A visit from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire
Did you know that Yoxall WI has two birthdays? One in January, which marks our formation in 1920 and one in June; which celebrates the restart of our meetings after the end of World War 2. We have our birthday party in June when the weather is kinder!
At our first meeting of 2017 resolution forms were filled in and handed to the Secretary; they have to be sent to County Office later in January. There are six shortlisted resolutions for 2017 and the topics range from supporting women's refuges to keeping microplastic fibres out of our oceans.
We were given early notice of the May Market date. This will be on Saturday 20th May and is our major fund raiser of the year. So please put this date into your diaries. We have various sales tables, tombola, raffle and delicious homemade cakes.
Details of the Spring Council Meeting and Homes and Gardens Day were announced by the Outings Secretary. These are very popular events and well known speakers are often booked for them. This year we have Jane Sawyer, Chief Constable of Staffordshire and Nikki Chapman the TV presenter.
Our speaker this month was Matthew Ellis, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire. Matthew started a retail business when he was 18 years old and then sold it 8 years ago as a going concern. He was elected to the district council at Lichfield and two years later stood for election to County Council. At County Council he took on Cabinet responsibility for the social care department. In 2012 he was selected to stand in the election for Staffordshire's new Police and Crime Commissioner. He won and started work in December 2012 and was re-elected in May 2016.
With a business background Matthew has the experience to manage a £300 million budget on behalf of a constituency of 1.2 million people. On taking up the post he was very disappointed with the level of technology used within the police force. He feels that Staffordshire police are now in the 21st century with the level of equipment available to them.
Matthew was the first Commissioner to introduce 'bodycams' to front line officers. A bodycam is a 'hands-free' video recording device that is worn about the person in order to create a visual record from that person's point of view. The device will usually produce a video feed either to be viewed live by another person in another location, or to be captured and stored for later review. Initially these devices were viewed with suspicion and officers were 'forgetting' to put them on and turn them on. However, they have proved invaluable in modern policing and reduced time and money spent at the police stations.
The Police and Crime Commissioner has launched a Police Cadet scheme for Staffordshire youngsters between 14 and 17 years old. It was launched to strengthen links between the police and young people and promote good citizenship. As part of a uniformed and disciplined service, youngsters have become more self confident and outgoing. The Cadet scheme uses no money redirected from front line policing, it runs purely from donations.
We were told that numbers of traditional crimes like car stealing and theft are down but online fraud has become a major problem. Everyone must be really careful never to share personal information online.
At the end of the talk we had an opportunity to ask questions.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 8th February when we will have Paul Bellamy giving us 'The History of Woodturning'. We meet in Yoxall Parish Hall at 7.30pm and visitors are very welcome. Further details can be obtained from Penny Bailey through the link below.