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As Chief Constable, I am proud of our constabulary. I want Suffolk police to be a place where people really enjoy their work so that they can concentrate on providing a professional service to the communities who need our help. I want us to create a compassionate environment, where people who join us can still be themselves while developing the skills to excel at their job. Joining us should feel like being part of another family; but policing is also a challenging career – and I know we have some way to go for everyone to feel included and supported.
We have a programme for all our leaders to try to identify where the barriers are that are stopping us from doing better. We have called this ‘The Right Education’ – at its heart is building the courage in everyone to speak up about what wrong, as well as celebrating what is right. This is set out in our new national Code of Ethics – but I know it really comes from within.
Nationally, the Police Race Action Plan has been in place for two years now – and not everyone is feeling that it has yet made the difference intended. That is reflected here in Suffolk. We need help with this and are now working closely with our new scrutiny panel to make the difference that matters. I am determined that in the next twelve months we will make significant progress.
Significant planning goes into the summer period when we experience increasing numbers of events and engagements for us to police and provide support to with increasing numbers of people travelling into and around our county. So far this year our communities saw increased engagement around election polling stations, and also the Euro24 football and shortly Latitude (to name a just a few)! We have also already enjoyed the opportunity to join in with the recent Sikh procession and festival in Ipswich, the Suffolk Show, Heveningham Hall County Fair and the Light Festival on the east coast.
I’m delighted to now talk about an event we recently hosted with partners in Felixstowe to officially launch Clear, Hold, Build, a Home Office initiative to tackle serious and organised crime.
CLEAR – targeted activity and crime disruption.
HOLD – stabilising the area to stop criminals moving in to fill the void.
BUILD – community-driven action to address the causes of criminality and prevent it from happening again.
Clear, Hold, Build projects have been running across the country and initiatives have been shown to reduce crime and violence, improve partnership work and community relationships and also reduce anti-social behaviour.
Felixstowe has been chosen as we have seen the effects that a small number of criminals have had on the wider community, through anti-social behaviour, violence and the supply of drugs. By focusing our efforts on dealing with these criminals, not solely via enforcement methods, but also working with partner agencies to ensure they get the help and support they need, then we should see a long-term sustainable approach to deter future offending. We have already started to address this by carrying out warrants and patrols where we have been successful in removing drugs and the proceeds of crime from the streets. Several people have been arrested and charged, awaiting court hearings.
A key element has been protecting vulnerable young people to prevent them being drawn to crime or being exploited, working with East Suffolk Council, local schools, housing providers and social services, we have already safeguarded and protected people we consider to be at risk.
Felixstowe, like the rest of Suffolk, is a safe place to live and bring up children but by working with the community and building on the work already undertaken by partners and community groups, we can enhance this safety and positivity. It is one of our most popular seaside towns and welcomes visitors from all over the country, so I am very pleased to see this additional focus in the area. It is particularly pleasing that the business community is fully involved.
Finally, last month I, along with my fellow Chief Officers and some support staff, gave up a day’s leave to provide valuable support to a riding school for the disabled in Woodbridge. I was delighted to be joined by my team carrying out manual labour tasks including cleaning out the stables, grooming the horses, and some general landscaping maintenance around the grounds. The site is impressive, and giving something back to the community was a humbling experience for all of the team as we also got to learn about the valuable work undertaken by the staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to build a strong community, growing the confidence and self-esteem of those that use the centre.