Previous Performance - 2012-15

An infographic highlighting achievements during the Commissioner’s first year in office (November 2012-13) can be found below.

Further "one year on" reflections from the Commissioner can be found here.

An infographic highlighting performance in 2013-14 against the priorities within the Police & Crime Plan can be found below.

The full annual report for 2013-14 can be found here.

Saturday 15 November 2014 marks two years since Katy Bourne was elected as the first Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Sussex. The former business woman explains why she feels passionate about the role and why she will stand for election again in 2016:

“Two years on I still feel hugely privileged to have been elected as PCC for Sussex during what is, and has been, a very difficult time for policing. I wholeheartedly believe that this role is a vast improvement on the bureaucratic Police Authority that it replaced, which was much less transparent and accountable.

“I also believe that Sussex residents prefer to have a single, elected, go-to person as their voice on policing and crime; one person who can hold the Chief Constable to account for the effectiveness and efficiency of their police force.

“My greatest frustration prior to the election was that members of the public were not given sufficient information to enable them to understand this role and the opportunity that it brings for Sussex. However, I am working hard to reverse this by meeting and listening to as many local residents as I can. What’s important is that local people want to have a say in policing and crime in their area and know who to talk to about it. The growing amount of correspondence to my office is testament to this.

“There will always be those in public office who fall short of the expectations of their electors and that is why I support the need for a more robust way of removing PCCs. The Association of Police & Crime Commissioners is currently working with the Home Office to achieve this.

“I’m often asked to describe a typical day in my role as PCC but no two days are the same. Once a week I start or finish the day by attending an early or late turn shift in one of the police divisions. I enjoy this immensely as I get the opportunity to talk to officers and staff and hear first-hand some of their concerns. I have regular meetings with chief officers in order to give me an oversight of Sussex Police’s performance and key pieces of work. I spend a lot of time meeting senior leaders from the local authorities and other statutory agencies to develop and improve partnership working across Sussex. I also meet regularly with the public, local businesses, voluntary organisations and individual residents across Sussex to listen to their views and experiences.

“There are several programmes of work that I’m proud to have delivered in my first two years as PCC. They include:

1. Awarding a contract to Victim Support to deliver a ‘victim assessment and referral service’ to victims of crime. Victim Support is dedicated to improving the services for victims locally. The contract was awarded after more than a years’ close work with the PCCs in Surrey and Thames Valley. It will enable greater scrutiny, transparency and performance monitoring as, for the first time, these services will be managed locally. It will also mean that through this collaborative approach, Sussex will save approximately £300K across the life of the three-year contract.

2. The framework that has been developed between my office and the three upper tier Local Authorities in order to help reduce crime and improve community safety. This means that, for the first time ever in Sussex, all Community Safety Partnership activities are now aligned to the Police and Crime Plan and driven by evidence-led best practice.

3. Work to reduce crime and improve community safety that has been further helped by my Safer in Sussex Community Fund, which I launched in December 2013. To date, over 175 applications have been submitted and more than £400,000 made available to support local crime reduction and community safety initiatives.

4. My Sussex Youth Commission, which is helping to give young people a voice on policing and crime, particularly those who are not old enough to vote. This innovative project has seen 28 members, from diverse backgrounds, record over 2,000 conversations with young people on five key priorities. Their recommendations have been welcomed by the Chief Constable and are in the process of being translated into actions and improvements by Sussex Police that will benefit young people and their families across Sussex.

5. The increase in capacity and capability of Restorative Justice services for victims of crime in Sussex. Since March 2013, twenty partner organisations are now working together as part of the Sussex Restorative Justice Partnership, which is coordinated by a member of my team, to support victims of crime in Sussex.

“Ultimately, my success as PCC will depend on my understanding of the county and its residents and shaping the police force accordingly. I want residents to know I am an accessible Commissioner and a strong voice for local people in the fight against crime. I have lived in Sussex all my life and I want local people to know that they can raise their families here and feel safe.

“I intend to stand for re-election in 2016 as I want to see the projects and policies that I have developed through to completion. That’s important to me and I think it’s important for residents to have a consistent voice on policing and crime.”

An infographic highlighting performance in 2014-15 against the priorities set out in the Sussex Police & Crime Plan can be found below.

A full annual report for 2014-15 can be found here.