IT WAS the first of many.

Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones has spoken at her first Police and Crime Panel meeting.

She told members about her vision for Hampshire and Isle of Wight to be the safest counties in the country.

"My vision as your commissioner, as a parent, and as a citizen is that Hampshire and Isle of Wight are places children and elderly people can walk the streets without fear," she said.

“People have told me unequivocally, in a crime survey I ran last year, that they want more police on the streets. More police means more detection and prevention, and my number one priority is to have 600 more officers by end of 2023. But it is not only about having extra officers, if you don’t see them people don’t feel safer, we need to make sure we do everything we can to free up officers from bureaucracy so they can spend more time out and visible on the streets.

“In addition to increased visibility of policing I also want to make it easier to report crime and to make the way crime reports are dealt with more customer service focused and so there will be a review of the 101 service and alternative ways to report to the police.

“Anti-social behaviour is increasing and is something that I am hearing about regularly from residents, and local representatives. I am listening and taking action. I will be doing a walk around in Romsey with Caroline Nokes MP and local officers in response to concerns in the area, and on a larger scale I am setting up an ASB taskforce to bring together the organisations locally that need to work together to tackle ASB because it is not just a police matter.

“One of the best and easiest ways to prevent and reduce crime and therefore levels of harm is if you can stop them young people from becoming criminals in the first place. We need to not criminalise children and we need to be educating children at the top end of primary.”

The Hampshire Police and Crime Panel is responsible for scrutinising and supporting the Police and Crime Commissioner.

This includes reviewing the Police and Crime Plan draft and the decisions and actions of the Commissioner.

Commissioner Jones added: “I am very much looking forward to working with the Panel, hearing their views, the feedback they have received from the people they represent and to including panel members in my work out in the community. There has been criticism in the past that people don’t understand what a Commissioner does and that the public never see them.

"I intend to change that. By the end of my term of office (three years) I want every person to know what I do and how I can or have helped them. It’s a key part of my role.”

Chair of the Police and Crime Panel. Councillor Simon Bound commented: “I look forward to working alongside the new Police and Crime Commissioner and reviewing the new draft Police and Crime Plan – ensuring it serves the best interests of the community.”