Listening to What You Tell Us

"It's hard to believe that nearly a year has gone by since I took up office but we have covered a lot of ground in that time.

I have now officially launched my police and crime plan for Gwent which provides the strategic direction for how policing and crime services should be delivered over the next four years. You can access the full plan on my website by following this link http://bit.ly/GwentPCCPlan

Taking action to prevent and reduce crime by working with partner organisations and communities is one of the five priorities in the plan. It's vital that we listen to our communities and nowhere was this better demonstrated than during the two stages of Operation Jewels in Newport, the largest drugs operation in the history of Gwent Police. The recent raids which aimed to seriously disrupt the supply and distribution of illegal drugs would not have been possible without the invaluable information we received from the community. I hope this operation provides reassurance to the public that we are listening to what they are telling us and that we are positively acting on that information.

Modern Slavery is another area where intelligence provided by the community and our partners is vital if we are to effectively tackle and eradicate this heinous crime. I was delighted to host a seminar in Newport last month to discuss how employers and their suppliers can work even closer with the police and key partners to prevent people from being exploited as modern-day slaves. The turnout was fantastic and a number of pertinent issues were raised. I am committed to continuing and driving forward this good work with our communities and partners both locally and nationally.

I am committed to giving people opportunities to have a greater say in how policing services are provided for them and to become actively involved in decision making which relates to their local service provision. The best way to find out how the public feel about policing and crime is to go out there and meet them face to face. This is why I hold regular meetings with town, community and local councils. I also host a number of public surgeries throughout Gwent which provide residents with a golden opportunity to raise concerns that affect them directly.

I have spoken to numerous traders and shoppers throughout Gwent on community walkabouts to find out what issues are affecting them. It's important to build and maintain communication and cohesion with all communities in Gwent so that people feel confident that we understand their varied needs. I discuss my findings from walkabouts with key partners, such as the Council, to see how we can help to improve matters collectively.

The world of policing could look very different in four or five years' time and we need to be flexible enough to adapt to those changes. We will have to wait and see what the implications are for policing and wellbeing following the General Election.

If you have any police and crime issues you would like to discuss with my office, you can email them to commissioner@gwent.pnn.police.uk or call my office on 01633 642 200."