Dear Editor,

The role of the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel is to scrutinise, challenge and support the work of the Police and Crime Commissioner in keeping communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight safe and secure. At the same time, we are committed to representing the views of residents across Hampshire and the Isle Wight.

I am delighted to have been re-elected Chairman of the Panel for a seventh consecutive year. Councillor Jan Warwick has been re-elected Vice Chairman. To panel members stepping down, our sincere thanks  for their work over the last year. We welcome Councillors Dave Ashmore (Portsmouth), Dave Hughes (Havant) and James Radley (Hart) to the Panel.

Over the last twelve months, we have received a growing volume of feedback from the public - written, online and verbal - on a number of key topics including traffic related crime, cyber crime and hate crime.  This is crucial to ensuring not only that the Panel takes the views of the public into account in discussions, but that we are focusing on the topics that mean the most to them, in addition to our focus on the priorities set for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The Panel will soon turn its attention to gaining an understanding of how festivalgoers in Hampshire can remain safe and well, and how we can help to ensure that local events are crime free.  I encourage your readers to give their views on this topic, as this is key to ensuring that our scrutiny work is as thorough and informed as possible, and that any recommendations made to the Police and Crime Commissioner reflect the views of the communities in which we live. The window for doing this will be announced in due course at Hampshire Police and Crime Panel.

Councillor David Stewart
Chairman of Hampshire Police and Crime Panel