00:00Susan Dungworth is the new Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, two months on the
00:04job, how's it going?
00:05That's right, it's two months tomorrow, it's going really well, it is the most fascinating
00:11job in the world, you're always a bit nervous when you start something new, don't know what
00:16it's about, don't know if I can do it.
00:20I still don't know everything about what it's about and it's going to take me quite a while,
00:25but what I have seen is just how the opportunities, the opportunities to make a difference and
00:33to represent people and people's views and ensure we have a police force fit for purpose.
00:39And what's the background, how did you become involved in this in the first place?
00:42I've been in politics for a long time and I've been a councillor for a long time and
00:47this job is sort of like being a very big councillor over a big area.
00:53It is about that representation, it's about listening to people, it's about recognising
00:58what people's experience is and turning that into policy and then working with the police
01:05force in this case to deliver that policy.
01:10And we're here today for the launch of the consultation on what comes next, how can people
01:15take part and what will happen with the results?
01:18There's lots of different ways that they can take part and the quickest thing to do
01:23is to go online and fill an online questionnaire, they can download that if they want and return
01:29it by post.
01:31We are advertising the consultation far and wide through different media, we're encouraging
01:38local groups maybe to reply to that consultation together.
01:44We will be talking to members of parliament, local councillors and running a series of
01:52round table events, working with professionals in the fields to look at the different areas.
02:00So for instance we're doing one on rural crime, we're doing a couple on retail crime and this
02:08week indeed we're looking at violence against women and girls.
02:15And how important is it going to be to have input from the grassroots, from ordinary members
02:19of the public?
02:20It's absolutely essential that we get that feedback from the public.
02:24It is their police force and their views on the biggest issues for them, what needs to
02:30be tackled and some ideas, they might have different ideas about how that policing is
02:37done that works in their areas.
02:39So I would urge everybody who lives within the Northumbria Police and Crime Area to let
02:46us know, to use one of those forms of communication to let us know what they want to see in the
02:51next plan.
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