30 December: Looking ahead to 2021

2020 began with the intimations of challenges to come, and went on to exceed what any of us could have expected.

It required change, flexibility, and resilience. 2021 will be different, and I expect no less challenging. But I believe we can use all we have learned this year to take a better view of the future.

1. What will continue into 2021 will be the fight for a just and SAFER society that protects the communities I serve and allows people to work to achieve their ambitions and goals. This will continue to be in a context of the continuing fight to control and overcome Covid, to stabilise our new relationships with international partners and create new opportunities for our Nation, improving our economic wellbeing.
2. What will be adapted: Our support to victims and the vulnerable will need to understand the pressures of the last year and continue to find new ways of engagement and protection so they can survive and then thrive into better futures.
3. What will change: Policing will see new pressures to adapt and change to take the fight to the criminals in an ever more complex environment. There will be more frontline officers in our communities as a result of increased tax investment. Cyber crimes and risks will need to be better understood and workforces upskilled to respond. We will embrace the learning from 2020 to create a new future workforce and working arrangements. Although remote working will become a norm, the value of physical meetings will be valued for their essential contributions to our effectiveness.

My term as Police and Crime Commissioner will come to an end in May 2021; this will see the advent of a newly elected Commissioner and the development of a new Police and Crime Plan that takes into account this changing landscape we all inhabit, identifying need and responding to new challenges in our communities. I commend to you that working together will be key to keeping all SAFER into 2021 and beyond.