Dudley borough residents are being invited to attend an annual public meeting to meet and put their questions directly to the people who are accountable for community safety within the borough.

Dudley’s community safety partnership, safe & sound, which incorporates the borough’s local police and crime board, will be holding a public meeting on 19 January 2021 from 6pm. Due to current COVID restrictions the meeting will be held virtually on Microsoft Teams.

People will have the opportunity to find out more about how the partnership operates before being able to put questions to the people who are accountable for community safety.

Senior officers and decision-makers from the police, council, CCG and other organisations will be on hand to answer questions related to community safety. Councillor David Vickers, on behalf of cabinet member for housing and communities said:

"This has been a challenging year for all of us, both in our work and our personal lives, but as partners we are still committed to addressing the concerns of our borough residents, we can only do this if people let us know what they think.

"Listening to residents’ concerns is a priority and every year we ask people to tell us what their community safety concerns are to help us identify the main issues facing communities.

"I would encourage people to join the meeting or submit information in advance so we can really understand the community safety issues that matter to people right now."

To book a place, you can visit dudleysafeandsound.org or to find out more, email community.safety@dudley.gov.uk or call 01384 814 735

People who can’t attend the meeting can submit questions in advance and include what they think the partnership’s priorities for the coming year should be, to community.safety@dudley.gov.uk. Kim Madill, Dudley neighbourhood policing unit chief superintendent and chair of the community safety partnership, added:

"We’re committed to working with our partners and listening to what residents are telling us about the main community safety issues facing their communities.

"It’s been a difficult year for all of us and we really want to understand what impact this is having on community safety issues facing borough residents. There are lots of ways to take part so please take this opportunity to have your say and get involved."