Northumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird has pledged it's 'business as usual' as she completes her first 12 months in office.

Mrs Baird said: “I don’t want to celebrate getting an office - I want to feel proud of the work I am doing in to keep our community safe.

“As we move to the first year of Police & Crime Commissioners, we have made tremendous progress through great partnerships between myself, the Chief Constable, community safety partnerships and the voluntary and charity sector locally. We have focussed on putting victims first, with great results, in particular for vulnerable people who are now developing the confidence to report incidents to the police.

"We are piloting what is likely to become a national leading approach on anti-social behaviour working with Sunderland Council. Our Regional Violence Against Women Strategy will be formally launched next month but we have been visited today by the Home Office Minister with this responsibility asking for access to what we are doing, so as to offer their support.

"Our 'Vulnerability Training' for doorstaff is making our towns and cities safer at night time and has become compulsory national training. We are working with local residents and organisations across the force area and our systematically conducted survey work makes clear that this is making an impact across Northumbria.

"All this has been done with a fraction of the staff that the Police Authority had and my office is £1.2m cheaper to run. This money has been re-invested in to go towards keeping our streets safer.

"Northumbria has the lowest police precept in the country, which means the force makes the smallest demand on local council tax payers of any force in England and Wales. Last year 82% of people polled were prepared to pay more per week extra for the police than was, ultimately, levied. That isn’t surprising because whatever is being counted, from public satisfaction to detection rate, Northumbria Police is always in the top two or three forces. However I am determined that we will get even better, in particular by protecting frontline policing despite this government cutting more than £50 million from our budget over the last few years.”

One of the Commissioner’s first jobs was to write a Police & Crime Plan for Northumbria Police, which focused on the issues that local residents said they wanted to see addressed.

Mrs Baird said: “The Police & Crime Plan belongs to every resident in the force area. Earlier this year I contacted over 5000 people and organisations to find out what they wanted to the priorities of Northumbria Police to be. They said they wanted to put victims first, tackle anti-social behaviour, improve community confidence, deal with domestic and sexual violence and abuse and reduce crime. I’ve actioned every one of these areas as a priority for Northumbria Police."

Police & Crime Commissioners bring the police closer to the communities that they serve. In Northumbria the public are recognising the role that Commissioner Baird plays.

In a survey conducted between April to September this year, people were asked: –

Do you agree the PCC holds NP to account?

The average positive answer per local authority was:

Sunderland 56.5% South Tyneside 53% Gateshead 56% North Tyneside 51% Newcastle 53% 49%

Mrs Baird said: “I’m working hard to meet residents and communities across the force area and I’m delighted that so many people know who I am and that I am holding Northumbria Police to account on behalf of local residents – these figures can only continue to go up.

“We often hear about crime figures and what they represent, we must keep these figures in context as my job is to also ensure that the Chief Constable and her staff deliver the priorities as set out in the Police & Crime Plan and do not fall below the standards set in her delivery plan.”

One of the biggest initiatives of the year has been the setting up of the “Vulnerability Training”. Following the rape of a 17- year-old girl in the region, the Commissioner brought together partners from the police, ambulance service, local authorities and other agencies to discuss what could be done to prevent this from happening again. After lots of work “Vulnerability Training” was set up for door staff, police, taxi drivers and other people who support the night time economy – giving our towns and cities more ears and eyes to look after people who may be vulnerable and need extra support.

The Commissioner’s training package received commendation from the and is now a compulsory component in the Security Industry Authority training package – so every person applying for an SIA licence has to undertake the “Vulnerability Training” – no matter where they live in the country.

Mrs Baird said: “This has been a massive success, but it has been down to the excellent partnership work and the determination by everyone to see the scheme succeed, and this demonstrates how Police & Crime Commissioners can bring people together and move the pace quickly to ensure changes happen.”

Vera Baird has set out five key objectives in her plan; reducing crime, tackling anti- social behaviour, dealing with domestic and sexual abuse, improving community confidence and putting victims first.

Work towards these priorities achieved in the first year include:

Reducing crime and putting victims first

Northumbria continues to have a lower crime rate than many other forces in England and Wales. Anti-social behaviour incidents have reduced by 11%, over six months. Victim satisfaction remains the highest in the country with over 91% of victims satisfied with the overall service they receive from police.

Mrs Baird added: "Crime figures are only one part of the equation. I’m determined that people will continue to feel safe in their communities, that the police respond to local issues and work with residents – the Chief Constable and I are ensuring this happens."

Tackling ASB

Northumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner firmly believes residents should not suffer in silence. A forcewide campaign, 'Report it to sort it' - tackling anti-social behaviour started this summer and is encouraging people to report incidents to the police. From speaking to residents the Commissioner became fully aware of the negative impact anti-social behaviour can have on individuals as well as a wider area.

Violence against women and girls

Vera Baird has campaigned for many years to help vulnerable victims of crime and has now set up a comprehensive strategy to tackle all types of violence against women. Working with the two other north east Police and Crime Commissioners, the strategy includes measures to deal with domestic and sexual abuse, rape and other crime of violence against women and is the culmination of a broad based consultation including work with the North East Women's Network.

Improving community confidence - holding the force to account

The Police and Crime Commissioner scrutinises the work of the force, looks to find under-performing areas and will take all necessary steps to rectify these issues. So far she has targeted the investigation of police complaints after just over half of complainants were successfully appealed to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Vera Baird read each and every one of those failed complaints and made clear recommendations for thorough review

This intervention has led to new working practices which has resulted in radically improved responses and improved customer satisfaction is now expected for the coming year.

Vera Baird added: "Over the last year I've met many hard working police officers and staff who are determined to do all they can to serve their communities and provide the best service possible. There is a great public service ethos in our force and we will make sure that if we get something wrong, we put it right with the public as quickly as possible.

"The 'And Crime' part of the role is also important and we have funded some amazing schemes run by our six community safety partnerships to bring their work into line with our Police and Crime Plan. I have worked with the community and voluntary sector too, tackling alcohol-related crime in particular.

"We have tried to initiate some cross-boundary work so that best practice on one local authority gets spread across to the others. We have started some very creative work in schools, to help pupils learn about positive relationships and how to prevent sexual violence."

Mrs Baird works with the Criminal Justice Board to improve the process for the public, including speeding the courts up and making most of the documentation digital for economy and flexibility.

The Police and Crime Commissioner added: “It has been a demanding and satisfying year and I look forward with relish to doing more with this exciting new role.”