Our force strength is projected to rise to 3,600 in the next 12 months – the highest on record. But to really crack down on crime we need to give the police the power to do their job, ensure funding is more targeted and place a far greater emphasis on rehabilitation to reduce reoffending.
In the past couple of months new legislation and funding announcements have aimed to do exactly this.
They include action on dangerous driving – an issue I recently discussed with Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez.
The Vision Zero partnership, which she is helping to lead, is working to stop all fatal and serious collisions in Devon and Cornwall by 2040.
Youth Crime: The Government recently announced the largest investment in tackling youth crime in a generation - £300 million. 80 per cent of prolific adult offenders begin committing crimes as minors and the estimated cost of late intervention is £17 billion a year.
The funding will help local authorities intervene and prevent youth offending earlier than ever and stop more young people moving on to more serious offending.
Knife Crime: New legislation is making it easier for the police to stop and search adults who have previously been convicted for knife or other offensive weapon crimes.
The tactic is hotly debated, but the data speaks for itself – in 2019/20 use of stop and search powers resulted in 34,000 arrests, including 4,418 for possessing weapons.
Alcohol-fuelled crime: Alcohol is a major factor in violent crime, with the social and economic cost estimated to be around £21.5 billion per year.
Last month, data was released on the first 12 months of sobriety tags – electronic devices worn by offenders who commit alcohol-fuelled crimes which alert the probation service if alcohol is detected.
The data showed a 97% compliance rate and probation officers have spoken of their positive effect on the mental health and re-offending rates of offenders under their supervision.
Dangerous Driving: recent legislation has cracked down on the use of mobile phones behind the wheel.
Previously, only interactive communication, such as making a call or sending a text message, was banned which left a loophole for other activities that many dangerous drivers exploited.
Now, if you are caught using your mobile phone while driving you can get a fine of up to £1,000, 6 points on your licence, and a driving ban.
More than a third of young people aged 24-35 admit to texting, emailing or using social media while driving and this is very dangerous (texting for example is six times more likely to lead to an accident than drink driving).
Strengthening the law is vital, but so too is changing attitudes, just as we have successfully done with drink-driving.
More from Mel at www.melstridemp.com or on twitter @MelJStride.