Matthew Barber, PCC for Thames Valley, and Thames Valley Police officers working to reduce retail crime recently met with over 50 representatives of the largest retailers and businesses in the region at the Oracle Shopping Centre.

This afternoon (Thursday 16 January), I have taken the decision to suspend Jason Hogg from his role as Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police with immediate effect. This follows a meeting earlier today with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in which they informed me that as part of an ongoing investigation that they are conducting they have assessed that allegations against the Chief Constable would, if proven, amount to gross misconduct. 

At today’s safeguarding conference in Oxford, Matthew Barber spoke about child sex abuse ahead of presentation on Operation Bullfinch, the investigation into an Oxford-based grooming gang.

Should towns like Wantage, Didcot, Wallingford, Faringdon, Thame & Henley look north to the rest of Oxfordshire or south to Berkshire?

Today’s funding settlement from Government does not provide the increase in core funding needed to relieve the pressure on the policing budget in Thames Valley.  

Whilst there is a cash increase in funding, it falls short of the increase necessary to maintain current levels of policing, let alone deliver the increases that we would all want to see. 

In the run up to the General Election Yvette Cooper, then Shadow Home Secretary, promised 13,000 more neighbourhood officers. Now most people could be excused for thinking that meant police constables. As I warned at the time, this was never what was intended, and now the Home Office is publishing the official details of the so-called Neighbourhood Guarantee. The reality is very different. In fact the Home Office will fund just 3,000 police constables across the whole country.