Community Safety and Policing in Cornwall

Community Safety and Policing in Cornwall is a subject that small group of vocal and passionate people speak about in communities throughout Cornwall and the Country! No matter how hard Councils, the Police and the voluntary sector work and how much money we can put in, the complexity and often the sadness of some people’s lives mean they will have addictions, mental health problems and homelessness and for some they will be affected by combinations of all 3 plus other physical health problems.

If anyone wants to see a colour/ clearer version of the infographic then click the link: Connecting communities and policing Oct 2017

The hard truth is the current elected Government is on a mission to starve the public sector of funds so the Police and Councils are having to make tough decisions on what they can and cannot do when different sections of the communities have different demands and priorities. Within the Directorate I am a Cabinet Member, tough choices are whether we protect/ improve parking enforcement, cleaning the streets, cutting grass or working with partners to support vulnerable homeless people off the streets. There are also difficult decisions about what we allocate to support Libraries, Fire Services or Refuges for those fleeing domestic violence or should we switch resources to open facilities around Cornwall that will take homeless people with complex problems and who are not yet ready or able to give up the booze or drugs?

These are difficult decisions and what ever way I go someone will write to me saying I have not given enough priority to the issue they think is important in their community – or I’ll probably get several emails with several different/ conflicting priorities. Tough times, unless we change the Government and the funding we receive.

I may not think we need Police and Crime Commissioners but I will be putting that completely to one side and will work with Alison Hernandez to get the best out of our combined resources and staffing, for the benefit of the people living and visiting Cornwall.

For more information about the Community Saftey Partnership arrangements in Cornwall and how to report in anti-social behaviour, follow the link: Safer Cornwall