The most positive aspect of this afternoon’s Full Council meeting was the new Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Chris Sims, coming along to present to the meeting.

Its a welcome sign of increasing co-operation between the Police and the Council, after years when the old Chief Constable wouldnt attend Full Council meetings, even when invited. He cited official rules, but thankfully they dont seem to get in the way of our new Chief Constable’s desire to get involved in discussing the issues of the day with the Council.

Mr Sims has also helped co-operation by agreeing to align police boundaries with the Council’s Ward boundaries. This may seem a minor point, but it was a real pain having 2 sets of police management to engage with – as we did in Acocks Green, as the boundary between two of the old Police Command Units (OCUs) ran along Olton Boulevard, cutting the Ward in two. Many other Councillors across the City were in the same boat.

From next April the new Police Command Unit Areas will run along Council Constituency Boundaries, so no Councillor will have two OCUs in their Ward. Its a sign that Mr Sims’ actions are in line with his positive words about working more closely with local communities and their representatives. May it long continue.