As part of a national crackdown on shoplifting announced today, prolific offenders - who commit the bulk of offences - could be subject to GPS tagging following release from prison.

Following months of extensive work with national and local retailers I launched Thames Valley’s Retail Crime Strategy back in January and have been working with Thames Valley Police to more than double the number of charges for shoplifting in recent months.

I was recently asked on Facebook to set out my top the achievements from my last three years as Police & Crime Commissioner. I’ve replied but social media doesn’t really work for the slightly longer explanations that are helpful with such a list, so here’s he longer version.

As of 31st March this year the Force now has 5,120 police officers, more than 600 higher than in 2010 and 20% more than when the national uplift programme started in 2019.

I’ve listened to residents from across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes and I’m offering a clear plan for common sense policing. 

I am the only candidate at this election running a positive campaign with a clear plan to deliver safer communities for the people of Thames Valley. 

Thames Valley Police’s Rural Crime Taskforce will be expanded with the recruitment of an additional 10 officers to the team.

The Drive Partnership’s flagship perpetrator intervention for high-harm, high-risk, and serial perpetrators of domestic abuse is now live across the Thames Valley; with partner launch events taking place this week in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire.

Last week, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, attended a digital support clinic run by Age UK Oxfordshire to see how £10,000 of funding from his Community Fund is helping older people get online safely and confidently.

A man who threatened members of the public with a bladed article in Chipping Norton has been jailed for more than two years and given a Serious Violence Reduction Order (SVRO).

A ground-breaking new way for victims of crime to communicate directly to the police officer handling their case has been successfully launched across Thames Valley Police.

The innovative Victim's Portal will enable people who have reported a crime to check the status of the investigation, get updated as their case progresses, and message the officer in charge of their case (OIC), all through a link on their phone or computer.

Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, has set out an increase in crime prevention funding which will see £11.4m available to Community Safety Partnerships across Thames Valley over the next four years.

Police and Crime Commissioner commits new funding to tackle youth knife offending

Many genuine car enthusiasts enjoy car meets and will do so safely and legally, but anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving from a minority have fuelled concerns by residents in Milton Keynes, as well as other areas across Thames Valley.

Thames Valley Police are acting to tackle regular car meets and racing as well as working with the council to seek to prevent problems in the future.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and Thames Valley Police have today detailed plans to increase engagement with communities as part of their work to build trust and confidence in policing.

Yesterday I wrote to the Home Secretary urging a review of the Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) to ensure the police accurately record sex. 

Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, has written to four major retailers to ask them to reconsider the sale of e-scooters.

Police & Crime Commissioner provides grant funding of over £200,000 taken from criminals to support community projects

Matthew Barber welcomes the Government’s new long-term ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign, delivering tough new anti-fraud messaging, raising public awareness on fraud safety advice in partnership with law enforcement, tech, banking, telecoms and third sector organisations.

On Friday, 9 February, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, visited C2C Social Action in Milton Keynes to find out more about their work supporting women in the criminal justice system.

Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, met with some of the team at Reducing the Risk of Domestic Abuse to hear how funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is supporting their work with victim-survivors of domestic abuse.

Last week, a child was reported missing and later subjected to a serious sexual assault in Oxfordshire. My greatest concern is for the victim and ensuring they receive the support they need and I would urge anyone discussing this case to remember that there is a real child behind all of this.

However I must be clear the accused in this case, Osareen Omoruyi, is a 51 year old male.

On Tuesday, 6 February, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, met with representatives from Citizens Advice Cherwell and West Northants to find out how almost £8000 of funding from the PCC’s Community Fund will help to support a pilot connecting individuals leaving prison with support services.

Last month, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, visited The Oasis Partnership to find out how over £3000 worth of funding from the PCC’s Community Fund is helping to support an innovative new pilot for a monthly support group for offenders in the criminal justice system and people in addiction treatment and recovery with ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

The Thames Valley CCTV partnership is being led by Police & Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, in collaboration with local authority partners and Thames Valley Police to deliver an improved, sustainable provision for CCTV across the Thames Valley to help detect and deter crime and keep the public safe.

Three new services will be launching this April to support victims of crime in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley has confirmed. 

Following an investigation by Thames Valley Police, a man has been convicted of possession of a knife and possession of a class B drug in Milton Keynes.

A robust new approach to tackling retail crime in the Thames Valley will be unveiled by Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, today.

Funding for an additional 150 police officers across the force, including neighbourhood officers; priority crime teams to tackle burglaries, theft and shoplifting; and an increase in the Rural Crime Taskforce and more…

Earlier this month the Thames Valley CCTV Partnership went live, with the first control room in Milton Keynes. Building on the previous partnerships between local authorities and the police the vision of the new system being championed by Police & Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber is to have a sustainable CCTV system to detect and deter crime and keep the public safe. Already the increase in CCTV operators has seen the police able to intervene in serious crimes as they are being committed.

£200k available to community groups - Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), has opened the first application round of the Community Fund for 2024

Ahead of a government announcement on modernising spiking laws this week, on Friday, 15 December, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, and Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, Jason Hogg, welcomed Home Secretary, the Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, and Laura Farris MP, Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, to Windsor to discuss the work Thames Valley Police is doing to tackle violence against women and girls