This week Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner launched a public consultation on our new Police & Crime Plan.

As PCC, I have a statutory duty to set the policing and crime objectives for Sussex through this Plan and in June I set up a Police & Crime Plan Reference Group to help me develop it.

The Reference Group comprises of representative members from community safety and criminal justice partners as well as Sussex Police.

Their work helps me to shape and develop community safety priorities which reflect accurately the expectations of the public.

The four policing and crime objectives for our new Plan are to:

• - Strengthen local policing
  
•  - Work with local communities and partners to keep Sussex safe
  
• Protect our vulnerable and help victims cope and recover from crime and abuse
  
• - Improve access to justice for victims and witnesses
  
• As the voice for local people on policing and crime, I am seeking your views as a Sussex resident on the new objectives and would encourage you to complete the public consultation which runs until the end of November. Have your say here.
  

The draft Plan will be presented to the Sussex Police & Crime Panel at our meeting on 20 January 2017 for them to formally review. It will then be launched by the end of March 2017.

You can watch a short animated video which explains how previous plans have been developed by clicking here.

I am pleased to announce that this week the award winning Sussex Restorative Justice Partnership enlarged its pool of Restorative Justice (RJ) facilitators with 15 newly trained volunteers.

The intensive three-day training course at HMP Lewes was delivered by accredited trainers from the Restorative Justice Council.

This new cohort of RJ facilitators are very welcome to the partnership and will increase its capacity and capability to deliver services for victims of crime by working alongside existing staff from the three RJ hubs already established across Sussex.