More police officers will go to court for offences, pledges new Thames Valley Chief Constable
ITV News Meridian's Charlotte Briere-Edney has been speaking to Chief Constable Jason Hogg
In his first media interviews, the Thames Valley's new Chief Constable seems confident and excited.
Jason Hogg makes no bones about the challenging place policing is in, and has pledged a zero-tolerance policy on misogyny, racism and homophobia at Thames Valley Police and says bad officers will face misconduct hearings.
Speaking to ITV News Meridian, Chief Constable Hogg said: "I've got three main priorities - which are serving victims, fighting crime and building trust, and all those things are very much connected."
In the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard, who was killed by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, the life sentence handed to Met firearms officer David Carrick for offences including at least 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes, and the Casey Review, which revealed institutional racism, sexism and homophobia at the heart of the Metropolitan Police, trust and confidence in policing across the country has been eroded.
Neighbouring forces like the Thames Valley have been particularly badly affected.
Chief Constable Hogg said: "In simple terms, there is no doubt there has been a loss of public confidence in the police as a result of some of the high profile incidents we've seen coming out of the Metropolitan Police. But clearly that affects us here in the Thames Valley.
"So it's important for us to earn that trust by being a really good, effective police force.
"So we pick the phone up quickly, we get to people's emergencies quicker than we are at the moment, take positive action in arresting suspects and keeping our victims up to date.
"We've got an extra 186 officers on our front line and I'm making a response times a real priority going forward."
Jason Hogg studied theology at the University of Oxford before deciding to join the police after a chance encounter with an officer.
He said: "I felt excited about the job that they did and the difference they made, so I joined the police straight from university."
Chief Constable Hogg has been in policing for 27 years and at Thames Valley Police since 2016, most recently as Deputy Chief Constable.
He says building and maintaining a diverse workforce is vital, but adds the Thames Valley force is already doing well.
The new Chief Constable added: "I think we are a good police force, but we absolutely can't be complacent. I want us to do more to show the public that we have incredibly high standards.
"Nearly half of our workforce are women, and in the last year 44% of our new recruits are female, and 18% are from a black Asian minority ethnic background, which is the highest level of diversity in the history of Thames Valley Police.
"We're on a journey with this, and we definitely, definitely need to get better.
"Of course, there will be cases where people don't meet the standards, and I will be absolutely unapologetic in rooting out those individuals.
"And in the coming weeks and months you will see more misconduct cases and some officers charged and go to court for offences.
"We'll be very open and transparent when that happens and when we have a misconduct hearing members of the public can come and see exactly how the misconduct process works.
"So we'll be unapologetic, but there will be more cases coming to court shortly."
Chief Constable Hogg says better neighbourhood policing and more visibility will also help to improve trust.
He added: "I'm absolutely committed to the public will see an absolute difference in terms of a neighbourhood policing being a priority.
"So officers being visible in their local communities on patrol, but also investigating those crimes that mean the most to local people."
He also wants to increase the use of stop and search powers, which some will find controversial, as they disproportionately target black people.
The new Chief Constable explains why he wants to increase the use of stop and search
In the Thames Valley, a black person is twice as likely to be searched compared to a white person, and more than 70% of searches result in no further action.
Chief Constable Hogg said: "I want the officers to have the confidence to use our powers in stopping certain individuals no matter what the gender or background, creed or colour.
"No matter what community somebody is from, I think they really want the police to be proactive, policing the streets, using their powers, taking knives off the streets and tackling drug dealers, which is exactly what we do."