COMMENT: Sussex Police must make major improvements - but they are a force for good

It is absolutely true that there are some areas of Sussex Police operations where improvements need to be made and chief constable Jo Shiner has acknowledged that they will be as a matter of urgency.

However, in my experience of more than 40 years of independent journalism in the region, we have never had more cause to be grateful to our police in Sussex.

Despite tens of millions of pounds of budget cuts and a short-term data recording challenges while new computer services were introduced - sadly, I suspect at the time of the inspection - the people who risk their lives day in and day out to keep us safe here have never been more deserving of our respect.

Sussex remains one of the safest places to work and live in the UK - even though it is one of the poorest funded forces anywhere in Britain.

The inspector recognised that the force works well with communities and has progressed involvement with some hard-to-reach communities. It also praised Sussex Police’s prevention and enforcement work, including a focus on reducing serious youth violence and on habitual knife carriers.

Sussex is a complex pair of counties to police given the sharp contrasts between its various small cities and towns - Brighton, for example, could not be more different from Chichester in its demographic composition. The rural and coastal nature of the region also poses a unique set of challenges.

We have a chief constable in whom we can have absolute confidence. Sensationalist media might have branded her 'woke'. She is only 'woke' if you define that word positively - someone who is passionate about treating everyone with absolute fairness.

Nor will you find her in the cosy 'club' like world that TV programmes might suggest pervade police forces. She is ferociously independent and fights for the very best deal for both Sussex and her officers. Isn't that exactly what we want?

This country seems determined to trash the very institutions that bind us together, that make us strong, that keep us safe.

I do not doubt the integrity of this report nor that improvements and changes need to be made. But please don't let us run away with the idea that we have a failed police force in Sussex. This is not the Met police with all their legacy problems.

This is one of the best places to be - and it is the officers on the beat, in their cars, and in Sussex Police HQ that ensure it remains so - funded on a shoe-string.

Main report – inspector outlines his concerns: https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/crime/concerns-about-sussex-police-performance-this-is-what-a-hard-hitting-inspectors-report-said-and-the-improvements-the-force-is-making-4102083