William Morris is standing as an Independent candidate for Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner. If you are intending to stand to be Police and Crime Commissioner where you live, you can submit your own Candidate Statement, so get in touch at Editor@TopOfTheCops.com. Others are on the way, and we are looking for 400 words, and a photo of you to which you have rights.
I advocate a policy of targeting under-age drinking and street crime. I believe that social deprivation is a key cause of crime. My immediate seven point action plan is:
1. Less police bureaucracy, more arrests (at present the UK police forces are grossly overburdened with paper work)
2. Insisting on more rehab and detox centres to deal with drug abuse in Devon and Cornwall
3. Speaking out about the causes of crime, particularly poor social conditions and under investment in the region
4. Greater police presence in town centres on Friday and Saturday nights
5. Targeting the alcohol and drugs issues:
· Our children are vulnerable to the excesses of their own peers in a world in which drugs, alcohol and sex are marketed at a frenetic pace to the very young, both deliberately and inadvertently.
· The ease with which the young gain access to alcohol is disturbing, with cheap drink being sold to the under sixteens by some less scrupulous wine merchants; and we all know those few rogue city centre pubs that willingly sell alcohol to the underage. Anyone who has ever visited a prison, or worked with the police, will know full well that most, indeed almost all, violent crime is committed by those under the influence of alcohol, or seeking to obtain drugs. Heroin withdrawal produces very aggressive symptoms. And young men in a crowd tanked up on alcohol become doubly dangerous to the vulnerable, indeed to all of us.
6. An increase in resources allocated to the prevention and investigation of theft
7. Bringing influence to bear to promote better prisoner rehabilitation and an improved probation service
In a very real sense it is because of the need for human dignity that we maintain a Police Force. We need to be able to walk free from the threat of robbery, violence, abuse and fear.
Our basic human rights include the right to walk in the streets of our towns and villages without concern about the need to watch our backs no matter the time of the day or night. The police are not here to fill forms and shuffle paperwork. They are here to keep our society free, to keep our children safe, and to protect life and property from threat of any kind. It is my intention to make sure they are enabled to do just that.
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William Morris
Blog: http://southwestjustice.blogspot.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SouthWestMorris
TopOfTheCops.com 
How commendable are these statements, Where have they all been for last thirty years when they could have joined the police and done something about Society that they now want to re shape at great expense to the rest of Society. Police and Crime Commissionaires a waste of money in times of Austerity.
Well we could have joined the police – and some of us have – others have served in other ways. Most of us have a considerable knowledge of the criminal justice system. For instance, I served for nearly a decade as a prison visitor at Swansea Prison. I also served for a number of years on the Public Protection committee of West Glamorgan County Council dealing with Civil Defence and Fire Service issues as well as on the Childrens’ Committee dealing with quite harrowing child abuse issues. My candidate statement is a work in progress – out there for consultation – before I finalise my ideas on or about 12th October. I’d be grateful for any suggestions or comments to morriswil@aol.com