Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach has said he does not intend reducing police officer or PCSO numbers during his term in office.

The Commissioner’s comments came at his first meeting of Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Panel (30 June), made up of councillors and independent members who oversee the role of the PCC.

Lord Bach told the panel:

“At the end of my term of office in four years, I intend not to have fewer police officers or PCSOs than are planned for in March 2017.”

The Commissioner said future police funding could have an impact on that intention but he wanted to protect numbers.

Lord Bach told the panel he believed there was a connection between police visibility and public confidence.

Lord Bach also said that while he supported Leicestershire Police’s ‘Operation Edison’ – introduced in response to reduced funding – it was important to get the balance right.

The panel quizzed Lord Bach on his plans for more community engagement and whether or not he would be appointing a deputy PCC, to which he confirmed he would make an appointment but not before the Autumn.

Lord Bach and the panel then repeated their call for victims of hate crime to have the confidence to come forward and report it, with the Commissioner saying the offence was a priority for Leicestershire Police.