I welcome Yvette Cooper’s commitment to drive police performance and strengthen local policing. She reaffirmed our shared commitment to reducing knife crime and violence against women and children. A new national performance will unit assist us enormously to improve performance and hold the police to account for building a safer and fairer Bedfordshire.

These commitments reflect my own missions as set out in Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Plan.

I see great opportunities from a partnership between the Home Office and PCCs, and police services. I am dedicated to driving forward the reinvigoration of local policing to ensure officers are visible and accessible in our communities.

Preventing crime can be achieved only by effective collaboration and system change.