Former police officer Cllr Sean Prendergast has said he would like to see a domestic abuse support worker in the 999 control room.
Cllr Prendergast, a North Herts Council member in Letchworth, is seeking re-election to that role and is the Liberal Democrats’ Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidate for the vote tomorrow (Thursday, May 2).
On the campaign trail in Letchworth, he said that victims of domestic abuse should get support at the “earliest” point they can.
Stalking and harassment make up around 7% of all reported crimes in Hertfordshire, excluding fraud, according to the Office for National Statistics.
“I think we can do better,” Cllr Prendergast said.
“From my perspective, it’s about making sure victims get the earliest support, so when they phone the control room, we want to explore the possibility that there could be a domestic abuse support worker in the control room at all times.
“We want to make sure domestic abuse charities are adequately supported and funded by the [PCC’s] office.”
The PCC must set crime and policing objectives across the county, and balance the budget which officers will use to achieve them.
“Burglary is an issue, in terms of solving burglary,” Cllr Prendergast said.
“We have actually got quite a low burglary rate [3.3 burglaries per 1,000 people, against an England average of 4.6], which makes it worse, in a way.
“The time it takes to get to a burglary has gone up in the last few years.
“The quicker you get to burglaries, the quicker you are to record evidence and catch criminals.”
Freedom of information requests made by Cllr Prendergast’s party have revealed it took police in England an average nine hours and eight minutes to respond to burglaries in 2022/23 – up 25% on the previous year.
“Community policing is really important to prevent and detect crime,” he said.
“Building relationships with the community, you gather really important intelligence.
“I would want to see an increase in visible community policing.”
He said police-led “diversionary projects” could help prevent antisocial behaviour.
Incumbent PCC David Lloyd reduced grant funding by £750,000 in 2024/25 – part of a larger £7.477million savings package to balance the books.
The office has plans to spend £1.345m on external grants this financial year.
Cllr Prendergast said: “This was regrettable because I feel that helps to protect the community.”
He added: “You need to look at the budget and ask, ‘Can you make efficiencies across the board, including in the PCC’s office?’
“You need to take a broad look at it, but if you want to have a ‘Prevention First’ strategy, you really need to have community policing and collaboration.”
Cllr Prendergast said he opposed the incumbent PCC’s decision to cut PSCO posts and pledged to “match a budget that prioritises community and neighbourhood policing” if he wins the poll.
According to budget papers, the incumbent David Lloyd cut the number of funded full-time equivalent PCSO roles from 235 to 160.
But the force has around 75 full-time equivalent posts vacant, so “in practice, the PCSO presence in communities will be no different in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24”.
Cllr Prendergast said: “Early in my career, I was a PCSO for five years, so I understand the importance of relationships with communities, organisations, etcetera.
“Then, I went into housing, specialising in antisocial behaviour, dealing very much with ASB cases and I’ve seen first-hand the impact that can have on victims.
“The truth of the matter is, a lot of the perpetrators are people that, had they had activities in place to begin with, would not have committed ASB.
“You’ve got to look at it from both sides.
“You’ve got to protect victims but make sure you stop that ASB from happening in the first place.”