Macclesfield residents choose top policing priorities

Residents from Macclesfield want policing in their area to focus on tackling domestic abuse, protecting vulnerable people and an increased police presence on the streets.

These were the top three priorities that the community representatives voted for through the citizens’ assembly set up by Dan Price, the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

Dan brought together 35 people across Macclesfield to ensure local policing is shaped by the people, for the people. Embedding local voices into policing priorities.

Residents took part in three face-to-face workshops for 12 hours in total. They heard from experts, shared their views and at the end voted for what they thought was most important for their local area.

The other policing priorities that they looked at and voted on included:

• Tackling drugs
• Combatting cyber crime
• Investing in artificial intelligence (AI) technology

Dan Price is the first Police and Crime Commissioner in the country to hold citizens’ assemblies to form local policing priorities. They’re powerful spaces where a true cross-section of the community comes together – young and old, all backgrounds, with different views and different levels of trust in the police. Some people have had direct experiences with the police, others have witnessed crime or simply care about their community. Most importantly everyone has a voice.

Dan’s aim is to have a citizens’ assembly in each of Cheshire Constabulary’s nine local policing units. The first one was held in Crewe at the end of 2024, the Runcorn and Widnes ones ran throughout June and into the beginning of July, with Macclesfield running at the end of September through to the beginning of October. Congleton is set to be the next area visited, with planning currently underway.

Police and Crime Commissioner Dan Price, said:

“This is what local, community-led policing looks like. I’m now over a third of the way through my citizens’ assembly programme and can’t wait to take it to the next area and hear from those communities.

“It’s been incredible to watch people change their perspective after hearing stories and facts they hadn’t considered. That’s real democracy in action.”

More information about Citizens’ Assemblies can be found on here.