Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Festus Akinbusoye visited the College of Policing earlier this week as part of his role on the Board of Directors.
Following the PCC’s appointment by the Home Secretary in April 2021, he has taken a keen interest in supporting the work of the College to increase standardisation of best practise across the 43 force areas, advocate for investment and improve public confidence in British policing locally and internationally.
As part of the visit, Mr Akinbusoye met with senior police officials from Abu Dhabi on a leadership training exercise at the Ryton, Coventry. He was later joined by Lincolnshire PCC, Marc Jones.
The PCC also spent time observing the high quality training being delivered to senior staff from Professional Standards Departments (PSD) from all police forces across England and Wales
The visit included meeting with College Chief Executive Officer, Chief Constable Andy Marsh, and other senior leaders.
The commissioner later observed training sessions for covert and online teams as they were taken through their paces on evidence gathering and public protection. Other sessions included training for analysts working on the government’s Serious Violence initiative, of which Bedfordshire Police is funded through the Office of The Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).
The College of Policing is a professional body that covers all roles within policing. The independent body set standards for key areas of policing which help forces provide consistency and better serve the public.
The days activities provided Mr Akinbusoye, Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones and The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ Chief Executive Phil Golding, with first hand insight into the work of the College and support its efforts in improving policing.
Commenting on the visit, Mr Akinbusoye said: “One of the priorities from my Police and Crime Plan is national responsibilities, which have local implications. As a board member of the College of Policing, I have the privilege and opportunity to influence the national framework for policing, support the excellent work being done by our officers, and enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement.
“I am always amazed by the high level of capabilities we have in our police forces. I am incredibly pleased with the ongoing work of the College of Policing to ensure the best practices are being shared across our 43 police force areas including Bedfordshire.”
