Police and Crime Commissioner: Two Years On

Dan Bean: What have you achieved in the role since 2012?

Julia Mulligan: Supporting vulnerable people is my number one priority, so I was very pleased earlier this year to announce support for up to 570 extra victims of domestic and sexual violence. In the same vein, York now benefits from a Section 136 Place of Safety which it didn’t have this time last year.

People detained under the Mental Health Act can now get the medical care they need rather than being locked in police custody.

North Yorkshire was the last place in the country without any places of safety at all when I started this job, we now have three.

In terms of frontline policing, one of the first things I did was reverse the old police authority’s decision to reduce officer numbers. Instead, this financial year we have recruited 100 officers. I am also investing £10 million in technology which means the officers can start spending more time on the street in communities rather than behind desks in stations.

DB: How has public attitude to the PCC changed since the low turn-outs for the election?

JM: The focus shouldn’t be on turn-out or recognition. For the first time the public have someone completely accountable to them for local policing. Whether it be in May 2016, or mid-term like in South Yorkshire, the public now have the power to remove their local commissioners. This is the single best way to make sure the public’s policing priorities for the local area are reflected on the ground.

DB: Our readers have asked how, as an independent overseer of North Yorkshire Police, the office of the PCC can share so many resources and remain truly independent. How would you address their concerns?

JM: Commissioners across the country share services with their local police services, and it makes financial sense to do so. Two separate finance or IT teams, for example, would be very costly and come without any tangible benefit to the public. It also isn’t true to say independence comes from resources staying separate. I hold the Chief Constable to account in a number of different ways, none of which are hampered by sharing some resources.

DB: This year, North Yorkshire Police has referred itself to the IPCC twice over child sexual exploitation matters, which remains high on the PCC Plan and NYP’s agenda. Have mistakes been made in the past over the handling of intelligence, and how do you think the force can learn from these?

JM: My focus is always on the victims. The investment in support services provided to victims of domestic and sexual abuse I mentioned above is crucial in building confidence and, without that, the police won’t be able to encourage more victims to come forward.

Referring the force voluntarily to the IPCC, so they can take whatever action they felt appropriate, was the right thing to do. It is now up to the IPCC to find out whether mistakes were made or not, and if there were, I expect the police to learn from them.

Following concerns raised elsewhere in the country, I asked for a one-off Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) health check. The report is now on my website and the public should be reassured that North Yorkshire Police are equipped to deal with the growing problem of CSE.

My focus now will be to raise potential gaps in education where I feel there is more we can do to prepare children for the dangers of sexual exploitation.

DB: Concerns over how crime is reported have been raised again this week. How do you see that changing?

JM: We now live in a convenience culture and we need to make it as easy as possible for people to report crime.

There are lots of complaints about the 101 system, and I have asked the police to do more to understand the concerns. Other forces have implemented online reporting systems and we are assessing the feasibility of those at the moment.

The real key is to make sure that whatever information the police receive is acted upon where appropriate, and if there is a victim of crime, then that person gets the right support and information. That is the only way we can get the chronically under-recorded crimes like rural crime, hate crime and domestic abuse to be reported more often.

DB: Considering budget cuts, how long can the pledge yourself and Chief Constable Dave Jones made to maintain the number of frontline officers last?

JM: Overturning the old police authority’s decision to reduce officer numbers was the right thing to do, but maintaining that number of officers and PCSOs can only be determined when future government funding is announced. I know visible, local policing is a priority for the public, which is why I am investing so heavily in technology, allowing officers and PCSOs to spend more time out on the beat in their communities.

DB: What is planned for 2015, and what message would you like to pass on to the public?

JM: It is clear the public want my focus to be on protecting the most vulnerable people in society. With that in mind, I hope to be able to open a Victims Hub – a one-stop shop for victims of crime, somewhere victims can talk to the same person, find out about their case and be told where they can get more specialist support.

Keeping North Yorkshire as one of the top three safest counties in England is the main goal. The £10m investment in technology will form a major part of that work and will continue well into 2015 and beyond. Last month I fulfilled a manifesto commitment by upgrading the police’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras with a £1m investment. This will protect our borders from the 25 per cent of crimes committed by people coming from outside North Yorkshire for years. to come, and the benefits will start to be seen next year.