Avon and Somerset's Chief Constable Andy Marsh has visited Strode College in Street to provide an insightful talk into modern policing.

Last week, Year 1 and 2 A-level law students at Strode College were treated to a talk given by special guest speaker Chief Constable Andy Marsh, of Avon and Somerset Police.

He detailed his role within the Avon and Somerset Police Constabulary and answered a range of questions from the students regarding current issues and the changing world of policing.

Andy Marsh has served as Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police since February 2016 – the force he first joined as a new recruit in 1987.

As a Detective Sergeant, he helped re-shape the force's approach to the way that major crime was investigated.

After some years away working at other nearby regional constabularies, Andy returned to Avon and Somerset as an Assistant Chief Constable in 2009, where he was responsible for creating the major crime and specialist operations service, which led to the implementation of Brunel - now a tri-force major crime investigation collaboration with Wiltshire and Gloucestershire - and Zephyr, now a regional organised crime unit working across all five forces in the South West.

In 2018, he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal, in recognition of his distinguished service to the police.

Andy started off by giving a presentation to the students revolving around cuts and costs Avon and Somerset Constabulary have incurred as a result of government decisions, the complex issue of matching resources to demand now being the main day to day challenge in UK policing, and how significant events over the past 30 years have changed policing, such as the arrival of the internet, the highly publicised murders of Stephen Lawrence, and of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, and the suicide terrorist attacks in London on July 7 2005.

He went on to discuss how Avon and Somerset Constabulary are hailed as the most progressive police force in the UK, with how they manage data in a smart way to reduce and solve crimes.

On a national level, Andy was appointed as the National Police Chief's Council's (NPCC) policing lead for body worn video in 2014.

With this, he's led a ground-breaking change to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, to allow cameras to be used for interviews, and developed a business case with the Home Office to allow them to be used for taking witness statements, as stronger methods for evidence reporting compared to standard written statements, which have in turn, not only helped protect the police and change their attitudes, but also become highly important when bringing an offender to justice in court.

Following his presentation, students had the opportunity to ask Andy questions they had previously prepared including:

- Do victims always get justice?

- Are juries fit for purpose in the criminal justice system?

- What is the worst crime you have ever attended?

- Do you agree with the changes to stop and search?

Year 1 student Ruby Kidner asked the question: "What is the most frequent crime committed in Avon and Somerset?"

Ruby said: "Today's talk has been very eye opening and very beneficial to my learning as I want to go on to work within the law sector in the future.

"I was very surprised by some of the answers given, and very surprised to learn that domestic violence is, in fact, the most frequent crime committed in the area.

"It was, however, great to get some really good in-depth answers from Chief Constable Andy Marsh."

Year 2 student Corey Summers asked the question regarding whether police get unfair and negative media press.

Corey said: "The BBC is controlled by the government and so it was very interesting to see the links between the different government departments.

"Today has given me an insightful look into British policing and it has definitely shown that the government needs to create stronger links between the different arms (as both the media and police derive their funding from the government) and always seem to be in conflict of interest, when they shouldn't necessarily be."

In response, Andy had said that sometimes you have to embrace the media to also get key messages from internally within the police, out across to society, and therefore use it to their own benefit.

Having also being provided with the controversial question of whether juries are a good thing and fit for purpose in the Criminal Justice System, he answered very honestly in that sometimes a jury service doesn't always bring about the right conclusion to a court case, with offences such as rape and sexual abuse being very hard to get a conviction.

He did say that one of the things he valued the most about being a police officer was that in our country, the police force are very much operation independent, and therefore looked up to by other countries across the world, in how we look and strive to bring about fair justice for criminals.

We have the freedom in this country for our police officers to arrest on means they feel possible and Andy values the belief to think independently as an officer in this regard.

Andy said: "Policing is only successful because we have the consent, support and trust of the people we are here to serve, so this was an important opportunity to build upon that trust with young people from Strode College, who may need to access police services in the future or even join us as officers, police staff or volunteers.

"I thought the students today asked great and very currently-relevant questions, and they are a very bright and engaging group of young people, led by a great subject lecturer, and it was a privilege to answer their questions today."

Rowena Mudge, A-level law lecturer at Strode College, said: "A-level law students study criminal law and the English legal system as part of their studies.

"Chief Constable Marsh's visit allows our students the opportunity to see how their studies relate to policing and justice, and in particular how this relates to the areas they live.

"To see the criminal law they have studied applied to modern policing has been invaluable. We are grateful to CC Marsh for giving our students this opportunity."

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