May 2023

Well, since my March newsletter we've had a new Chief Constable sworn in locally and a new monarch crowned....change at home and further afield.

I was delighted to see Vanessa take up her post here as Chief Constable. She brings a wealth of policing experience to the region and shares my vision for the need to proactively get into our communities and fight crime. The new Chief recently sat down with the media following her first month in post to talk all things policing & priorities, you can read more here.

It's been another busy month for my office - we've launched a new training programme to challenge unwanted behaviours experienced by women & girls, seen and heard the positive impact Operation Payback is making locally, discussed how we build on the work that has contributed to a 16% fall in anti-social behaviour, and lots more.

To keep up to date with the day to day work of my office & the force, be sure to follow my social channels (links at the bottom) - you can reach out to me here at any time as well.

Take care,

Kim

Kim McGuinness
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner

With new Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine.

IMPROVING LIVES

ACTIVE BYSTANDER TRAINING LAUNCHED

We can all play our part in tackling and addressing harassment and violence towards women and girls, but often people don't know how best to do this.

To overcome this, and help call out these unwanted behaviours, I've launched an Active Bystander training programme that will upskill and empower attendees to intervene and prevent this occurring.

Nationally, 71% of women have experienced harassment in public spaces and that is absolutely not acceptable.

The response and feedback to this programme has been fantastic, and I'm delighted to have the backing of some wonderful local organisations, like the Foundation of Light, who really care about helping create positive change.

Read more HERE.

PREVENTING CRIME

PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH OPERATION PAYBACK

I had the pleasure of getting to visit 3 fantastic local organisations that are benefiting from Operation Payback funding over the last month:

1. Gallery Youth Project in Alnwick who are using the funds to tackle rural ASB and educate about substance misuse.

2. Out There Adventures which sees young people at risk of falling into crime given opportunities to take part in woodland activities and outdoor learning.

3. Stepney Bank Stables who are delivering a peer to peer support service and preventing ASB locally....they also got the fab chance to visit the force mounted section!

FIGHTING CRIME

HOW WE ARE FIGHTING KNIFE CRIME ACROSS NORTHUMBRIA

One knife incident is one too many, and I am absolutely committed to making sure that no other family has to experience the pain and heartbreak of losing a son, daughter, or loved one.

It's important that we have an open and honest conversation about this, so myself and Chief Superintendent Helena Barron joined The Chronicle for a live Q&A about all things policing and crime, with a particular focus on how we are tackling knife crime.

You can rewatch the chat here, and if you have any questions that you'd like answered, please just reply to this email.

£200,000 SEIZED & GOING TO PAYBACK

An excellent return for the month of March by the force - £200,000 worth of criminal cash has been ruled to be the proceeds of fraud, money-laundering and drugs offences.

We’ll be looking at reinvesting some of this money through my Operation Payback fund soon to help improve lives here in the North East.

HOW WE ARE PREVENTING ASB

There is a lot of work being done to ensure our communities, public transport and public places are free from anti-social behaviour.

As a result of this hard work we've seen a 16% fall in ASB and have plans already in place to ensure this remains during the summer holidays.

Watch here.

Keep in touch...

E: enquiries@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk
T: 0191 221 9800
W: www.northumbria-pcc.gov.uk

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