A RECENTLY elected police boss has set out his vision for tackling crime and disorder across the Cleveland force area.
Conservative candidate Steve Turner, who was swept to victory in the May election, is calling on local residents to have their say on his plans before they are implement.
Some of the schemes in his draft policing plan include more police on the streets, sobriety tags to track offenders and council tax cuts for special constables, as he aims to increase numbers threefold.
The PCC has launched a public consultation survey to work out what the priorities of residents are before putting his Police and Crime Plan into action.
He said: “This is my opportunity to start making my manifesto promises to the people of Cleveland a reality.
“Residents will now get their chance to have their say on my Police and Crime Plan priorities before it is finalised this autumn.
“Once adopted, this plan will be underpinned by a robust performance framework to ensure targets are met and actions can be held up to scrutiny.”
Among the proposals to improve the use of technology to combat crime are the use of GPS and sobriety tags to track offenders and the introduction of a mobile reporting app to enable the public to submit intelligence.
The recently elected PCC's strategic plans for policing include trebling the number of special constables in Cleveland and introducing more of them into community policing.
He is also seeking a Council Tax reduction for specials, who live in the four boroughs which make up Cleveland Police area.
The plan re-iterates his commitment to re-opening Hartlepool custody suite in the town centre.
And he has pledged to continue to lobby Government for cash to set up a Violence reduction unit to tackle the area’s problems with serious violence.
Last month, the Chief Constable Richard Lewis also called for extra funding to combat a serious problem with violence in the area.
The force is faced with tackling the second highest rate of violence per capita in the country.
Mr Lewis said he is determined to access money to tackle the growing problem without focusing just on organised criminal gangs.
Public consultation on the plan, which was launched this week, enables people to become involved through an online survey, focus groups and a series of community safety roadshows over the summer months.
Consultation will close at the end of next month with a final draft of the plan being presented to members of Cleveland Police and Crime Panel at their September meeting.
To take the survey, go to www.smartsurvey.co.uk
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