“Prevention is better than cure”, is one of the key mantras of Bill Longmore, the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia.   The initiatives that help to stop people turning to crime or changing their ways if they are already involved in crime, often go unheralded and the day was an opportunity to showcase some of the things that go on in the county – not just from agencies like the police and fire service but many smaller, usually unheralded, groups and charities.    Every crime that is prevented helps to reduce the burden on the police and criminal justice system and reduces the number of people in prison, so, even though it is sometimes difficult to measure the success, this work is an enormously important part of the law and order strategy for the future.   I very much enjoyed meeting representatives from Willowdene, Victim Support, Smartwater, the Military Police, Shropshire Magistrates and many others before torrential rain sent everyone running for cover.  It was a great day and the challenge next year must be to attract more members of the public.  But how do you do that, especially those who will benefit from some of the programmes on offer?