NPCC Chair Sara Thornton sends her condolences to the families who died in tragedy

Today (April 21) I had the privilege of opening the Home Affairs Select Committee annual conference at Homerton College Cambridge. In the audience were some of the most senior people working in government and public agencies - both in the UK and from overseas.

The latest crime statistics released today, Thursday 21st April, show a continued reduction in overall crime, reflect improved accuracy of recording processes across the service and outline the willingness of victims to come forward.

A new initiative launched today aims to get staff based in busy areas across the UK to play a part in protecting against attacks - and show them what to do in the rare event of a major incident unfolding.

Stalking and harassment can have a devastating effect on victims' lives and we remain focused and committed to improving training, guidance and our overall response.

The police, local authorities and animal welfare charities seek to work together to deal with serious cruelty to animals. However, there are inconsistencies and we welcome the Committee for Environment Food and Rural Affairs' inquiry into the welfare of domestic pets. 

While any increase in the powers we have to protect the public would be welcome, we believe that the amendment should apply to all bail conditions - not just those relating to travel offences for suspected terrorists. 

We are working with chief constables and the College of Policing to build wellbeing and resilience. We want our workforce to thrive in this incredibly rewarding job.  

Police in England and Wales are starting to train around 1,500 extra firearms officers to help protect the public from terrorism.

The NHS have today launched the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS). This empowers NHS organisations to deal more decisively with anti-social behaviour and under CSAS, chief police officers can delegate limited powers to accredited persons within NHS organisations to help tackle anti-social behaviour in partnership with the police.

The Howard League for Penal Reform have today published a report, Criminal care: Children's homes and criminalising children, looking at the relationship between children in residential care and the criminal justice system.

We will work closely with chief constables, the Home Office and the College of Policing to build a consistent, multi-agency response to missing and vulnerable people.