Keeping people safe, whether they live in a rural area like Clun or in a town like Shrewsbury, will continue to be a West Mercia Police priority, its Police & Crime Commissioner has assured.
PCC John Campion has spoken about his ‘Safer West Mercia Plan’, which he launched in 2021 during a visit to Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club. “Care is at the heart of policing” he told Rotarians and guests at a larger than normal meeting.
“The first part of my plan is putting victims first. There amazing acts of compassion. Care is at the heart of policing and I want to make sure that the right police support is there.” He said more and more money had been spent on victim services. “We can do more of what we are doing now though Shropshire is a tough job. Out in Clun things are a long way apart so having a system to keep safe is a really difficult job. Responding to emergencies in 20 minutes is tough in West Mercia, but its non-negotiable. It is important to see rural communities get the benefit of policing – being kept safe is essential. It is about reform and being efficient.”
He told Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club that over 50% of the budget was spent on officer pay and overtime as well as investing heavily in keeping ahead of technology. “There is more to do,” he added.
Clun still needed a local policing presence as the community wanted to be kept safe and to feel safe. It was ‘harrowing’ when families felt unsafe. “Here in Shrewsbury we are trying to make our public places more safe for our community. It is 2023 and half the population of females do not feel safe and this has been allowed to go on for too long. We are working with councils to make sure we remain safe. Not everybody feels safe and my mission is to address that – feeling safe is vitally important. We have two and a half thousand police officers and the acts of heroism don’t make it to the headlines. The amazing acts of compassion, bravery and selflessness are incredible, making me incredibly proud. I want West Merica to benefit from volunteering, but the caveat is it should never take over from something that should be paid for. I want to be part of a society which is compassionate to get the right support to be a happy member of society and I don’t think we have always been good at that and haven’t always supported society in doing that. I want behaviour to be challenged.”
Amongst a wide range of subjects, the PCC responded to how the police were tackling – and getting on top of – County Lines; addiction in Shrewsbury and how a big chunk of government money is targeting addiction in homeless people.
Mental health was one of the ‘scandals’ in society which society didn’t care enough about. But the police hadn’t got the resources to deal with mental health, despite spending hours doing it.
“I don’t want West Mercia police officers to be mental health experts.”
The PCC afterwards said he would like to thank the members of the Shrewsbury Rotary Club for the invitation to the meeting where he was pleased to meet so many members of the Rotary club and talk about the work being done to keep the residents of Shrewsbury safe.
Three prospective Rotarians attended the meeting and anyone interested in finding out more about Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club can contact gdmw@hotmail.co.uk
