On Sunday, I had the great privilege of attending the civic services in Carlisle in respect of the Remembrance Day commemorations for the first time as your Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Both services were a testament to our community spirit and were impeccably conducted and well attended.

Seeing the people involved and present on the day, many of who I spoke to, reinforced to me the very real pride that the people of Cumbria have in their county and the service provided to them. To me, Sunday demonstrated that the people of Cumbria will serve and will stand up when called to do so.

This is aptly demonstrated this week – on Thursday I will be attending the Police Public Bravery Awards in Sheffield, where two Carlisle residents will receive a Silver Medal for their bravery in stopping an attempted abduction. Since being elected, I have been in awe of the bravery, determination and commitment of so many of the people, volunteers and community groups that I regularly meet.

I was genuinely pleased to see the number of young people in attendance at the ceremonies; it is these young people who will carry on the act of remembrance and ensure that we say, 'never again.’

Improving the lives of young people and their communities was one of the reasons I ran to be your PFCC six months ago. I am proud that my office, through its Community Fund, is funding projects that help diverts young people away from involvement in disorder, anti-social behaviour and crime., I do know, however, that there is much more work to be done and I intend to see that it is.

Over the coming months, I will regularly use these pages to outline the work that I am doing to address the issues that are important to you. You can have confidence that, as your PFCC, my number one priority will be to serve you, the public.