The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police is set to be quizzed over knife crime.

Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Shelford will put questions to Chief Constable Sarah Crew when she goes before a performance accountability board on Wednesday, June 14.

The board is an opportunity for scrutiny, where police can be probed about their performance. When Commissioner Shelford attends the meeting he will question the Chief Constable on the impact of police efforts to tackle knife crime, as well as the issue of rape and sexual assaults in hospital settings.

Commissioner Shelford said: “I know that the police get exceptionally busy in the summer but local people still rightfully expect a high level of service. I will be asking the Chief Constable how she will ensure that officers respond in a timely way and improve on what they did last year.

“We will also be discussing other important topics including tackling knife crime, preventing sexual assaults and rapes happening in in hospitals and how the policing service supports volunteers.”

It comes after a number of incidents involving knives in Wellington this year, including the stabbing to death of Lewis Smith in February and a separate knife assault in May which resulted in another man being hospitalised.

Sarah Crew became Avon and Somerset's first female Chief Constable in November 2021, after serving as the deputy chief since June 2017. Chief Constable Crew has said that: “My drive for fairness and equality lies at the heart of my passion for policing.

"I have always been determined to stand up for the underdog and against the bully, and policing seemed to me to offer the greatest opportunity to help people directly on a personal, practical and human level. It’s also important to me to be part of a team with the same clear mission and values."

Chief Constable Crew says leading on the force's Inclusion and Diversity Strategy, which seeks to make the organisation the most inclusive in the UK, is one of her career highlights - in addition to helming Operation Bluestone which involved working with academics to change the way police response to rape and sexual assault.

The meeting will be broadcast live on Facebook, at 10.30 am on Wednesday, June 14.