Resilience is an extremely important part of policing which involves capabilities for handling a wide range of contingencies for national disasters and emergencies. These capabilities are drawn from a cross county partnership involving emergency services, local authorities and any other relevant agencies, these operate under the Sussex Resilience Forum (SRF).

The overall purpose of the SRF is to ensure that there is an appropriate level of preparedness to enable an effective multi-agency response to emergencies which may have a significant impact on the communities of Sussex.

Sussex Police Authority's Protective Services Scrutiny Committee, on Tuesday 16 March, will hear about the involvement of Sussex Police in the Sussex Resilience Forum in relation to the Swine Flu pandemic and the adverse weather conditions in December 2009 and January 2010.

Chairman of the Protective Services Scrutiny Committee, Mr Lionel Barnard, says: "The Protective Services Scrutiny Committee serves to examine the performance of Sussex Police against targets within the Local Policing Plan that relates to the delivery of services known as Protective Services. These include Roads Policing, Protecting Vulnerable People, Serious and Organised Crime, investigating Major Crime and Resilience.

"This often enigmatic area of policing works tirelessly behind the scenes to keep people safe and the Police Authority's scrutiny of Protective Services ensures that Sussex Police are wholly accountable in this very sensitive area of policing."