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At Bedfordshire Police Authority's Annual General Meeting held today (Friday, 16th May) members unanimously elected Peter Conniff as Chair for the fourth successive year. Penny Fletcher was also re-elected for a fourth term as Vice Chair.
After the meeting, Mr Conniff, who is an Independent Member, thanked his colleagues for their ongoing support and said that there were definitely challenges ahead.
"I'm grateful for the confidence that has been placed in me," he said. "The last 12 months have been undoubtedly challenging for us all and there is no sign of this easing in the coming months!
"The future will not be easy for any Police Force or its Authority facing, as we do, difficult resource issues. I know that everyone will work extremely hard to overcome the problems that we face, and it is vital that we continue to explore collaboration agreements with our neighbouring forces to get the best value we can out of every penny in our budget.
"It is our intention to increase the number of frontline officers and I very much hope that our budget will not be adversely affected by Ministerial decisions in July.
"I am aware that that policing is a high priority for the community and we are doing everything we can to ensure that they receive a quality service. We are now seeing sustained improvements in performance, which we will continue to monitor over the coming year so that people are safer and feel safer."
Mr Conniff has led the Police Authority through some of the most challenging periods it has faced, including the Government's proposals for force mergers, the collaboration agreements with neighbouring forces, the ongoing battle for increased resources and the disappointing report from HMIC last year of the performance of Bedfordshire Police.
The Authority is responsible for maintaining an efficient Police Service and sets targets and objectives for the Service in conjunction with the Chief Constable after consultation with the local communities. It scrutinises all areas of Police activity through its committee structure and the chairs of these were also announced at the meeting.
These were:
- Complaints & Professional Standards (Penny Fletcher)
- Human Resources - Linda Hockey (Independent Member)
- Finance - Robin Younger (Councillor Member)
- Audit - Elaine Horrocks (Independent Member)
- Performance - Brian Spurr (Councillor Member)
- Community Engagement - Colleen Atkins (Councillor Member)
- Standards Committee - Kathy Johnson (Independent Lay Member)
For further information on the work of the Authority and its committees please visit
www.bedfordshirepoliceauthority.co.uk |
