Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw joins officers on the beat in Blackpool

Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner joined officers in Blackpool to gain an insight into the work being done around the clock to tackle crime and keep people safe.
Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner has joined officers in Blackpool to gain an insight into the work being done to tackle crimeLancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner has joined officers in Blackpool to gain an insight into the work being done to tackle crime
Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner has joined officers in Blackpool to gain an insight into the work being done to tackle crime

Clive Grunshaw joined response officers as they started their shift, listening in to their briefing session at West Division Headquarters in Mereside before joining a team out on the streets.

He also witnessed a stop and search take place, whilst attending other incidents such as a road traffic collision.

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His office is responsible for running the county’s ‘Stop and Search Ride Along Scheme’ which gives members of the public the opportunity to accompany officers on routine patrol and, if appropriate and proportionate, observe the use of stop and search powers in action.

The ride alongs sees members of the public report back to the Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel, around what they see and experience whilst shadowing the work of officers.

There was a 50 per cent increase in the use of stop and search during 2019 when compared to the previous year. This follows the surge activity as part of the work to tackle knife crime.

Clive Grunshaw said: “Stop and Search is an important tool available to officers to help keep people safe. However, these powers need to be used proportionately and this scheme ensures transparency and scrutiny of their use.

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“Joining officers on the beat always highlights the dedication and drive that they have to do the best they can for the people of Lancashire to tackle crime and keep people safe. This is in the face of pressures on the service from years of increasing demand and shrinking budgets from Government which have left us with 750 less officers since 2010.

“Whilst the Government’s announcement for next year indicates we can recruit an additional 153 officers, we are still left with a huge shortfall compared to when austerity started, unlike places such as Surrey who will actually have more officers than they did a decade ago.

“I will continue to lobby Government for a fairer deal to ensure we have more officers, like these here in Blackpool and across the county, working around the clock to keep us safe.”

Supt Damian Kitchen from Lancashire Constabulary said: “I am pleased but not surprised that the Commissioner was impressed with the dedication and professionalism he saw from our officers during his visit.”