“CPF sessions are great for sharing practical ideas to fix systemic issues. And an opportunity to check political leaders thinking.” (Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner, Devon, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly)
CPF had a very successful session at the South West Regional Conference. The session engaged over 200 members and highlighted the work of the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) across the region.
The PCCs had selected two topics in advance to consider: firstly, rural theft and, secondly, the effects of cannabis on young people, specifically whether or not cannabis should be reclassified as a class A drug.
Building on positive feedback from other regional conferences, we used our format of a guest panel and break-out groups, with delegates using the Slido app to create even more interaction between the small groups.
The role of our 26 break-out leaders was to help participants on each table select one of these topics to discuss and then make use of the Slido app to feedback policy thoughts as they came up. Each idea was voted on by the participants using Slido and at the end of the session the PCCs offered quick feedback on the top five ideas.
The Young Conservatives group looked at the cannabis question and proposed that the NHS target primary schools, colleges and GP surgeries with a “Drug addiction” champion, responsible for educating and helping the young stay away from such drugs. Other groups recommended a public health campaign similar to that which exists for alcohol and tobacco.
The proposals to address rural theft included: a) Establish a rural intelligence network to inform PCCs; b) Amend the Equalities Act to tackle weak, woke and ineffective enforcement; c) Prioritise crime over social issues; d) increase rural police presence; d) microchip animals, mark machinery and subsidise a CCTV network.
Photos © Geoff Bayliss