A meeting between residents and police is taking place in Newent today, and while Gloucestershire and the Forest of Dean have low crime levels, a small number of constituents have written to me with separate concerns about policing in Newent, which I have passed on to Gloucestershire Constabulary directly.
For those who have asked why I am unable to attend today’s meeting in Newent, it is because the House of Commons is sitting today, which means I have to be in Westminster as your Member of Parliament.
As well as passing the views of residents directly to the police, I have also recently been out and about in Newent conducting a police and crime survey to ask the community at large what they really think about policing and crime in Newent. I am pictured discussing the results of these surveys with Chris Nelson, the Conservative candidate at the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in May.
If elected, Chris will build upon the extra officers Gloucestershire is getting over the next three years by finding savings in the bloated back office budget of Martin Surl, the current Police and Crime Commissioner, which will prioritise police officers over press releases.