Ask your questions about Merseyside Police’s work to prevent crime
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner is inviting people to submit their questions about the force’s work to prevent crime and stop vulnerable people being drawn into the criminal justice system 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 she then puts to the Chief Constable and her Chief Officer team.
The meeting will be live-streamed at 1.30pm on Thursday 16th June to enable everyone to watch and hear the responses to their questions. It’s also recorded and published on the Commissioner’s website to watch later.
This meeting will focus on Pillar 3 of the PCC's Police and Crime Plan – Driving Change; Prevent Offending. It will cover Merseyside Police performance on crucial issues, including the force’s ‘preventative model of policing’ which aims to intervene early to stop crime, particularly by getting upstream to stop young people getting drawn into criminal or anti-social behaviour.
It will also cover Merseyside Police efforts to prevent those who are vulnerable, including those in mental health crisis or have substance misuse issues, being unnecessarily criminalised.
It will examine the outcomes for those arrested, how individuals are treated when they are in custody and referrals to support services, such as mental health support and drug and alcohol treatment to try and prevent people from reoffending.
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 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 third priority of my Police and Crime Plan – Driving Change: Prevent Offending – really focuses on the work Merseyside Police are doing to stop crime and ensure the best interventions are in place for vulnerable people who come into contact with the police to prevent them from getting drawn into the criminal justice system.
“The best way to keep our communities safe is by preventing crime from happening in the first place. This Scrutiny Meeting will really examine the work the force is doing to help divert people from getting involved with crime, particularly young people.
“We also know Merseyside Police experiences a high demand of incidents involving vulnerable people in mental health crisis, and those who have substance misuse issues. This is a nationwide problem and impacts on the availability of police resources.
“We need to develop new ways to address this; we don’t want to see individuals being criminalised and becoming lost in the revolving doors of our criminal justice system because there have been missed opportunities to support them at an earlier stage.
“These are all areas that I know matter to our communities, so I hope 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.”
How to ask a question
Please submit your questions by 5pm on Wednesday 8th June 2022
Alternatively, you can submit your question in writing to:
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.