Police and Crime Plan is "once in a generation opportunity" to tackle issues at the heart of communities

Tracy Brabin has come up with four main priorities which include supporting victims and witnesses and improving outcomes of crime, keeping people safe and building resilience, safer places and communities and responding to multi-complex needs.

A raft of measures, recommendations and actions, that are to be implemented by either her office or West Yorkshire Police, form the document, released today, and include giving more money to grass-roots organisations to make an impact on crime and community safety, get excluded individuals into employment and training, preparing files for courts faster and introducing therapy dogs to help victims giving evidence in court.

In addition, an over-riding theme of the Police and Crime Plan, which is a three year strategy, is the safety of women and girls.

West Yorkshire is home to over 1.2m women and girls, and as the first elected female Metro Mayor, Ms Brabin says the issue of their safety is at the heart of what she is doing in this role, especially following the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard and the murders of Sabina Nessa, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.

Both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE who has also worked closely on the plan, are set to visit the Wakefield based Rosalie Ryrie Foundation today, where they will officially launch it.

Ms Brabin said: “After undertaking one of the biggest consultation exercises our county has ever seen, I know that it has the support of our communities and reflects what they want.

Devolution has given us control of the reins, which means we can now deliver for the people of West Yorkshire in a way, which we have never done before. I see this as a once in a generation opportunity to focus our efforts on the issues which matter most to our communities.”

The 'Tell Tracy – Police and Crime Plan Consultation' ran from September to November and the responses from the public made up the priorities that feature in the plan.

Of the people who responded, 96.7 per cent said keeping people safe was important to them with tackling Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA) receiving the highest response (78.7 per cent). Rape and sexual offences were also identified as a priority for 68.6 per cent of respondents. Ninety-five per cent agreed that safer spaces and thriving communities was an issue for them, with the top three priorities being identified as neighbourhood crime, road safety and serious violence and 93.2 per cent said supporting victims and witnesses was important with helping victims of crime to get justice and increasing trust in the criminal justice system scoring most highly.

Other pledges that Ms Brabin makes in the plan are to have round table meetings with prisons/probation services and business forums (such as the Leeds City Region Enterprise

Partnership and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority) to look at employment for prison leavers; bespoke work-force training to address misogyny and victim blaming in investigations; address the current 'Right to Review' process for victims and also to increase the diversity of the police work-force.

West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable John Robins QPM added: “We really welcome the depth and breadth of the Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan for West Yorkshire. This provides a great framework for all agencies across West Yorkshire to contribute to reducing crime and disorder within our communities.

“West Yorkshire Police is fully committed to playing its part, to help turn this plan into reality. Police officers, staff and volunteers across West Yorkshire Police will continue to work in partnership with other agencies, the voluntary sector, businesses, individuals and communities. The continued hard work of all involved is key to continuing and maintaining the crime reductions we have seen over recent years.

“Safety for women and girls is rightly at the centre of this plan. We continue to invest significant resources in understanding the issues that specifically concern women and girls.

“I am absolutely resolute and steadfast in our commitment to Neighbourhood Policing. It is essential that we are visible, accessible and familiar within our communities. It is also part of our ongoing commitment to be a truly inclusive organisation, that represents and serves all of our communities. We are proud to be one of only two police services in the country to be in the

“This Police and Crime Plan is rightly challenging, but achievable. We look forward to working closely with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime."