Training with Surrey's "fantastic" Search and Rescue volunteers |
In Surrey, a team of specially-trained volunteers - and their dogs - are on call 24/7 to search for some of the county's most vulnerable residents.
Surrey Search and Rescue, a team of around 80 members of the public, are trained to scour a range of terrain for missing or lost people.
Volunteers can then give first aid to those in need before evacuating them to safety.
The organisation, which is wholly funded through donations, supports emergency services including Surrey Police.
Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend and Deputy Commissioner Ellie Vesey-Thompson recently joined the team for a training exercise near Guildford.
Lisa said: "Seeing the team in action has been fantastic, and although we’ve had just a brief glimpse of the challenges they face, it’s so impressive to see their professionalism and dedication.”
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Six days without a report: How police are tackling offending in Woking |
No report of crime was made in Woking town centre for six full days over the summer as police use data to target criminality.
The work, part of Surrey's Safer Summer Streets campaign, has seen officers in the town deploy to areas where offending is proportionately more common.
Last month, Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson visited Woking to meet with Commissioner Lisa Townsend and Borough Commander Inspector Ed Lyons for a summit on the scheme's success.
Police have worked with key partners, including the borough council, local retailers and the Peacocks Centre, to tackle key issues.
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As part of their efforts, retail crime across the eight Co-op stores in Woking borough has reduced by 60 per cent.
The Commissioner said: “Police in the town used data and intelligence to pinpoint the areas where criminality was proportionately more common. Their aim is not just to respond to offending, but to stop it taking place altogether.
"This problem-solving work is back-to-basics policing at its finest, which is a priority in my Police and Crime Plan."
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Inside the nerve hub where security staff track Surrey shoplifters |
Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend has visited the high-tech CCTV centre where security staff track Surrey shoplifters.
During the summer, Lisa travelled to the Boots hub in Nottinghamshire to learn more about the company's efforts to tackle retail crime.
Earlier this year, 22-year-old John Ward, of Ashford, was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting shoplifting items worth more than £60,000.
Goods were stolen from Boots, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Co-op stores in Surrey, Thames Valley, Kent, London, Cleveland, Cheshire and Durham.
Surrey Police arrested Ward after the Boots intelligence hub reported 19 connected incidents to the Force.
In Surrey, 30 of the 36 Boots stores have reported an incident into Auror over the past 18 months. The top stores to report are in Walton-on-Thames and Farnham.
Lisa said: "The tireless work of staff at the CCTV Monitoring Centre is helping our officers to secure convictions and drive offenders out of our high streets."
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September 4 - Police and Crime Panel
September 15 - Surrey Rural Crime Forum at Busbridge Village Hall
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September 23 - Surrey Youth Commission's Big Conversation Conference
September 30 - PCC's monthly surgery
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Deputy to host inaugural rural crime forum |
Surrey's Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner is inviting those who live and work in the Surrey countryside to her new Rural Crime Forum.
Ellie Vesey-Thompson, who holds the remit of rural crime in her portfolio and is on the board of the National Rural Crime Network, said it's "crucial" that countryside communities are heard.
The event will take place at Busbridge Village Hall in Waverley on September 15.
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During the evening, members of the public will be able to ask questions about issues of concern to Surrey Police's Rural Crime Team, as well as Force leads.
Ellie said that while more needs to be done to tackle rural crime in the county, she hopes the forum will reassure residents that the issue is taken seriously and all reports matter to the Force.
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Police crack down on organised crime |
Work to tackle serious organised crime and prevent fraud has taken place across Surrey during the summer.
Deputy Commissioner Ellie Vesey-Thompson joined police officers and key partners in Farnham to speak to residents.
Meanwhile, roads policing teams launched an operation to check commercial vehicles and the waste carriage industry.
Across the three locations, 96 vehicles were stopped, with 10 vehicles being seized and seven arrests made for drug driving.
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"We're under significant financial pressure" |
Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner has welcomed news that police officers will receive a 4.2 per cent increase to pay.
But Lisa Townsend urged the Government to commit to future funding for the pay rise - and warned taxpayers could otherwise face larger bills.
Many police forces, including Surrey, had budgeted for a 2.8 per cent increase in police officer wages for this year, and the Government has said it will provide an additional £120million grant nationally to meet the additional cost.
There is no confirmation yet if that grant will continue to be made to forces in future years.
In Surrey, the cost of the additional pay rise, if it was not funded by the Government, would equate to an extra £6 on the precept, the part of council tax that goes towards policing in the county.
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