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| Donna Jones Election Promises from May 2021 |
"I have not seen a dip in trust & confidence of local officers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary" says Donna Jones, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)
"People sort things out for themselves around here." said two police officers, outside a Southampton Police Station.
Elected to Represent The Public - But Has She?
Do you agree with Ms Jones? We would say that it is unlikely.
The PCC is there to represent the public. Well, that's the theory anyway.
But is Ms Jones representing you? Has she kept her promises from before she was elected as the Conservative Candidate?
Policing Before, During and After the Pandemic
What we have picked up from the public over many years of listening to them is that they feel let down by the Police. People feel that when they needed the Police, that they were not there.
Many of the words that were used by the public in relation to the performance of the Police are not repeatable without asterisks. And trust us - we know, because we spent a lot of time listening to them.
The most shocking thing we ever heard though was from a pair of Southampton Police Community Support Officers, literally outside a Police Station in Southampton. We told them what people thought of the Police from our doorstep conversations and from public meetings:
"People sort things out for themselves around here." the PCSOs said.
Yes, really. Are you surprised? Are you disappointed?
That was before the Pandemic.
The negative perceptions of the Police got worse during and after the Pandemic.
And since then, the public feel that they cannot even trust the Police. Worse than that, some people feel that the Police themselves are a danger to the public, with many high-profile examples - and not just in the Metropolitan Police as claimed by Ms Jones in her response, which you can see below.
Would you agree with those other members of the public and their concerns over the Police?
Holding Elected Representatives To Account
So Southampton Independents stands up for residents and so we submitted questions to Ms Jones, having listened to the concerns of the public and following the recent revelations in Ms Jones' own report to the Police and Crime Panel.
Not Just One Bad Apple...
It was revealed in Ms Jones' report to the Panel over the investigations into Police officers, based on the figures from Hampshire Constabulary:
"23 Police Officers were currently under investigation, facing allegations of sexual impropriety and/or domestic abuse were suspended on full pay from the Constabulary."
The Panel, which mainly consists of Westminster party-based councillors, is supposed to hold the PCC to account, outside of elections. Well, that's the theory. Have you even heard of the Police and Crime Panel? We doubt it.
Some people have tried to suggest that it is just "one bad apple". That is not the case, simply from the above but it is added to by the following concerning facts.
We already knew about the misconduct hearings published by Hampshire Constabulary on their website. Did you know about these? These are only the ones who have been caught. How many more are there? The suggestion by Ms Jones that it is just the Metropolitan Police is misinformation and misdirection.
And the lack of trust in the Police is even more concerning when Hampshire Local Democracy Reporter Natalie Ferero reported recently that:
"Nearly all formal allegations against Hampshire Constabulary officers resulted in no misconduct action last year. Of the 1,938 allegations made and considered formally, 1,867 (96 per cent) resulted in no action being required against the police officers involved."
So you can see that is not just "one bad apple". This is not to say that there are not good officers. There are. But trust is undermined when there are high numbers of high profile cases when trust was already low before the Pandemic. And the numbers are too high, surely?
PCC Does Not Answer Most of Our Questions
Ms Jones failed to answer most of our questions on behalf of the public, preferring to throw the questions over the fence to Hampshire Constabulary. The full questions and answers (and non-answers) written by former Southampton councillor and now NCTJ-trained journalist Andrew Pope, via Southampton Independents, are below.
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| Former Southampton Councillor Andrew Pope |
Is Donna Jones Making Hampshire Safer?
Ms Jones was elected in May 2021 to the role of PCC. Her election promises (see image above taken from her own campaign website) were made under the headline "My Plan to make Hampshire & IOW Safer" and were:
- 600 more police on the beat
- An open and accountable force
- Use new technology to combat rural crime
- Community contact points throughout the county
- Crack down on knife crime
- Stop crime before it happens
Do you think that Ms Jones has kept her promises?
What do you think of the Police?
Do you think trust in the Police has gone down, up or stayed the same?
Get in touch to let us know your views - contact details are here.
Questions to Donna Jones from Southampton Independents
"1. How can the public trust Hampshire Police, and give consent to the Police, when so many Police themselves clearly cannot be trusted?
I believe police officers can & should be trusted and we have thousands of police officers & staff who uphold the highest of standards. Trust & confidence in the MET police has been damaged following recent high profile national cases concerning the conduct of police officers, however I have not seen a dip in trust & confidence of local officers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary.
2. What have you done to regain trust of the public in the Police and what evidence do you have that your measures have actually increased trust?
I haven’t seen a need to regain trust as there hasn’t been a decline in trust & confidence in the police force here in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
3. Why is the number of officers under investigation so high?
Please contact Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary for this information in relation to their staff.
4. How many officers have been formally disciplined since you became PCC? And why?
Please contact Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary for this information in relation to their staff.
5. How many officers have been dismissed since you became PCC? And why?
Please contact Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary for this information in relation to their staff.
6. Why and how is it that 96% of allegations resulted in no action, as reported by Ms Ferero?
Please contact Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary for this information in relation to their staff."
