Safe, resilient and connected communities
A summary of the Police and Crime Plan for Devon Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 2021–2025
A message from the PCC
Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is already one of the safest areas of the country, but violence remains one of the biggest challenges we face
My aim is to make it even safer, underpinned by the Chief Constable’s vision for a world class sustainable police force.
In 2016, I first set out my vision for Safe, Resilient, Connected communities. This Police and Crime Plan continues that journey. It is focused on the principles of prevention, partnerships and influence in order to deliver the objectives that you have told me matter to you and your community.
In this Police and Crime Plan I set out my policing and crime objectives covering my current term of office that will drive how I hold the Chief Constable to account on your behalf. It has never been more important as we recover from the challenges of the pandemic and the long-term impacts on our community to place public safety, community confidence and regeneration at the heart of our plans to protect our communities’ future.
Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are fantastic places – my goal is to ensure that the peninsula remains the envy of the rest of the country.
Alison Hernandez
Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Our key priorities
Violence
We continue to have inherent violence across our communities
Antisocial behaviour
Persistent antisocial behaviour (ASB) is a very visible sign of disorder in our communities
Drugs
Drugs can have a devastating social impact on community life and on those who are dependent upon them
Road safety
The police and the PCC will work with partners, the public and businesses to identify and resolve issues locally and to prevent crime and harm
Violence
We know that supporting families and young people affected by violence reduces the chances of those people becoming victims or perpetrators of violence later in life.
I will
- Actively tackle violence against women and girls, through Safer Streets approaches and by continuing to address the causes and consequences of domestic and sexual violence
- Break the cycle of violence by focusing our efforts on prevention and early intervention, and build on innovative support programmes like Operation Encompass and Turning Corners
- Provide high quality support to victims of violence through commissioning specialist services to help them to cope and recover, and help more victims to remain in the justice system.
- Prepare the Serious Violence Programme Partnership to support local authorities and partners to fulfil their forthcoming Serious Violence Duty through sharing accountability, data and expertise.
Antisocial behaviour
Antisocial behaviour can lead to community tensions and have a significant impact on people’s health, wellbeing and their daily quality of life.
I will
- Reclaim town centres for the general public from those undertaking ASB, and rebuild public confidence in the public realm and make our city, town and village centres more resilient to ASB.
- Ensure that victims of persistent and severe ASB in our communities are heard and know how to get help.
- Increase visible foot patrols to deter ASB in our communities.
- Work with policing and partners to deliver a robust and targeted partnership approach, using the range of powers available to all partners.
Drugs
Drugs have an adverse impact on individuals, families and businesses right across our communities and contribute to violence, crime, financial problems and homelessness.
I will
- Encourage people to report drug dealing occurring in their community to the police or Crimestoppers and make the south west a hostile environment for drug dealing.
- Hold the Chief Constable to account for the effectiveness of the police response to drug trafficking and enforcement both locally and by contributing to regional and national approaches.
- Encourage robust local partnerships to deliver the services needed to tackle drug demand and supply together through an ADDER approach (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery).
- Raise awareness of the county lines threat and support collaborative and multi-agency approaches to the sharing of intelligence and best practice.
Road Safety
While the region is one of the safest when it comes to road safety, we believe that any death or serious injury is one too many.
I will
- Encourage the trialling of new initiatives to improve road safety.
- Work with our communities to enable them to play a part in making our roads safer through schemes such as Operation Snap and Community Speedwatch.
- Play a leading role in the Vision Zero Partnership to reduce death and serious injuries on our roads.
- Work with partners to deny criminals and those intent on causing harm the use of our roads, including disrupting serious organised criminals using our road networks.
My Vision
Safe
Make our area the safest place in the country by focusing on violence, antisocial behaviour, drugs and road safety.
What are we going to do?
- Break the cycle of crime
- Reduce the opportunity for people to reoffend
- Champion community cohesion and tackle hate crime
- Maximise opportunities for visible policing across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
- Support economic recovery by giving businesses the tools to prevent crime, including cyber crime
Resilient
Give communities the tools and knowledge they need to keep themselves safe and recover from crime.
What are we going to do?
- Increase public participation with policing
- Support young people to reduce the chances of them falling victim to crime
- Support victims and witnesses, helping them to get justice
- Support the rural economy and communities through increased crime prevention
- Strengthen the sustainability of policing and criminal justice services
Connected
Build confidence through visible and accessible policing in our communities.
What are we going to do?
- Improve police visibility and increase access points to contact the police
- Develop a broad range of services to make contacting the police easier
- Reflect our communities’ needs in the way we work and thrive in diversity
- Collaborate and tackle crime in partnership
- Improve public confidence through world class local policing
How we will measure success?
So that you know how successful this Plan has been and so we can develop it throughout its life we will use the following methods to measure its success.
Safe
- ONS crime rating
- Victim based reported crime levels
- Number of neighbourhood crimes
- Recorded hate crime
- Number of police officers
Resilient
- Number of young people who are victims of crime
- Additional funding brought into Devon and Cornwall by OPCC
- Overall victim satisfaction
Connected
- Number of customer contact points open to the public
- Number of customer contacts (999, 101, online, customer contact points)
- 101 and 999 call wait times (P1 & P2)
- Number of reports to Crimestoppers
- Levels of public confidence in the police
Services for victims
Being affected by crime is a very individual experience.
Sometimes what has happened to us can be extremely harmful and traumatic, having a significant impact on our lives mentally, physically and socially. But sometimes it can be more inconvenient and frustrating. We all experience what has happened to us in different ways and there is no right or wrong way to feel.
We also understand that not all people affected by crime want to report what has happened to them to the police, but sometimes they will still want support from victim support organisations who can help them to address their needs. This is why I commission services for people who choose to report what has happened to them to police and those who do not.
You can access our victim services in the following ways:
- By calling the Victim Care Unit on 01392 475900 from 8am to 8pm on Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm at the weekend
- By chatting live with Victim Support, whether you have reported a crime or not. To access this facility, please visit the Victim Support website: www.victimsupport.org.uk
- Or by calling Victim Support free of charge on 08081 689111
For more information visit: www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/advice/victim-witnesses/victims/victim-care
When you access our victim support services this is what you can expect:
- To be treated with compassion, respect and care
- To be believed, listened to and understood
- To tell the service what you need and to have your individual needs met
- To access support for all types of crime
All of our services are free and the organisations we commission will work with you to find onward services if you need specialist support from more than one organisation.
If you have found this Plan interesting and are interested in seeing the full version you can read it here.
Last updated in 2021