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27
Oct 2024
Interview: Deputy mayor on policing, fire changes and violence against women and girls
“It’s been a perception shift,” says Jo Coles, deputy mayor for policing in York and North Yorkshire, as she reflects on three months in post.
Since she took her oath office in July, she’s contended with societal unrest over the summer, driving an agenda over violence against women and girls and met with unions over changes to North Yorkshire’s Fire and Rescue Service.
In a wide ranging interview with the Stray Ferret following her 100 days in office, Ms Coles said the shift into public office has been stark but adds that she has sought to get out to get a grip on the issues affecting the county.
Perception shift
Ms Coles may come from a political background, including being the chief of staff to Yvette Cooper MP, but the shift to taking office has taken some adjustment.
On her first day in office, she signed a declaration of oath to take up the position and was immediately thrust into interviews with radio and written journalists.
Jo Coles signing the oath of office with Simon Dennis, chief executive of the Office for Police, Fire, Crime and Commissioning.
When asked if she has found the change difficult, she is bullish but admits that she has had to shift her perception when taking office:
It’s not difficult. But I’m not used to being in front of the cameras, if you like, and being the one where the things I’m saying are the things that people write down, like you. It’s a perception shift to shift yourself into the public eye.
The role of deputy mayor is new, but takes on most of the powers which were once the function of the police, fire and crime commissioner, such as commissioning victims’ services.
But, within weeks into her term in office, she was out taking a more active role by visiting local mosques while other parts of the UK saw rioters target mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers.
Ms Coles sought to give reassurance to the local Muslim community and was also in close contact with government ministers as unrest spread to other towns and cities.
North Yorkshire wasn’t particularly directly affected by that, but actually North Yorkshire Police had to deploy resources to support other police forces in other areas.
‘People have to feel confident in reporting crime’
Aside from visiting communities to offer reassurance, Ms Coles has also sought to visit areas to get a view from police officers on the frontline.
To mark her 100th day, she spoke with officers in Knaresborough and visited the police treatment centre in Harrogate.
Part of Ms Coles’ priorities has been to increase confidence in policing.
In her first interview with the Stray Ferret in July, the deputy mayor put part of the problem down to the lack of reporting crime.
She added that there was a feeling among the public that some services were no working for them, which she described as “devastating”.
Deputy Mayor Jo Coles and her team visit the Police Treatment Centre in Harrogate
When asked whether she still stood by that assessment, Ms Coles said it was important for people to believe that crime is being tackled in order to increase confidence in reporting.
She said:
Crime coming down is great. But you need people to believe that that is what is happening in their area. For me, that means that people need to feel confident about reporting everything.
People have to feel that if they are going to report something that is going on in their street or something that they’ve witnessed in town, that they feel that that is worth reporting.
‘A prevalent issue’
One area which Ms Coles is keen to target is violence against women and girls.
The deputy mayor raised the issue with Diana Johnson, the policing, fire and crime minister, at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last month.
She describes it as a “prevalent issue” and one which can affect women from all walks of life.
During our interview, she points to figures showing that IDAS, a charity which supports victims of domestic abuse, took 17,000 helpline calls from people in North Yorkshire alone.
Earlier this year the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) revealed that two million women a year are estimated to be victims of male violence. The NPCC described this as an “epidemic scale of offending.”
Part of the problem, Ms Coles says, is that violence against women and girls does not follow deprivation levels like other crimes.
Jo Coles (centre) with Tim Forber, chief constable of North Yorkshire Police (left), and Jonathan Dyson, chief fire officer at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (right).
For instance, theft and anti-social behaviour can be linked to deprivation in a particular area. However, domestic abuse can happen in an affluent household as much as a poor one.
It’s not a crime type that follows deprivation. With most crime, if you overlay a map of deprivation, there’s a whole correlation of deprivation and instances of certain types of crime. That is not the case with domestic abuse.
Ms Coles added that she intends to hold a summit on the matter in November, which will bring together partner agencies tasked with tackling the problem.
Her comments come as the Stray Ferret revealed last month that 25 North Yorkshire Police officers were under investigation for violence against women and girls.
When Ms Coles was asked how this compared to other areas, she told councillors that Tim Forber, chief constable at North Yorkshire Police, was taking the matter seriously and would had assured her that he would uphold standards in the force.
She said:
He’s absolutely committed in that space to ensuring that standards are upheld and that we do our best to ensure we have a police force that instills public confidence. I absolutely support him in that work that he is doing as the chief constable.
Confidence over Harrogate Fire Station
Aside from crime, another issue in Ms Coles’ in-tray is the future over Harrogate Fire Station.
Following a decision by her Conservative predecessor, Zoe Metcalfe, the number of overnight engines at the station is set to be cut from two to one. However, fire unions have raised concern over how the model will work.
The changes proved controversial and have yet to be implemented due to extended consultation with staff over a nighttime cover rota for the second appliance.
On her first day in the role, Ms Coles told the Stray Ferret that she intended to meet the Fire Brigade’s Union over the changes at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
When asked whether she had followed through on that pledge and if she understood the concerns raised about Harrogate Fire Station, Ms Coles said:
The chief fire officer tells me that they are confident that they are going to achieve a negotiated position for then implementation of the risk and resource model.
I am absolutely respectful of the views of the FBU and their members. I think it’s really important that we work collaboratively with staff and fire fighters to ensure that we get the balance between the budget that we have available for fire, public safety and fire fighter safety. All those things are the things that the chief fire officer is balancing and is engaging with staff and representative unions about at the moment.
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