also got a Kent Police football team, who have made the national finals. I’m absolutely thrilled as they are doing such a good job – well done to them all. They face Northern Ireland next and I hope to be on the sidelines willing them on. Come on Kent you can do it.

Closer to home and football also made the headlines over policing costs for the Gillingham and Swindon match. The costs surrounding the game at the Priestfield stadium still remains unresolved. As a keen football supporter, I really hope that the police, Medway Council, and Gillingham football club, do find an amicable solution so fans can enjoy the match this weekend.

However, let’s not forget, amidst big budget cuts, falling police officer numbers and growing demand that informed and fair decisions must be made. The public rightly expects that those who profit from events that require a significant police presence should pay a fair contribution towards the cost of that policing. Public safety is, after all, vital and we can’t take risks with it.

It was interesting to note that the Association of Chief Police Officers – ACPO – issued an academic study into the impact of large football matches on policing last week. The report was written alongside researchers from the University College London. It looked at crime patterns in coloration to matches and the findings suggest that there are significant increases in crime and disorder on match days.

Public order policing is paramount to the safety of fans, and local areas, and I’ll be interested to have a look at any lessons learnt from ACPO that we can apply here in Kent.

South Yorkshire Police also came under fire from the media last week amid reports suggesting that residents were going to be consulted as to replacing police officers with police community support officers (PCSOs). Their website states that this is not the case and that ‘police officers will not be removed from policing.’

Our PCSOs here in Kent do a wonderful job and I do think it is important for the public to understand they have a very different role to police officers. I have always supported PCSOs and their visible presence motto on our streets. Yes, they cannot make arrests but they complement officers. Last year they were given 12 new powers to clamp down on underage drinking and anti-social behaviour on our streets. All of this helps free up valuable police officer time to fight crime.

Together they work side-by-side and I don’t think that you could have just one or the other now. The two roles provide a service to the taxpayer and act as a feed of information on local crime. I think if anything, it’s not about policing on the cheap, but educating the public as to what they are and what they do.

There are lots of misconceptions about ‘plastic policeman,’ an insulting description to my mind, which I personally feel is unwarranted. Our PCSOs work really hard and I routinely receive letters commending their work. When a PCSO is moved from a village this is the first thing I hear complaints about. So let’s give them a break from criticism and let them get on with the job at hand – keeping our communities safe.

Lastly, on a personal note, my husband Tony was piped at the post for the UK Veterinary of the Year Award. He was so disappointed, but cheered up enormously when his son-in-law said: ‘It’s like winning silver at the Olympics. Just because you didn’t make gold doesn’t make you a rubbish athlete, but one of the best in the world.’

Very wise words – keep a perspective Tony!

Allegations of racism have raised their ugly head again in the Met Police, according to media reports I read over the weekend. The new commissioner has, quite right too, publicly stated that there is no place for such behaviour in his Force. However, personally speaking it’s down to all of us to challenge and condemn any comment or behaviour that pandas to racism of any kind. I come from an extended mixed race family – not easy to spot looking at me with my blonde hair and blue eyes – but every member of my family has zero tolerance to any kind of racism. We never let remarks pass as by, as this will only make racism fester. It’s important that people do speak up – the onus is on us all – to stamp out any form of discrimination whenever and wherever we come across it.

Our new Kent policing model has now been up and running for six months now, the most far-reaching and comprehensive reorganisation in the Force’s history, and the Authority has asked for feedback from a variety of our stakeholders – parish councils, NHW, district councils, local safer community partnerships and all of our staff associations – to name but a few. We have had hundreds of replies and I thank everyone who responded for taking the time and effort to do so. We now have an excellent sample from which to gain comment and we are busy analysing the results as I write. More on this in the next few weeks.

The new version of our Policing Plan is now live on our website under plans and policies. It contains all the details of our targets, plans and priorities for the forthcoming year. We shall, of course, continue to monitor the plan and how the Force is performing until we cease to exist. Looking at the end of year figures for 2011 – 2012 it’s very encouraging. The all important all crime reduction is down by 3.6 per cent – that’s the equivalent of 3,845 fewer crimes and victims of crimes – an excellent result in the current economic climate, especially as the Force is going through a massive in-house change programme. My congratulations and thanks to everyone in the Force for staying so focused on the essentials. If you live in Kent do make sure you have a look – you’ll be encouraged.

This week I’m also at the Police Negotiating Board on which I chair the official side. We shall be tidying up the loose ends from the Winsor Part 1 – a review of police pay and conditions – and recommendations that were upheld by the Police Arbitration Tribunal. We will also start to look at the new negotiations required for Winsor Part 2.

Lastly as I mentioned the other week, my lovely husband Tony Barnes, has been shortlisted for the National Veterinary Surgeon of the Year award. We shall know this Thursday (12 April) if he has been successful or not. I sincerely hope he has won because I don’t do second place! No pressure, Tony, no pressure.

I’m busy writing to the Policing Minister, Nick Herbert, to invite him to the launch of our new initiative called STATUS – Stay Safe and Tell us – an online platform that will offer young people a credible alternative to Facebook. This is the first site of its kind in the UK and is every parent’s dream. It’s early days and Kent will officially launch the product in May so it’s fantastic news.

It’s interesting to watch the shift in how people are communicating with the force. The digital age is upon us and gone are the days of local police stations being the hub of information. There is now so much choice and I think the police have never been as open to communication as they are at the moment through social media.

We are at end of our financial year and despite the massive cuts in spending it’s good news here in Kent. Crime levels in the county continue to fall, bucking the national trend, but for me the most important message coming from the somewhat ‘bald’ crime statistics is that there are fewer victims of crime.

We are on track to meet our necessary budget cuts and we will also secure the savings from the Winsor Part 1 report to add to our coffers. Winsor is the most comprehensive review of police officer and staff pay and conditions in over 30 years and there are interesting times ahead with part 2.

Unlike some forces, we did not factor the Winsor savings into our financial planning. However, it is looking as if we will have significant savings and I personally would make the case for using that money to invest in our workforce.  Our people are the lifeblood of the organisation and we have already found the finances to run a small internal recruitment process for new police officers. The Winsor savings would mean that we could increase that capacity and open up recruitment to external candidates with new skills and ideas. We’ll have to see if it can be done.

I’m also very pleased that the force has successfully implemented the new Kent Policing model, our new way of policing the county, with no adverse affect on performance. We have our hard-working and committed police officers and staff to thank for this. They have, from the Chief Constable down to the most junior person, all shown true professionalism and dedication during a time of such unprecedented change – we owe them a great deal.

Thursday last week was a lovely day which saw me on the football touchline watching a ‘needle’ match between Essex and Kent Police.  Those who know me know that I am an avid football fan, so I really enjoyed the game – especially as Kent won 2 goals to 1 – nothing partisan about me!

This week we play West Midlands in the national semi-finals. Sadly I won’t be there in person, but I do have my spies on hand to let me know the result. Come on Kent!

Today sees me chairing the official side of the Police Negotiating Board in London. The issue on the table today is a first in-depth look at Windsor Part 2 Report. There are 121 recommended actions in the report, so getting clarity around that number is a massive workload. On Wednesday, the Authority is having its first look at the Windsor recommendations, so the timing of that is perfect.

After that session I’m meeting with Chief Inspector Lee Russell, to talk about a new online ‘Stay Safe and Tell Us’ project. This is a partnership flagship programme, with the Force and Kent Peoples Trust, Achieve Digital Ltd, and Amelix Ltd. The idea is to create a number of events for under 16’s and an online alternative to Facebook. This is really quite exciting and I’m hoping to be involved in the launch in May.

Last week in my blog I highlighted some of the comments made at a Transition Conference hosted by the Association of Police Authorities. It seems the theme of police and crime commissioner candidate mail outs resonated with John Prescott. He wrote a piece in the Guardian last Friday: ‘If we truly believe in the democratic process and want to elect the best voice of the people for each police force area, we must ensure that every voice is heard and every voter told. You shouldn’t have to buy democracy.’ Was quite an eye opening article – check out the full version here

On a personal note, my book club met last week. We talked about ‘The Book of Negroes’ – there were mixed reviews from us. The book is an important historical document which records names and descriptions of 3,000 African-American slaves who escaped to the British lines during the American Revolution. The club has also started to read poems and this one caught my eye and I wanted to share it all with you. It’s a parody of ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

If you can keep your money when governments about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust your neighbour when they trust not you
And they be very nosy too;
If you can await the warm delights of summer
Then summer comes and goes with sun not seen,
And pay so much for drinking water
Knowing that the water is unclean.

If you seek peace in times of war creation,
And you can see that oil merchants are to blame,
If you can meet a pimp or politician,
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you cannot bear dis-united nations
And you think this new world order is a trick,
If you’ve ever tried to build good race relations,
And watch bad policing mess your work up quick.

If you can make one heap of all your savings
And risk buying a small house and plot,
Then sit back and watch the economy inflating
Then have to deal with the negative equity you’ve got;
If you can force your mind and body to continue
When all the social services have gone,
If you struggle on when there is nothing in you,
Except the knowledge that justice can be wrong.

If you can speak the truth to common people
Or walk with Kings and Queens and live no lie,
If you can see how power can be evil
And know that every censor is a spy;
If you can fill an unforgiving lifetime
With years of working hard to make ends meet,
You may not be wealthy but I am sure you will find
That you can hold your head high as you walk the streets.

Have a nice week in the sun – long may it last!

There is an awful lot of work going on locally and nationally and I was reassured that here in Kent we are at the forefront and I would expect nothing less.

Delegates from across the policing industry discussed topics but two issues seemed to come to the fore. The first one was about the commissioning duties of a Police and Crime Commissioner and was likened to an iceberg under the surface.

The post is not just about police accountability but with the added dimension of commissioning services over the whole of police and crime area – the hint is in the title of the post, commissioner.

Again, keeping ahead of the game, we are planning our second transition conference in late May and this will specifically cover commissioning and how a Police and Crime Commissioner might go about this. The budget for commissioning will be vast and we want to make sure Kent hits the ground running.

The second issue that was robustly discussed was around the debate that unlike mayoral or parliamentary elections, candidates will not be given a free mail drop for their campaign literature.

The electoral commission has been charged with writing to every household in the country to tell locals about the elections. Delegates discussed if the single drop could also be used to include candidates’ election material as well – not spending anymore public money – but increasing public awareness and recognition of issues being highlighted by would be commissioners.

However, the argument against this was it would be drawing the independent electoral commission into political waters.

There will be a Home Office website containing all candidates’ literature. If voters do not have access to a computer then they can write to the Home Office who will send hardcopies of literature pertaining to the candidates standing in their policing area.

The journey home yesterday was colourful. On my train there was a foreign lady who needed to get from Euston to St Pancras to get to Ashford. She was quite confused so I took her under my wing. However, our train ended up being held up outside Ashford station as, seemingly, a Eurostar train had confused the signals and ended up on our platform instead of the designated Eurostar platform. My new friend must have wondered what on Earth was going on, but I hope she got to her final destination safe and sound.

Looking at the numbers for Kent, it’s a really good news story. As those who read this blog know, we have recently – 16th November 2011 to be precise – embarked on a radical new policing model for the county. We now operate a borderless response which means the nearest response officer will be sent to a call despite what policing division they are from.

Since we went over to the new model our performance figures have shown virtually no change in officers responding to calls and getting there quickly. However, statistics are all very well, but it is what is happening on the ground that is important to local people. So, can I say that anyone who needs emergency help and dials 999 will get it? Yes I can. Can I say that the response will be quick? Yes I can.

The Police Authority looks closely at all aspects of performance and this is just one that we keep a very close eye on. The people of Kent and those who are passing through who need urgent help should get it and get it quickly, which they do.

You might have also seen in the press Kent Police running metal theft operations around the county. I think they are doing an excellent job at tracking down those involved through this targeted approach and the one blitz operations are really shaking things up.

But it’s not just the officers on the frontline making a difference. Julie Argent who won our outstanding Kent Police staff award at our Safer Kent Awards event is a real example of behind the scenes work. She has really made an enormous contribution to reduce metal thefts in the county and has built relations with British Transport Police, BT, and UK Power Networks to ensure measures are taken to reduce this type of opportunist crime.
Steps are also being made in forensic marking and we have come a long way. Julie is currently working on a project to ensure all war memorials and plaques in Kent are forensically marked, as well as identifying fly-tipping sites that are at risk. Great job Julie!

Talking of metal thefts I was really pleased that the Authority was well represented at a conference on Metal and Cable Theft last week hosted by the force.

The aim of the conference – that took place at the police college – was to provide information and practical advice to both police officers and representatives from a wide range of partner organisations. The idea was to develop a better understanding of how metal and cable theft affects not only businesses but also individuals and wider communities.

The conference, which was opened by our Chief Constable, Ian Learmonth, explored a range of actions to prevent such thefts and detect offenders through better co-ordinated approaches to law enforcement.

The conference heard keynote presentations from a range of partner organisations including specialists from Kent Police, British Transport Police, BT Open Reach and UK Power Network.

The estimated annual cost of metal theft to British industry is a staggering £770 million. In Kent, theft and handling now accounts for nearly a third of crimes with metal and cable theft making up approximately 10 per cent of all such cases.

In the present economic climate and with precious metal prices spiralling, organised crime networks and other criminals see metal theft as a quick and easy way of making money.
A number of recent high profile incidents illustrate how such crimes deprive communities of essential public services, disrupt communications and even endanger the public.

Thieves routinely target road signs, manhole covers, statues and memorial plaques as well as lead from the roofs of churches and other public buildings. Copper, lead and other semi-precious metals are easily recycled so that creates a criminal market around such materials. In response, the Government plans a range of initiatives including the banning of cash transactions at scrap metal yards.

Kent is well placed to tackle this crime but unfortunately it’s often the communities that suffer.

On a personal note: My lovely husband, Tony Barnes, is a veterinary surgeon at a clinic in Folkestone. He is a very quiet, unassuming bloke – well, they do say opposites attract – who was rendered speechless this week when he found out that he had been shortlisted for the UK 2012 Vet of the Year Award! He was stunned, as he had no idea that he had even been nominated, but we are absolutely delighted and I’m really pleased for him. He had better win it though!

There are many police tasks that do not need to be carried out by warranted officers and many forces employ their own support staff to undertake them.  Surrey and West Midlands are exploring all options and trying to ascertain just where the limits for non-police bodies should be in providing elements of this important public service.

Many forces and authorities have already outsourced some of their back office functions.  We have decided not to do that but, working in collaboration with Essex, we are sharing our support services, to deliver better value for money and to drive down costs.  Those savings are being used to manage the 20 per cent cut in Home Office grants over the next few years and are also financing frontline functions. This work is managed by the two forces and police authorities, on behalf of local people.

Speaking personally, policing has to provide value for money for taxpayers, but let’s not forget that there is more to policing than delivering the cheapest service. There is an ethical issue here, in that we have policing by consent in this country and I am not at all sure that the public would accept for example core policing duties being given to private security companies.

New demands and the impact of budget cuts mean that policing must continue to change, but those changes will only succeed if they have the trust and confidence of communities. So we’ll need to watch this debate very closely. We need to be vigilant and carefully assess the potential impact of the marketisation agenda on policing.

Onto other matters and I was delighted to host our Safer Kent Awards event on Friday night at Leeds Castle. The event was a fantastic example of community work and partnership working at its very best and – amazingly in today’s increasingly avaricious world- actually done for no reward, just the personal satisfaction of doing a good job for us.

About 100 guests attended the event and listened to some incredible stories of what’s going on around the county, getting a real insight into the hard work and dedication of the wider policing family.

Because we are really lucky here in Kent to have such excellent public servants, from the police community support officers, police officers, special constables, NHW , young citizens groups, volunteers, community wardens,  all of whom do such an excellent job in the public safety arena.  Together they put themselves at the heart of our communities, to protect life and property, to keep us safe and well.

This was the Authority’s sixth Safer Kent Awards and, sadly, it was our last but I have to say a big thank you to our incredibly generous sponsors – BT, Kier Construction, Kent Peoples Trust, and Southern Water. Without their continued goodwill and support the event would not have been possible.