Christmas and New Year is always a busy time for the police in Suffolk, and this year was no exception. We were out in numbers across Suffolk to provide reassurance and to respond to incidents.

The Omicron virus has also caused us some challenges and inevitably some of our teams have been affected. We are doing our best to keep our police stations as clean and safe as possible, and when we get an outbreak in an area, we move quickly to try to prevent it from spreading across teams.

We have managed so far to maintain our policing service. The police control room has been particularly resilient with very high demand on 101 and 999 numbers. There is a lot of information available on our website now, including reporting many kinds of crime or incident, so please look there for information before calling us.

Alongside recruitment and training of new police officers in December, we have also welcomed 12 new control room staff to take calls from the public and get help to people. I think the public are getting used to seeing police officers in uniform while wearing masks now.

In some circumstances, like crowded places, they may even be wearing protective aprons and goggles. So if you see your police officers out in Suffolk, please don’t be put off approaching them, but please respect maintaining a distance to keep yourself and them safe. I know it goes a long way when people thank them for what they are doing.

Neighbourhood Policing Week

The Neighbourhood Policing Week of Action commenced on Monday and runs through to January 23. This is the first time such a week of action has been developed to recognise and celebrate the vital work of all our Neighbourhood Police Officers, Specials and Volunteers.

Neighbourhood policing is about local officers and police staff connecting and engaging with the people and communities of Suffolk. It is about listening to the needs of our communities and working with them and our partners to effectively reduce crime and also the fear of crime, as well as bringing about long-term community-based improvements through sustained problem-solving.

We regularly promote the activities undertaken by our officers and PCSOs through our policing magazine “Constables County” (www.suffolk.police.uk/your-area/snt-newsletters-december-2021) The neighbourhood week of action is here to recognise and raise awareness of their great work.

Where council tax rise for policing would be spent

A major improvement to the contact and control service is at the heart of the Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposals this year as he asks the public to support an increase in the policing element of the council tax of 19p a week, based on a Band D property, for the next financial year.

The Home Office has given PCCs the ability to raise the policing element of the precept by up to £10 per annum for a Band D property and a survey to gauge the public response to the PCC’s proposal is currently live. I would encourage you to complete this survey which can be found on the PCC’s website, www.suffolk-pcc.gov.uk.

If the plans go ahead, this extra funding will make it easier and quicker for you to contact us by improving the 101 call service and provide digital opportunities for multi-channel contact and additional capacity to effectively manage threat, harm and risk.

It will also enable the constabulary to invest in technology to be more efficient and effective and raise service standards.

At a time when demands on policing are growing exponentially it is essential that the Contact and Control Room is properly resourced and equipped to deliver a high-quality service and ensure Suffolk continues to be a safe place in which to live, work, travel and invest. The importance of the Contact & Control Room (CCR) cannot be overstated as it performs a crucial service for the public and the constabulary.

As a result of additional funding through last year’s precept, a significant amount of work has taken place with the implementation of a number of crucial roles into the constabulary.

This investment has enabled resources dedicated to working with partners across education settings in protecting and safeguarding vulnerable children, has seen an increase in detective officers countywide, and provided two further proactive policing teams addressing and dealing with community-based issues.

Extra funding has also made it possible to introduce some additional resources within the CCR. Work continues into 2022 to attract and recruit specialist posts focussing on income generation, investment in environmental and biodiversity, as well as business crime and fraud prevention.

Fantastic officers recognised

Finally, a couple of proud moments I would like to share with you. I was delighted to attend the Federation Police Bravery Awards in London in December with PC Chris Clark who was nominated following an incident where he dealt with a violent male who was threatening to run into traffic on a major road in Suffolk.

And congratulations to Special Superintendent Paul Booker on his British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours List for voluntary service to policing. Paul, who has volunteered for the constabulary for more than 30 years, is a proven leader and consistently manages to work a staggering average of 70 voluntary hours per month, despite having a full-time role with the MOD Police. This recognition for Paul’s outstanding work is thoroughly deserved.