Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire | WYPCC

Police Chiefs answer public questions in latest Community Outcomes Meeting

1st July 2020

Issues around speeding, hate crime, and domestic abuse in relation to Covid-19 were just some of the themes from questions answered by West Yorkshire Police Chief’s in the latest Community Outcomes Meeting.

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) invited the public to ask questions of him and John Robins, the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, at his latest meeting, which was held virtually over Skype.

The PCC’s regular Community Outcomes Meetings focus on important policing and wider community safety issues, and this one had a specific focus on the Chief Constable updating on the impact of, and response to, Covid-19 here in West Yorkshire.

The PCC also sought to provide reassurance to the BAME community following the recent demonstrations in America, across the UK and events around the world, specifically on points around police enforcement of Covid-19 legislation and stop and search activity.

Mark said: “It’s incredibly important that we remain accessible to the public amidst these ongoing difficult times. Regularly engaging with all our communities is a key part of my role, as well as working with and holding the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of policing in West Yorkshire.

“We’re all having to cope with an unprecedented situation at the moment and Covid-19 has meant that we have all faced restrictions like never before, coupled with the demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in America, it’s never been more important that our police service is open and accountable.

“I have been reassured with the policing response generally by West Yorkshire Police in these very unique circumstances, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our officers, staff and volunteers, as well as the Chief Officer Team, for all their hard work, sacrifices and for helping to keep our communities safe.

“I also want to say thank you to all those members of the public that did submit and ask pertinent questions. I hope they were reassured with the answers covered in our first virtual format session of my ‘Community Outcomes Meeting (COM) which we adapted to cover a lot of ground in relation to our overall response to many of current policing and community safety issues during the COVID-19 period.”

The videos from the meeting are below.