First meeting in public with new Chief Constable to discuss priorities

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire Jonathan Ash-Edwards is to hold his first meeting in public with the new Chief Constable Andy Prophet.

Mr Prophet took up the role at the start of the year and next week they will discuss his main priorities, initial areas of focus and the mission he is setting for the Constabulary.

The Accountability & Performance Meeting (APM) will be held live online and is open to any members of the public who want to attend and watch the proceedings. It is being held at 10.30am on Thursday 20^th February and registration is open at https://bit.ly/APMFeb25

Also on the agenda is an update on the Constabulary’s performance in relation to firearms licensing and plans to reduce the current backlog in applications.

Additionally the PCC wants to know what steps the police are taking to protecting children who are the victims of domestic abuse in Hertfordshire. The subject follows a Joint Targeted Area Inspection of the multi-agency response to those affected. They will discuss what steps are being put in place by the Constabulary to make more effective use of enforcement powers to prevent harm and safeguard children.

The APM meetings were introduced by Mr Ash-Edwards shortly after he took office last year. They allow him to scrutinise and hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of Hertfordshire Constabulary in an open and transparent way.

Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said:

“Our new Chief Constable has made an excellent start in his first few weeks and I’ll be using my Accountability & Performance Meeting to discuss his initial areas of focus and the direction he is setting for the Constabulary. It is important that there is public transparency to the work the Constabulary does to build trust and confidence.

“Firearms licensing is on the agenda for the second time for these meetings as I continue to receive correspondence from residents expressing frustration at the timeliness of decision making on applications. This will be an opportunity to get an update and find out what steps are being taken to improve the service.

“My role is to be the public’s voice in policing and this involves speaking up for people who cannot always do it for themselves. There is no better example of this than children who experience domestic violence in the family. Following a recent multi-agency inspection in Hertfordshire, I want to look at how the Constabulary is playing its part to keep children safe.”

Police and Crime Commissioners have a statutory duty under the Police Reform & Social Responsibility Act to hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of policing in their area.