Vera Baird DBE KC

Writer, Lecturer, Parliamentary Consultant and Co-Director of Astraea: Gender Justice

Category: Police & Crime Commissioner

  • PCC Vera Baird – delighted Wildlife Crime Unit has been saved from closure

    Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird has expressed delight at news that the UK’s specialist unit for wildlife law enforcement will continue, following a successful national campaign to prevent its closure. It was feared that The Wildlife Crime Unit, which tackles wildlife crime would be forced to close at the end of March due…

  • Protecting our Emergency Services

    Northumbria Police and our Fire Services work closely together and have developed great partnership working and I am keen to see this continue. I don\’t believe that the Fire Service should come under the control of Police & Crime Commissioners, but I do believe the government has a duty to ensure all of our emergency…

  • North East PCCs call for debate to reduce alcohol consumption.

      A major conference in Durham today has called for changes in the licensing laws for alcohol. The key outcomes of the conference are expected to form the basis of a debate in Parliament. Over one hundred people from decision-making bodies met with the North East’s three Police and Crime Commissioners at the Durham Centre in Belmont…

  • PCC Vera Baird says In Northumbria sex abuse complainants will be believed as all other complainants are

      Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird, is in complete disagreement with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe who has suggested that police should not believe sex abuse complainants, in contrast to the way every other complainant is dealt with.   He has said: \”There is a grave danger at the moment with…

  • David Cameron a man of many words and little action

    David Cameron has today said that prison reform has been a “scandalous failure” for years and has pledged  to make it the “great progressive cause” of politics.  Ironically, the Prime Minister has expressed the same concerns nearly a decade ago when in 2007 he said that prison reform was one of the key planks of…

  • Keeping cops on the beat.

    The Police and Crime Panel for Northumbria have unanimously approved the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed increase to the police precept (the police element of the council tax) of 10p per week for a band D property. The Chief Constable confirms that this figure which is £5 per year will enable him to retain…

  • Vera Baird urges Home Secretary to take action.

      Following news that American blogger Daryush Valizadeh known as Roosh V has organised rallies in various cities across the world this weekend, including Newcastle, Northumbria’s Police & Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird QC, has written to the Home Secretary, Theresa May, urging her to ban Roosh V from entering the United Kingdom. Valizadeh is urging…

  • WINNER – Living Wage Leadership Award 2015

    Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird, has been chosen as the winner of the Living Wage Leadership Award 2015 for the North East region. The Living Wage Foundation organise these awards to recognise the life changing impact individuals have made by leading the way on the Living Wage Campaign within communities. The awards are…

  • ‘Surrender your Knife’

    Three regional Forces are joining together to raise awareness of the dangers of knife-related crime and ensure we all stay safe. Northumbria, Cleveland, and Durham Police are working with the ‘Surrender a knife’ organisation to encourage the surrender of knives which may otherwise be used in crime throughout the next two weeks. The British Ironwork…

  • Challenges Facing Policing.

    When the House of Commons returns, one of the first jobs MPs will have to do is to respond to George Osborne’s proposed cuts of up to 40% to government departments. If the Home Office is faced with a 40% cut to its budget, it will have devastating effects on how we police Northumbria. Be…