Matthew Grove: 'I think for most, it would be the job from hell. But I love it'

Six months after he was elected the region's first police and crime commissioner, Matthew Grove speaks to crime reporter Jenna Thompson.

AS HE walks along the streets of Anlaby, Matthew Grove smiles.

"These are my favourite kinds of days," he says.

The Humberside police and crime commissioner is on one of his regular community outings, which have become a fixture in his diary since being elected six months ago.

Every week, he visits a different area in the force to meet their local police officers, councillors and residents to hear first-hand what their issues are.

"You don't find out what's going on out there by sitting behind a desk," he says.

"It is easy to get stuck in high-level meetings and reading reports, but it is about making sure your feet are on the ground.

"I love getting out, meeting people and finding out what their issues are so I can get stuck into them."

Today, he is in Anlaby, Willerby and Kirk Ella to discuss speeding in the villages, visit a local skate park and meet neighbourhood watch groups.

It has been a busy few months since Mr Grove was elected to the £75,000-a-year role last November, when he narrowly beat Labour's Lord Prescott.

During the campaign, he famously called the position "the job from hell".

But it is one he is thoroughly enjoying.

"I think, for most people, it would be the job from hell," he says.

"But it is the perfect job for me. I absolutely love it."

It takes just 20 minutes of the first meeting before the "b" word comes up – budget.

With Mr Grove now overseeing the budget of £183m – and having to make cuts of £11m in the next two years alone – it is one of the biggest pressures he faces.

"It is not going to be easy," he says. "We have to find the detail of how to keep people safe with the money we have.

"If you were on a diet, you can only lose so much weight before you starve yourself. I don't want that to happen to the police force.

"We have to work better with what we have got."

One of Mr Grove's money-saving ideas is to pool resources with other public services. He is planning to close Kirk Ella police station, which is currently open for just four hours a week, and move the officers into Haltemprice Sports Centre.

"It is a no-brainer," he says. "The centre is open for 18 hours a day and has a footfall of one million people a year. This is the hub of the community and it is where the police should be. The officers support it and can't wait to get in there.

"There are some final details to go through, but I am hoping it will be fine. I think everyone would be disappointed if it doesn't happen."

Eventually, he hopes the same thing could happen in Hessle and Hornsea. He has also spoken of his desire for Humberside Fire and Rescue Service to share a vehicle maintenance workshop which will be included in a new £7m police building in Melton.

Another thing he hopes to share is his office – shortly after his election, he put his designated office in Hull's High Street up for sale for £425,000.

Despite some interest, the building remains on the market.

"It is too grand to be my office," he says. "I want something simple and located in the centre of the region.

The Humber Bridge board offices would be perfect and that's what I would like to do."

One of the biggest challenges Mr Grove faced was finding a new chief constable to replace Tim Hollis, who retired in March after eight years at the helm.

He chose Justine Curran, who was the chief constable of Tayside Police in Scotland before joining Humberside in April.

"It was really good to find Justine," he says.

"The culture in the force has begun to change and that is largely down to her. She really is a police officer for the 21st century."

At the same time as recruiting a new chief constable, Mr Grove was busy putting together his budget and police and crime plan.

With those huge jobs now out of the way, what are his plans for the next six months?

"Now is the time to start delivering on my plans," he says.

"Everything is in place and I have already started to see a positive difference. Now we need to concentrate on reducing crime and how we do that."

After a hectic morning with police officers and councillors, Mr Grove grabs a chicken and bacon sandwich from a bakery before meeting neighbourhood watch co-ordinators.

He tells them how it has been speaking to victims of crime that drives him to do the best job he can do.

He recently met a young woman who was dragged off the street while on the phone to police by sex attacker Rolands Brize, who tried to rape her underneath Myton Bridge.

"She was so brave," says Mr Grove. "It was an absolutely horrendous attack and she fought and fought and fought.

"When you are looking into the eyes of a victim and hearing their story, there is no better motivation than that to do a good job."