POLICE MINISTER PRAISES POLICE AUTHORITY

Rt Hon David Hanson MP, Minister of State for Policing has commended the Authority for excellent work.
The recent Government White Paper ‘Protecting the Public: Supporting the Police to Succeed’, strengthens the role of police authorities to make sure that people know what to expect from the police, how to make their voice heard and can shape local policing priorities.

The White Paper calls for police authorities to nominate a lead Member for each policing area, something which Cheshire Police Authority introduced back in 2005. Commenting on this, David Hanson MP said “I am greatly encouraged by the proactive work already accomplished, the achievement in Cheshire in allocating individual members to each of the areas 19 policing units, is definitely to be welcomed and encouraged. Excellent work.”

Margaret Ollerenshaw, Chairman of the Authority said, “In Cheshire, we have long believed that effective policing is built upon strong neighbourhood working and in order for the Authority to effectively hold the Chief Constable to account on behalf of the community, we need to understand their needs and concerns. Every Member holds regular meetings with their Neighbourhood Inspector to do just that.”

The White Paper also asks police authorities to ensure that public meetings are held several times a year. Margaret Ollerenshaw added, “the Authority holds ‘Have Your Say’ meetings in each policing area throughout the year at which people can come and directly question senior officers and Members. This is an important way for us to gather the views of people about policing and give people information about important issues, most importantly, people can have their say, be heard and the information they give informs our decision making”.

David Hanson MP, commenting on the requirement for senior officers and the police authority to hold regular public meetings said, “Cheshire is already meeting this requirement and I was very pleased to hear that this sort of good practice is already visible.”