As your Police and Crime Commissioner, I will do all that I can to ensure the right level of funding is available for the Chief Constable to deliver the ambitions of this plan and to meet the needs of future policing challenges.

This means  lobbying Government, applying for additional funds via grants and, of course, identifying efficiencies within existing budgets that can be diverted to support frontline policing activity.

This also means tapping into the wealth of support the community has for our Constabulary and harnessing this through volunteer and support opportunities within Gloucestershire’s policing family.

Improved ease of access

Of course, the public also need to have confidence that when they contact police there will be someone there to answer their call, or deal with their web enquiry. During my campaign, dissatisfaction about our 101 service was raised with me over and over again.

The service that Gloucestershire provides at the moment is simply not good enough. We are letting down the public and our hardworking staff by not investing in 101 or in maintaining contact with victims following a report of crime. I want to be sure that we are not missing vital information from victims and witnesses who may be frustrated by an inability to make and maintain contact with our Constabulary. These are, in fact, some of the fundamental principles of the Victims’ Code (more details in priority five) for which I have responsibility for holding the Chief Constable to account.

Over the period of this plan I am therefore committed to improving the policies, technology and practices relating to police contact in all its many forms so that the public can rely on our capacity, capability and the service that the Constabulary provides them.