PCCs join College of Policing board

The college said Festus Akinbusoye, PCC for Bedfordshire, and Gwent PCC Jeff Cuthbert, will bring “a wealth of experience” to the roles.

Mr Akinbusoye was elected PCC in May 2021. Prior to election he was a special constable, a parish councillor and volunteered as mentor to young offenders in prison.

He also serves as the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) portfolio lead for crime prevention. His areas of interest include problem-solving, community-based policing and early intervention.

Mr Cuthbert was elected as PCCin 2016 and re-elected in 2021. A former engineer, he was elected to the National Assembly for Wales and served as the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty. He is a former chair of the Welsh Assembly’s Committee on Standards of Conduct.

The college said the purpose of its board is to “set strategic direction and ensure we meet our obligations to the public, our members, our partners and the Home Secretary”.

Mr Akinbusoye said: “I am honoured to join the board of the College of Policing at this most critical time in the history of British policing. The challenge is immense, but so are the opportunities ahead.

“Supporting and challenging the college’s leadership in delivering its core responsibilities of improving standards in British policing, developing leadership, and driving consistency across our police forces are opportunities I look forward to.”

Mr Cuthbert said: “As a former Welsh government minister for skills and technology I am passionate about learning, professional development and sharing knowledge and good practice.

“I am delighted to have been appointed to the board of the College of Policing and I look forward to working together with colleagues to play a role in the development of UK policing going forward.”

The APCC is also represented on the college board by its chair Marc Jones.

Bedfordshire’s PCC recently launched the county’s first ‘public access terminals’ that aim to improve residents’ accessibility to policing and statutory services.

Situated in key locations, the large touchscreen device has been designed to provide members of the public online access to non-emergency policing services, including reporting an incident, submitting intelligence, victim care support and submitting feedback to the force.

A first of its kind, the terminals will also feature information on local events and services provided by partners, such as local authorities, the Fire Service and other agencies.

Mr Akinbusoye sais Bedfordshire remains an area of “high internet poverty” and the devices aim to help bridge the gap for residents that face challenges seeking support via the internet, while providing a safe space to do so.

“I’m excited to be launching our new public access terminals as the office continues to explore more progressive ways to support our communities,” said Mr Akinbusoye.

“It was incredibly important to me when producing my Police and Crime Plan that it directly addressed the challenges of local residents, and I’m pleased to be delivering on these promises in a practical and visible manner.

“As PCC for Bedfordshire it is imperative that I remain cognisant of inequalities and concerns that negatively affect our county. My hope is that these terminals serve as a continued effort to break these barriers down.”

The PCC’s office policing and contact project manager Philip Eaton said: “This is a great addition to support communities in accessing crucial services, and I’m confident this will further empower our residents that may not have easy access to the help and advice they need.

“As always, in the case of an emergency we would urge the community to call 999, however, we are well aware that there are incidents that occur that perhaps do no need an immediate police presence.

“By encouraging the public to report these incidents as intelligence, it allows us to build a clearer picture of the adversities experienced by residents in our community, which we will endeavour to challenge and combat.”

There are also plans to develop and launch a mobile phone application for both IOS and Android users later this year that will provide a similar provision.