Seniors help West Yorkshire’s PCC in Advisory Group

22nd January 2021

Following a successful recent meeting, Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), has created a new advisory group with seniors.

The creation of the group comes after older people were invited to join a consultation event over Microsoft Teams earlier this month. The meeting was attended by around 60 people who were able to raise questions and concerns directly with the PCC.

Road safety, Covid-19 restrictions, neighbourhood policing, scams and the policing budget were just a handful of the items raised and discussed.

The group are now to meet on a quarterly basis, with new attendees always welcome. The initiative will be a place for older people to have their say on policing and community safety, but also for the PCC and West Yorkshire Police to ask for feedback.

Mark said: “Regularly engaging with the public and communities is one of my key roles so I was very pleased to be able to run this event, albeit in different circumstances.

“The attendance at the meeting spoke for itself and it’s great to be able to formalise an advisory group, to ensure we keep our momentum going in recognising the value of the voice of seniors/elders.

“We know lots of older people feel more isolated at the moment so it’s important that we offer extra avenues for them, ensuring that they are consulted to inform decision making.

“For now the meeting will need to remain online for health reasons during the Pandemic, but in the future we will definitely be looking to expand into face to face events when safe to do so.”

The next meeting is due to be held on Thursday 11 March from 16:00 – 17:30 over Microsoft Teams. If you are a senior interested in joining please email policingandcrime@westyorks-ca.gov.uk for more information.

For anyone unable to join online you can contact my office via phone 01924 294000 or email to offer your views.