Ask your questions about Merseyside Police’s work to fight crime and deliver proactive policing

Merseyside’s Police Commissioner is inviting people to submit their questions about the force’s work to fight crime and deliver proactive policing ahead of her next public Scrutiny Meeting.

Emily Spurrell is responsible for holding the Chief Constable, Serena Kennedy, to account for delivering on her policing and community safety priorities and maintaining an efficient and effective police service in Merseyside.

One of the ways the Police Commissioner undertakes this crucial role is through quarterly public Scrutiny Meetings, which include questions submitted by the public which then she then puts to the Chief Constable and her Chief Officer team.

The meeting, which will be held at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority chamber in Mann Island, will be live-streamed at 1.30pm on Tuesday 29th March to enable everyone to watch and hear the responses to their questions. It’s also recorded and published on the Commissioner’s website for people to watch later.

This meeting will focus on Pillar 1 of the PCC's Police and Crime Plan - Fighting Crime; Proactive Policing. It will cover the force’s performance on crucial issues, including how the force works to prevent and tackle serious and organised crime, as well as business crime and fraud and cyber crime. It will also examine the way Merseyside Police delivers visible and accessible local policing, tackles acquisitive crime such as burglary and robbery and works to improve road safety.

The meeting will provide Chief Officers with the opportunity to give the Commissioner a detailed account of the force’s progress into how they address these issues, work to bring perpetrators to justice and make our communities safer.

The Commissioner’s Scrutiny Meetings enable her to work with the Chief Constable to identify if there are any areas of risk that need addressing.

Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “The first priority of my Police and Crime Plan – Fighting Crime; Proactive Policing – really focuses on the police’s core business, so this is a crucial meeting to review how Merseyside Police is progressing on some of the issues that matter most to our communities.

“It will cover how they work day-to-day to tackle incidents of violence, knife crime and drugs. This will include how the force works to tackle the criminal gangs whose activities blight our communities, their efforts to ensure our towns and centres are safe at night and keep people safe from burglary and robbery.

“It will also examine Merseyside Police’s efforts to provide a proactive response to our communities. When I consulted local people, 98% of respondents felt that a visible police presence was a priority for them, so I know how much people want to see officers on their streets, on their roads, in their communities, keeping people safe.

“Cyber crime and fraud are also areas of hugely growing demand for our police service, and I will ask the Chief to detail the work Merseyside Police is undertaking to make sure it can respond to these complex and challenging crime types.

“Improving road safety will also be a significant area of focus for this meeting. Too many people are still dying or being seriously injured on our roads. While this is not an issue the police can fix on their own, I will scrutinise Merseyside Police’s efforts to enforce the law on our roads and educate drivers on how to use them safely.

“These are all areas of huge interest to our communities so I know the public will have a lot of questions on these topics. I would encourage people to submit their questions online today so I can put them to Chief Constable at this public meeting next month.

“This meeting is an opportunity for people to have their say, get their views heard and have their questions answered directly by the Chief Constable.”

The meeting will be available to watch live at 1.30pm on 29th March 2022 at Agenda for PCC Scrutiny Meeting on Tuesday, 29th March, 2022, 1.30 pm | Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (merseytravel.gov.uk)

How to ask a question

Please submit your questions by 5pm on Friday 4th March 2022:

ASK YOUR QUESTION ONLINE HERE

Alternatively, you can submit them in writing here:

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner,
Mather Avenue Training Centre,
Mather Avenue,
Liverpool,
L18 9TG.

A selection of questions which are received by this deadline and relate to the agenda will be asked by the Police Commissioner and addressed by Chief Officers.

Please note, we cannot guarantee there will be time to answer every question submitted. Only questions relating to the agenda can be asked at this meeting. Due to the public nature of the meeting, questions about individual cases or complaints should not be submitted.

If you wish to raise a general issue, please use one of the contact methods provided here: Contact Us