Today I had a very productive roundtable meeting with Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset Police, Mark Shelford, and local councillors Ben Randles, Terri Cullen and Liz Brennan where we discussed tackling local anti-social behaviour, speeding and other issues relating to our area, we were also joined by Inspector Stuart King.
Mark updated us on the ongoing developments at Avon and Somerset Police, including their significant emphasis on action against cyber fraud, working with the South West Cyber Resilience Centre, as cyber crime now comprises approximately 50% of all crime. Therefore, Mark is working with the government to try and ensure that cyber crime is addressed with a sufficient level of resources.
We also discussed the expansion of Avon and Somerset Police force with 520 additional officers for the year, which was above the recruitment target set by government. And the youth engagement programs operated by Avon and Somerset Police, which involve going into schools and giving talks as well as the Mini Police based in Patchway which gets young people involved in fighting crime and enables them to work on policing operations.
