On Thursday 12th February at 2:30pm, Simon Hayes, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, will hold his Commissioner’s Performance, Accountability, Scrutiny and Strategy (COMPASS) meeting on ‘Maintaining neighbourhood policing in times of austerity’ at Basingstoke Discovery Centre.

The Commissioner regularly holds the Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary to account on behalf of the public and the COMPASS meetings are the most public example of this aspect of his role. At this COMPASS meeting, Simon Hayes will be asking the Chief Constable, Andy Marsh, what Hampshire Constabulary’s strategy is for addressing the challenges of resourcing local policing with ever tightening budgets.

Earlier this month, as part of a consultation programme on the Council Tax precept, the Commissioner invited over 100 residents of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to share their views on whether they would be prepared to invest more in policing by agreeing to a 1.99% increase in the policing part of the Council Tax precept. When participants took part in a survey at the event, 93 per cent were supportive of increasing their council tax contribution by £3.07 per annum (for an average band D household) to generate and extra 2m for policing budgets – the cost of employing 43 officers.

Simon Hayes comments, “My commitment to improve and protect frontline policing in my Police and Crime Plan has put neighbourhood policing at the heart of the Constabulary’s operational model. However, the Government-imposed funding cuts of £80m on Hampshire Constabulary have meant that we have had to make significant changes to the way it operates. I am inviting the public to ask questions on this issue ahead of the COMPASS meeting on the 12th February.”

The COMPASS meeting is open to members of the public to attend and includes a question and answer session. Anyone wishing to attend, or submit a question, is asked to register their interest with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) by midday on Friday 6th February, by contacting 01962 871 595 or opcc@hampshire.pnn.police.uk. Members of the public unable to attend the meeting are welcome to submit their questions for the Chief Constable directly to the OPCC by Friday 6th February.

In order to be considered by the Commissioner, questions must:
• be related to “Maintaining neighbourhood policing in times of austerity”
• not discuss specific or individual cases or investigations
• must relate to the policing responsibilities of Hampshire Constabulary
The meeting will be filmed and available to view at www.hampshire-pcc.gov.uk.