Policing must work together to achieve ‘purposeful change’, says APCC chair
The chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) has stressed the need for all those in policing to work together on reforming the sector.
Speaking to policing leaders at the APCC National Police Chiefs’ Council Partnership Summit 2024 in London, Emily Spurrell welcomed the Government’s ambitious agenda for reform and outlined police and crime commissioners’ (PCCs) commitment to achieving meaningful change that works for the public.
Ms Spurrell said: “Proposals for reform need to recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach will rarely be the right solution but, scaling up approaches that demonstrably work is in all of our interests.
“As PCCs we are committed and ready to work together with our policing partners to achieve purposeful change that will make a real and lasting difference to policing and criminal justice outcomes, and improve the public’s experience of policing.”
In her speech, Ms Spurrell, PCC for Merseyside, called on police leaders to call out “irresponsible behaviour, inflammatory language and lies circulated on social media”.
Reflecting on the disorder seen across the country in the summer that began in Southport following the murders of Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King, she said: “We have seen just how easily that can lead to widespread criminality.”
Ms Spurrell added: “It is important we reflect on how we can address the underlying causes of this disorder. How we can target the dangerous and malicious individuals directing and coordinating activity on and offline to incite hatred and violence. How we can prevent those scenes ever playing out on our streets again.
“In common with the themes of our conference, we need to acknowledge the increasing impact that bad actors, false claims, misogyny, racism, disinformation and inflammatory language have in radicalising vulnerable people and provoking violence and disorder in our communities.”