Police and Crime Plan by Emily Spurell (2021-2025)

Question 1

When was Merseyside Police founded?

Answer 1

1974, serving a population of around 1.5 million people

Question 2

Merseyside Police and Crime Plan was founded by who, in what year?

Answer 2

Emily Spurrell, the commissioner, in October 2021

Question 3

What years are the Merseyside Police and Crime Plan focused on?

Answer 3

2021-2025

Question 4

What are the 3 main priority areas of the Merseyside Police and Crime Plan?

Answer 4

Pillar 1. Fighting Crime; Proactive Policing
Pillar 2. Supporting Victims; Safer Communities
Pillar 3. Driving Change; Prevent Offending

Question 5

Pillar 1: Ethos of neighbourhood policing

Answer 5

Merseyside Police was one of the first policing areas
in the country to implement what was then the ethos
of neighbourhood policing, building on this further by ensuring locals can assist local policing, breaking down the barriers between the public and the police

Question 6

Pillar 1: How to deliver an accessible service

Answer 6

1. Reducing ‘acquisitive crime’
   Acquisitive crime refers to those offences where the
   perpetrator gains material goods from their crimes –
   burglary, robbery and theft
2. By ensuring its stations and
   building (or ‘estate’), as well as its vehicles, are fit to
   serve you and fight crime, now and in the future
3. Improving road safety, e.g. by working alongside the Liverpool City Region partners, to adopt the Vision Zero
   approach, which views human life and health as paramount to all else and should be the first and foremost consideration
   when designing a road network

Question 7

Key facts: how many PCSOS and police officers

Answer 7

3,974 police officers and PCSOS

Question 8

Key facts: how many police staff

Answer 8

2,487 police staff

Question 9

Key facts: how many police volunteers

Answer 9

177 police volunteers

Question 10

Key facts: how many special constables

Answer 10

160 Special Constables

Question 11

Key facts: Information from time of pandemic, how many calls a day

Answer 11

1,795 calls a day*

Question 12

Key facts: Information from time of pandemic, how many incidents per day, 182 of which were emergencies

Answer 12

1,005 incidents per day 182 of which
are emergencies*

Question 13

Key facts: Information from time of pandemic, how many arrests per day

Answer 13

69 arrests per day*

Question 14

Key facts: Information from time of pandemic, how many requests via police website

Answer 14

100 requests via the police website*

Question 15

Pillar 1: What they want to improve and work on:

Answer 15

Serious violence and knife crime

Child exploitation and County Lines

Retail and business crime

Cyber crime and fraud

Responding to national and regional threats:
These are:
1. Terrorism;
2. SOC (including both cyber-dependent and
cyber-enabled crime plus online child sexual
exploitation);
3. A national cyber security incident;
4. Threats to public order or public safety that
cannot be managed by a single police force
acting alone;
5. Civil emergencies that require an aggregated
response across police service boundaries;
6. Child sex abuse is a threat of national importance
that requires a cohesive and consistent national
effort to ensure police and partners can
safeguard children from harm

Question 16

Pillar 2: Supporting victims stats

Answer 16

98.9% People felt giving victims the best possible care should be
a priority

96.9% People felt ending Violence against Women and Girls should
be a priority

96.9% People felt ending Violence against Women and Girls should
be a priority

90.9% People felt stopping Modern Slavery should be a priority

Question 17

Pillar 2: SUPPORTING VICTIMS: Violence against women and girls, what Emily Spurrell wants to be done

Answer 17

Her aim is to ensure that Violence Against Women
and Girls (VAWG) is not tolerated within Merseyside
communities and we make a difference for women
across our region.

A crucial part of this work will be building a greater
understanding of the public sexual harassment and
misogyny which women face each and every day and
taking steps to tackle it.

Already carried out an extensive consultation
seeking the views of women about their feelings of
safety. More than 1,500 women replied, providing
more than 26,000 answers. These are currently
being analysed and will help to inform this work going
forward.

Question 18

Pillar 2: SUPPORTING VICTIMS, goals

Answer 18

Set up a Victims’ Panel to ensure we listen
to the voices of victims and survivors, take their feedback on board and put them at the heart of our system.

Lobby Government to include domestic abuse within its definition of serious violence and that public sexual harassment is made a criminal offence.

Carry out a full review of Victim Care Merseyside to ensure victims are able to access support services as easily as possible and that the support they receive is of the highest quality.

Question 19

Pillar 2: Safer Communities, Anti-Social Behaviour

Answer 19

ASB is often wrongly viewed as ‘low-level’, but for victims who are
repeatedly and persistently targeted it can have a
hugely damaging effect, leaving people too scared to
leave their front door and even afraid while they are
inside their own home. It causes fear, stress, anxiety,
depression.

Merseyside continue to expand their knowledge
and understanding of the factors that cause ASB.
A collaborative and supportive approach with partner
agencies is required to reduce repeat victimisation,
protect and support victims, and disrupt and
prosecute offenders.

Question 20

Pillar 2: Safer Communities, Nuisance Bikes and Scooters

Answer 20

Major concern, noisy, intimating and dangerous

Their use has already been reduced but continue to reduce this more

Question 21

Pillar 2: Safer Communities, Modern Slavery

Answer 21

Abolished over 200 years ago but still happening in Merseyside, Merseyside Police employs National Modern Slavery
trainers that run operations with partner agencies
and first responders

Question 22

Pillar 2: Safer Communities, Community engagement

Answer 22

Merseyside Police wants more members of the public are involved in the day-today policing process through its Citizens in Policing
programme. This includes public-spirited individuals
volunteering to be Special Constables, cadetsand safer schools partnership officers.

There are
also more than 100 volunteers who perform roles supporting departments across the workforce.

More than 320 children are also now engaged in
Merseyside Police’s Mini Police scheme which aims to
get primary school children, aged nine to 11, engaged
with the police and their communities through
voluntary activities.

Question 23

Pillar 3: Driving change, stats

Answer 23

97% People felt
preventing young
people from being
drawn into crime should
be a priority

96.5% People felt we
should prioritise crime
prevention initiatives

94.3% People felt
reducing the impact of
drugs and alcohol

91.6% People felt there
should a focus on
mental health

Question 24

Pillar 3: Driving change, Early Intervention and Prevention

Answer 24

By intervening early and tackling the underlying
factors that can drive people into criminality, we can
forge stronger, safer communities.

Doing this by: Part of this work will be supporting the efforts
of Merseyside’s Violence Reduction Partnership
(MVRP), Merseyside Police’s school liaison officers
and many of our fantastic community and voluntary
organisations

Question 25

Pillar 3: Driving change, Mental Health

Answer 25

Merseyside Police experiences a high demand of incidents involving vulnerable individuals in mental health crisis. Developing new ways to address this. Early intervention is key, triage cars with mental health professionals has already made a difference instead of taking them into police custody

Question 26

Pillar 3: Driving change, Substance misuse

Answer 26

She says we must support those with addictions, helping people to
tackle the underlying issues which may drive them to
becoming involved in crime and cutting off the supply
network for the criminal gangs who seek to exploit
them.

Question 27

Pillar 3: Preventing Offending, stats

Answer 27

98.6% People felt a fair and effective criminal system should be a priority

Question 28

Pillar 3: Preventing Offending, diverting female offenders

Answer 28

Women tend to receive shorter prison sentence for lower level offences than men, it can be detrimental, e.g. women losing their homes or custody of children. Community intervention can be a more effective way to rehabilitate women who commit non-violent offences

Question 29

Pillar 3: Preventing Offending, Appropriate Adults

Answer 29

Many people in this situation have mental illness or vulnerability so are unable to make their own decisions, through implementing the Appropriate Adult service, this supports them during the custody process and provides fairness

Question 30

Pillar 3: Preventing Offending, Restorative Justice

Answer 30

The primary aim of Restorative Justice (RJ) is to repair harm after a crime has occurred.

It also allows victims to explain to the offender how the crime has affected
them and gives offenders a chance to understand what they have done, how it affects others and make amends for their behaviour.

RJ is always voluntary

Question 31

How much funding did Emily secure in her first 100 days in office?

Answer 31

More than £3.3m of new funding for initiatives to cut crime and
support victims