PCC to raise knife crime and illegal use of e-scooters at accountability meeting with Chief Constable

Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards is to ask about knife crime and the illegal use of e-scooters in his next public holding to account meeting with the Chief Constable.

The Commissioner decided on the topics as they are two areas which the public have raised with him as being of particular concern. He will ask about how the Constabulary are tackling knife crime covering the current offending trends, outcome rates and proactive operations. It comes as a national ban on zombie-style knives and machetes is due to come into force later in September.

Also on the agenda is personal robbery, the Constabulary’s use of stop and search powers along with their use of force and body word video cameras.

The meeting will be streamed live for anyone to join at 1.30pm on Tuesday September 17^th and it can be watched by using this link bit.ly/HertsAPM3.

These new webinars were introduced by Mr Ash-Edwards shortly after he took office earlier this year. They allow him to scrutinise and hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of Hertfordshire Constabulary in an open and transparent way.

Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said:

“I recognise that knife crime is a problem nationally and, although violent crime is low in Hertfordshire, we are not immune from these issues. I hear from parents and young people in particular that they are concerned about this issue which can spread fear throughout our communities, alongside robbery. They rightly want to know what is being done and how effective it is. I will be discussing this with the Chief Constable.

“E-scooter use in town centres is another topic that the public regularly contact me about. The law is clear that e-scooters can’t be used on public roads or pavements so it will be an opportunity to clarify the legal position for the public and ask about what enforcement, seizures and prosecutions the police have undertaken.

“Police officers are given intrusive powers to stop and search and use force when justified to tackle crime and protect the public. My office and our volunteers do a lot of scrutiny work to ensure these tactics are used correctly and proportionality, but it is right and useful that the public hears the guidelines and policies used by the Constabulary in this area.”

The Accountability and Performance Meetings will take place at Police Headquarters in Welwyn Garden City. A recording will also be available to view on the PCC’s website along with more details and previous recordings at hertscommissioner.org/apm.

Police & Crime Commissioners have a statutory duty under the Police Reform & Social Responsibility Act to hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of policing in their area.