Matthew Grove officially began his new job as Humberside's first police and crime commissioner this week. As he embarked on a tour of Grimsby's East Marsh, reporter SIMON FAULKNER asked him about the challenges ahead.
QHow do you feel about taking on the role of Humberside police and crime commissioner?
A I am delighted and honoured that I was selected by the people of northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire, but I know I have got a huge job ahead of me and I am totally accountable. I haven't picked an easy occupation.
QGiven the low turnout in the election, how confident are you that people actually know who you are?
A Of all the police and crime commissioners, I think I am probably the most widely known, partly through the excellent local media coverage of the Humberside election, but mainly because of who my main opponent was. I recognise that the turnout was low and although the media did an excellent job in explaining the process, I think the national media seemed to run a campaign to encourage a boycott. My job is to do my best to protect the people of the area and if I do a good job the turnout in three and a half years time will probably be much better. If I do a bad job, it almost certainly will be.
QHow accessible will you be to the people of North East Lincolnshire?
A Very accessible. I have Facebook, Twitter, telephone and e-mail and I will also hold street surgeries on Saturday mornings so people can walk past and tell me what their concerns are. I intend to be the most accessible police and crime commissioner in the country, and as accessible as any politician can ever be.
QHow will you ensure that the south bank does not become a second priority?
A I have publicly said I will be moving out of the Humberside Police Authority building in Hull to an office as close to the Humber Bridge as possible. I'm quite happy for that to be in Barton or Hessle. It will be an office that is modest and shared with another partner organisation, which will be in a location where I can best serve the people of northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.
QWhat were the main issues raised by people on the south bank during your campaign?
A You can't simply talk about south bank and north bank. There are distinct communities that have different priorities and issues within both areas. The priorities in urban Grimsby are very different to the priorities in the small rural villages of northern Lincolnshire. It would be wrong to oversimplify. I think there are huge similarities between the north and south banks. We have a tension between urban and rural priorities and my challenge is to make sure we police the whole of East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire and that we don't give the impression we are concentrating our resources in any one location.
QWhat are your impressions of the policing and crime prevention work you have seen in North East Lincolnshire?
A I think North East Lincolnshire has the best community safety partnership that I have seen. It is based at The Elms, which is not exactly a glamorous location, but you have got the right people working together to wage that war against criminals and crime. They have a clear purpose, and although they are from different public sector organisations, it feels like they are working for the same organisation and the people of this area are the winners. I have been extremely impressed by the work the neighbourhood policing team is doing. It is a beacon of how we need to work and which others can look to and learn from.
QHave you started looking for Tim Hollis's replacement as chief constable and what qualities will you be looking for in that candidate?
A We have an incredibly hard act to follow. Tim Hollis has been a truly outstanding chief constable who has brought Humberside Police service from a very different place to where it is today. The most important decision that I will make over the next three-and-a-half years will be to appoint his replacement and, quite simply, I will be looking to find the best available candidate and that is why on Monday, even before I took up the post, I requested that the vacancy be advertised as soon as possible. There are around a dozen police services which will be recruiting a new chief constable and I want us to be first. This is not a time to dilly dally.
See Monday's Grimsby Telegraph for a full interview with Alan Hardwick, the new police and crime commissioner for Lincolnshire Police.
