Police Community Forums did not deliver value for money

POLICE AND PARTNERS COMMUNITY FORUMS were set up as the main public consultation forums dealing with crime and community safety in the East Riding. However, regular low attendance and lack of interest from local communities has prompted a review of the Forums by the Humberside Police Authority which has concluded that they do not deliver value for money and more effective use of resources have to be found.

Those attending the Forums in the South West Holderness area will have experienced the low turnout of the public at meetings where attendance from paid staff, police and other public services, would nearly always outnumber local people.

Victoria Wise from the Humberside Police Authority told the Hedon Blog that the Authority was not withdrawing from public meetings completely but just had to be smarter in the way in which they held meetings and build upon the existing work of Neighbourhood Policing Teams:

"Regular low attendance and lack of interest from the wider community, coupled with greater involvement of local police in the community, prompted a review of the process which showed that they did not deliver value for money and were, to some extent, duplicating the efforts of Neighbourhood Policing Teams who regularly hold police surgeries and attend public/community meetings to discuss policing issues with the wider community."

The purpose of the forums was to allow the police and its partners, including the

public, to concentrate their efforts on identifying the main crime, disorder or community safety concerns in each area and identify a way of solving the local problems. The Humberside Police Authority is now looking at ways to achieve the same objectives by other means and will announce these in the next Local Policing Summary to be circulated this month.

See also Community activists urged to join fight against crime on the Hedon Blog.