NEARLY 200 people logged on to the internet to watch a public meeting held by Warwickshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) – while just 23 people attended the meeting itself.
Some 162 people watched the meeting with Ron Ball live online, while a further 22 viewed it via the PCC website later that evening.
The event, at Lawrence Sheriff School, gave local people an opportunity to ask questions about policing, and allowed Mr Ball to hold Warwickshire’s Chief Constable Andy Parker to account – the only one of 41 PCCs in England and Wales to do this in public.
Mr Ball congratulated Mr Parker on reducing the average number of crimes per day from 124 in 2006 to 77 in the last financial year.
The formal part of the meeting covered police performance, a finance report, a special agenda item on domestic abuse, and the strategic alliance between the Warwickshire and West Mercia forces – which Mr Ball described as a “groundbreaking” alliance which had helped both forces protect frontline services while saving money.
Deputy chief constable Neil Brunton said the Warwickshire force was on target to achieve savings of £12.3 million by 2016, but will have to save a further £10 million between 2016 and 2018.
Mr Brunton said further development of the alliance would help by “doing things once across two forces”.
The meeting also included a 45-minute question time, where topics included alcohol abuse, anti-social behaviour, rural policing, cyclists riding on pavements, corporate credit/debit cards, and police plans for Rugby’s rapid expansion over the coming years.
