Police commissioner for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Donna Jones proposes new crime reporting app and pledges more street patrols by Christmas

Conservative politician Donna Jones, who took on the role of police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 100 days ago, has acknowledged that reporting crime can often feel too difficult – and there are not enough police on the streets.

Concerns about policing numbers was the number one issue to emerge from a crime survey of more than 3,000 residents across the county and the Isle of Wight last September.

Now the new commissioner has pledged that residents will see more police on the streets from the end of December.

She said: ‘My number one priority is 600 more police on the streets, and I’m pleased that as soon as I was elected, the chief constable assured me that is a priority that they can deliver for me.

‘We're already 40 to 50 per cent of the way through recruitment. The vast majority will be going to the cities and Basingstoke.

‘We’re hoping to have them out of their probation period by the summer of 2023.

‘But I'm hoping by Christmas, those first recruits who were recruited last year will be getting to a point where they are out of training and in the field full time.

‘From Christmas the public should be seeing more police on the streets.’

And a new app could be rolled out across the area in response to dissatisfaction with the police’s 101 telephone service and the Hampshire Constabulary website.

The commissioner, who has been appointed as the national lead for victims and serious organised crimes by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said: ‘The public have said they are finding it difficult to report crime - they don't like the 101 service, they don't like using the online resources.

‘My aspiration is to develop an app, a police and crime reporting app, in the spring of next year, so that I can get that out to the public.’

Residents would still be able to use 101 and 999, and report crime online.

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The former Portsmouth City Councillor has not forgotten specific problems facing the city, creating last month a new anti-social behaviour task force, which will look into persistent nuisance behaviour and disorder around the Hot Walls.

She said: ‘It's looking at where we have to be commissioning services like Motiv8 (and others) – I'll be stepping in to pay for that and support it.’

The commissioner says she has already secured more than a million pounds from the Ministry of Justice since taking office, with part of this funding the Safer Streets campaign in the Charles Dickens ward.

But funding has been a source of ire for police officers across the country, following the government’s announcement of a pay freeze for the nation’s thin blue line.

Hampshire’s new police commissioner has written to home secretary Priti Patel, expressing that she was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the decision.

But after meeting with the home secretary and the prime minister, Ms Jones has warned police should not hold out for a salary boost any time soon.

Regarding the prospect of the government reviewing its decision, she said: ‘It's going to be a year - it's something for next year's agenda.’

Dissatisfaction with the home secretary led to the Police Federation – which has more than 130,000 police staff as members – declare that it had no confidence in Priti Patel.

Commenting on the matter, Ms Jones said: ‘I think it's a matter for them. I guess it’s reflecting how they feel.’

Next week will see the commissioner’s police and crime plan released for public consultation, with comments open until the end of October.

It will be available at hampshire-pcc.gov.uk.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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