The elected Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for the Humberside Police area is the focus of a new, regular series of articles in North East Lincolnshire Council’s community newsletter.
Jonathan Evison was elected in May last year to serve as the area’s PCC, the first holder of the post to be both a native and resident of Northern Lincolnshire.
He was born and raised in Barton-upon-Humber, where he still lives now, and spent his working life at Scunthorpe’s steelworks. For 10 years he served as a ward councillor for Barton, taking on a variety of roles, and he was chair of the Humberside Police and Crime Panel for six years before being elected as PCC.
“The role of a Police and Crime Commissioner is often misunderstood, which was something I discovered when campaigning for election last spring,” he writes in the article.
“During my term as PCC I hope to keep you informed about the work of my office and myself, and the performance of the police. I don’t run the police force; that’s the chief constable’s job. I am elected to work on behalf of the public to hold Humberside Police to account for delivering an effective service through a combination of high challenge and high support.
“My office acts as a critical friend in the police through regular scrutiny, giving me assurances that the great improvements made in recent years will be maintained and improved upon.
No place for violence in our communities
“I also commission a range of services to help prevent crime, and support victims and witnesses of all ages, particularly those affected by the most serious offences, such as violent assaults, sexual offences, domestic abuse and the exploitation of children.
“My team works closely with professionals in those fields, inside and outside of the police, to help those affected get their lives back on track. You may have seen our ‘You Are Not Alone’ campaign against domestic abuse over the Christmas and New Year period, and recently we commissioned a piece of work to better understand the scale of violence and abuse against women and girls in our area.
“Violence and abuse in all its forms, whether in a domestic setting, a party, on our streets, or in a pub or school, has no place in our communities and will not be tolerated. Violence affects everyone, including men, and as a society we need to better understand the drivers for male violence and how we can prevent it.
“It’s high time we stopped the culture of blaming victims and called out the perpetrators of these crimes. Male violence against women is totally unacceptable, as is misogynistic behaviour and attitudes. As a father of four daughters, I take a personal interest in this subject because I want them to live in a world free from harassment, abuse and violence against them. It angers me and society needs to change. We need women and girls to feel safe and listened to in coming forward to report abuse, and we need our criminal justice system to work effectively for them.
“We recently brought two university student interns to work part-time in my office to help research how we can better protect young children affected by violence in the home, and what we can do to help stop adult male violence in particular. This is long term but vital work if we are to move forward as a society.
“Our young people are our future and we must ensure they have the education to protect themselves against exploitation and abuse, so I am pleased that North East Lincolnshire Council has worked closely with my office to raise awareness of the issues of child exploitation and to report incidents and suspicions. The award-winning film Alfie’s Story was made in Grimsby as part of the Not In Our Community programme managed by my office and is a true North East Lincolnshire production, with young people starring in and to helping shape the impactful storyline and characters, which are accurate to real-life experiences.”
‘Personal assurance’
“In January,” he continues, “I provided £35,000 of funding to the Business Hive in Grimsby to launch a new project named Inspire to divert young people away from the criminality brought to this area by organised crime groups and provide hope and aspirations for the next generation. I look forward to watching the progress of this initiative.
The Safer Streets project received funding from the Government in 2021 thanks to a bid from the Office of the PCC, working in partnership with NELC. The West Marsh area of Grimsby is now benefitting from the investment and I am encouraged to hear the positive reactions of residents to the measures implemented to increase safety in their neighbourhood, such as alley gates, CCTV, and improved lighting. I am keen to ensure any future funding opportunities such as this are encouraged.
“As your Police and Crime Commissioner, my role covers the whole of the Humberside Police area, including both banks of the Humber. I am only too aware that North East Lincolnshire residents often feel they are treated as second-best compared to the north bank when it comes to policing services. This has not been my experience and I have had very positive meetings with Chief Constable Lee Freeman, a local man himself who grew up in Grimsby, and his senior officers in charge of policing the borough.
“They are all totally committed to provide the best police service to our residents and businesses, both urban and rural. The force is in a much improved position from where it was a few years ago and there is a strong determination to progress even further.
“You have my personal assurance that I will be keeping a watchful eye over things to ensure your neighbourhood is well-served.”
Keep up-to-date with announcements and latest alerts in the Humberside Police area here. To find out more about Jonathan, visit www.humberside-pcc.gov.uk or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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