A recent visitor to Rotary Newton Aycliffe, and Mike Dixon’s speaker for the evening, was Durham Police and Crime Commissioner, Joy Allen, and we were delighted that she was able to find the time in her busy schedule to come along.
After a warm welcome by President David Hogg, Joy shared with us her varied and interesting background and her life experiences throughout her career, often working in other parts of the country and abroad, but mostly in the Northeast. Joy told us, “For a time, I worked for the Fire and Rescue Service and also the Police and this gave me first hand knowledge of the problems on the ground such as anti-social behaviour, car crime, vandalism and knife crime.”
Joy went on to say, “Addictions such as drugs, alcohol and gambling, are causing huge problems in society, particularly with younger people and, of course, funding is always an issue, especially when funding cuts are disproportionately higher when compared with other areas of the country where there might be a lower population, less crime, and more officers on the ground.” It was obvious she was passionate about her job and doing her very best to make a difference.
After an in depth and amazing insight into her work as Durham’s PCC, Joy was thanked by Rotarian Margaret Fenwick and Rotary members and asked to return at some point to update us on her progress.
Photo from left: Rtn Mike Dixon, PCC Joy Allen, President David Hogg.