What is the councillor advocate scheme?
The police and crime commissioner’s councillor advocate scheme aims to ensure that:
- a relationship is formed or built upon with your local policing team through the Local Sector Inspector
- consistent, accurate and honest information relating to crime, victim services and community safety is cascaded to the public
- councillors feel more equipped to inform the public about crime, victim services and policing, educate their communities about crime and support/encourage greater reporting of issues to the police and other appropriate partner organisations
- police officer time is used to its optimum by enabling the cascade of information to be efficient and without duplication
- councillors feel more informed about crime and policing in their local area
- a practical and positive route exists to enable councillors to bring overall views from their communities to the police
- the commissioner is kept informed of community views across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, so that she can effectively hold the chief constable to account for policing
- councillors have an understanding of the Commissioner’s policing priorities, as well as her role as the public’s voice for victims of crime