Police Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens to visit Yeovil

Avon and Somerset's new police and crime commissioner will visit Yeovil next month, it has emerged.

Sue Mountstevens, who was elected into the position as an independent candidate in November, is scheduled to come to the town on Monday, February 11.

The trip is part of her commitment to spend one day a week speaking to people in the communities across her constituency area, Yeovil town councillors heard last week.

Speaking at a full council meeting last Tuesday, chief superintendent Nikki Watson, of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, outlined some of Ms Mountstevens's objectives and tasks for the year ahead.

She said: "She has some very important tasks to fulfil quite quickly in quite a short time period. She has to set the budget from April this year. Normally by this time of the year, the budget is more or less set.

"She also has the responsibility to publish a police and crime plan. It will be the first one. It's a new plan that comes with the position of police and crime commissioner.

"From going around and speaking to communities and individuals, Ms Mountstevens is keen there's a very local flavour."

Mrs Watson, who is district commander for Somerset East – an area stretching from Frome to Chard – said instead of producing one plan for the whole of the force area, there will be six separate plans.

Addressing concerns from councillor Peter Gubbins about the cost of doing this, she said: "I don't think she's squandering money."

Mrs Watson added: "I'm very supportive of the six plans because if you have just one there could be stuff in that plan which I don't feel is an issue in our area, but because it's in the plan I may have to put resources into that.

"Having a local one means all the issues in our plan will be issues that are important here which means I have the resources available to tackle those problems."

She said the plans are subject to consultation from the end of January before being published at the beginning of April.

There are four main areas which Ms Mountstevens wants police officers to focus on in Somerset East.

These are tackling antisocial behaviour, reducing all crime but especially burglaries from homes and violence against women and girls. She also wants to give victims of crime a louder voice and put them "at the heart of the criminal justice system", Mrs Watson added.