What is it like to be a Labour PCC hopeful?

Posted on 25/04/2012 by samchapman

Obviously, I am not the first person one would think of to answer this question. I am not a Labour candidate and, even if I believed in a multiverse with an infinity of worlds only slightly different from our own, I’m fairly sure that in all of them I would not be a Labour candidate. Had the local Labour party said, “Sam, we’re serious about all this not-politicising-policing stuff, and we just want the best man for the job, and would it be OK if we reached across the political divide and admitted you were that man”, I might well have let them, but for some strange reason this has not happened.

Fortunately, however, one of the things that at least some Labour candidates seem to be at the moment is talkative, even to the likes of me, and so I am able to collate that information, and in an entirely non-attributable way, pass that on. Continue reading →

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Candidate Statement of Joe Tildesley

Posted on 24/04/2012 by samchapman

Joe Tildesley is seeking the Conservative nomination to be the Police and Crime Commissioner in the West Midlands. 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, a photo (of you!) that you have rights to, and preferably an imprint, which will be needed for the formal election period later this year.

Councillor Joe Tildesley from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council formally announces that he is to seek the Conservative nomination for the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner role.

I believe I am uniquely equipped as a Candidate. I retired from the West Midlands Police service in 2002, having completed a full thirty year career, with the rank of Inspector. In the last five years of my service I was both a Force and National Police Federation official and for the last two years of my service I was the Chairman of the Force’s Federation who had astrong reputation for holding the Chief Constable to account.


Since my retirement from the Police service I have been privileged to play a small role in Conservative politics. I stood unsuccessfully for the Parliamentary seat of Birmingham Selly Oak in 2005 and then for two years was the Chairman of the Solihull Conservative Association. For the last five years I have been a Councillor on Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and currently hold the post of Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Young People.


Since the announcement of the introduction of the role of Police and Crime Commissioners I have consistently been a supporter of this fundamental change to British Policing. I sometimes felt I was one of very few Conservative who could see the merit in the improved arrangements and accountability! A new relationship in which the Chief Constable would be answerable to a directly elected individual and a Police and Crime Commissioner, directly answerable to the electorate of the West Midlands. Real democracy, with both sides being prepared to ask tough questions and challenge the old relationship which was sometimes seen as holding back the correct oversight of Policing for the people of the West Midlands.


If elected, working in real partnership with local communities and the Chief Constable, I pledge to work towards the following aims:


•

  • To increase the number of Police officers actually deployed on an operational basis. I will work towards the early return of the recruitment of Police officers, whilst ensuring that within the bounds of legislation both Special Constables and Police Community Support Officers play a full part in cutting crime.
  • To maintain a sustained reduction in the overall crime level across all communities and every part of the West Midlands. That can only be achieved by ensuring that we have the highest quality staff, well motivated, with officers prepared to daily ‘work and patrol with purpose’.
  • As well as fulfilling my statutory commitments to the Police and Crime Panel, I will establish formal communications with all seven Metropolitan Borough areas in the West Midlands. I will listen and respond to the concerns of communities and residents groups. I pledge to be a visible, responsive and accountable Commissioner.
  • The victims of crime will be at the heart of everything I do. That will require new relationships with the Crown Prosecution Service, Local Councils, the Probation service and a whole raft of other partners that impact on Policing.
  • Ensuring that the West Midlands Police is at the very forefront of collaboration provisions between local Police Forces. It is possible to make financial savings by working leaner, smarter and more efficiently.


I still believe we are blessed with the finest Police service in the world. Police and Crime Commissioners continue a long tradition of the Police service adapting and modernising in a changing world. They can make a real difference.

Posted in Candidate Statements, Conservatives | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Candidate Statement of Darren Jaundrill

Posted on 23/04/2012 by samchapman

Darren Jaundrill is seeking the Conservative nomination to be the Police and Crime Commissioner in Thames Valley. 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, a photo (of you!) that you have rights to, and preferably an imprint, which will be needed for the formal election period later this year.

Darren Jaundrill announced on 10 April 2012 his intention to stand in the forthcoming elections for the Police & Crime Commissioner in Thames Valley. Darren, who is a former West Midlands Police Officer of just under four years, said “The role of Police & Crime Commissioner is arguably the biggest change to the Police Service in recent history. It appeals to my passion for public service and it’s time for me to step up to the mark”.

Following his Police Service, Darren worked as a management consultant where he was able to work within an international development Team of a FTSE100 company and then on a number of high value improvement projects in the hospitality industry. For the past three years, Darren has been working within performance and strategy in the railway industry. Darren says, “The devolution of accountability, organisational change and strategy is something I am not just familiar with but have managed in my current role. The parallels between what I have been doing professionally for the past three years and the role of Police & Crime Commissioner are clear and give me an edge perhaps others would not have.”

Darren is a keen charity and voluntary worker. More recently, Darren has embarked on a challenge to swim all of the UK coastal channels in aid of the military charities. Darren says about this “Charity is at my core. That sense of social responsibility, of community, now that is special and needs to be encouraged”.

Academically, Darren is undergoing his doctoral study upon organisational behaviour. His study entitled “Greater Expectations” is due for publication near the end of 2012.

In closing and with a smile Darren said to me “I am young, driven and committed to doing whatever I can to make things better. This is an opportunity to bring to bear all of my experience for the benefit of the people in Thames Valley. It is about understanding the institution and contrasting it with the people for which it serves. It is about making an accessible criminal justice system; protecting and supporting victims. But more importantly it is about remembering that the people of Thames Valley will elect someone to work for them on their behalf. They can be sure that if I am that person, I will work tirelessly to make them feel safe in their daily lives, engaged with their criminal justice system and proud of their communities.”

 

Darren has published a ten point plan to start the debate and to begin the process of engagement on the run up to the elections – see his website.

 

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Will the European Union let PCCs Buy British?

Posted on 23/04/2012 by samchapman

Dr Lee Rotherham of Taxpayers Alliance fame has applied to be the Conservative candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner in Lincolnshire – see this very informative campaign website. He gives his perspective here on the St. George’s Day call from Sussex Labour PCC hopeful Paul Richards for PCCs to ‘Buy British’.

This is the relevant thing: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004L0018:EN:NOT (note how it’s been massively rewritten over time).

My take on the long and the short of it is that a PCC might get away now and again with deliberately buying maybe four or five range rovers, or something built in Sunderland, provided he didn’t shout about it. If he buys a huge fleet, even if rolled out over his tenure, he crosses a threshold meaning he would have to put the contract out for tender. That threshold I understand is about £4m, though if it comes with a service contract he’d get caught if that were around £156k.

That’s quite a sum, and a PCC might think he could get away with trying his luck applying it broadly. After all, it’s reportedly done in certain other countries. HOWEVER, such a policy repeatedly applied sub-threshold by someone who has been openly making declarations of this sort invites complaints by foreign companies, and invitations for the Commission (and Vince Cable) to investigate, because even in these cases the basic principles of the public sector not buying national first are meant to apply even if the requirement to fully tender across the EU is not.

So in brief, a PCC in many Forces might get away with such a policy if he didn’t tell anyone about it. This could give him a warm fuzzy glow inside, but no electoral brownie points. The down side if he makes a point about doing it is the risk of questions about who is paying for the ensuing law suit, and any argument over value for money (if as you say a cheaper and more suitable foreign product does happen to be available, ie not a Trabant).

That all in turn shows

(i) a policy such as the one declared is a bear trap

(ii) how ‘local’ politics can quickly become national politics

(iii) how non-policing issues could end up entering the debate

(iv) EU policy will unfortunately affect PCCs the same as it does everyone else – best start swotting up on your ‘Justice & Home Affairs’ material.

 

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Weekend Update – Sunday 22nd April 2012

Posted on 23/04/2012 by samchapman

Labour Shortlists

In addition to those previously identified, shortlisted Labour Candidates are as follows:-

Cambridgeshire – Ed Murphy and there must be at least one other.

Cumbria – Michael Boaden and Patrick Leonard.

Durham – Ron Hogg, Peter Thompson & Bill Dixon.

Northumbria – Former Solicitor General Vera Baird and Sunderland Councillor Tom Foster. Sue Pearson was not shortlisted.

Nottinghamshire – Former MP Paddy Tipping, and lawyer Adam Mohammed – go on, click the link, if only to have a laugh at the arrangement of the candidate photos. Chris Winterton did not make the shortlist, and Penny Griggs withdrew (as has Conservative Bruce Laughton).

Staffordshire – Joy Garner and former Police Authority chairman Michael Poulter.

South Yorkshire – Rev Canon Dr Alan Billings, Kash Walayat OBE and former Chief Constable Med Hughes join Shaun Wright, who has been backed by local MPs John Healey and Denis MacShane.

Warwickshire – Ex-MP James Plaskitt & Rugby councillor Claire Edwards.

West Midlands – Bob Jones and Yvonne Mosquito. Mike Olley is trying to appeal. I’m told, however, that there is no appeals process and complaints around the country are getting nowhere.

 

Labour Shorter-list

It seems that in Bedfordshire the Labour shortlist has just got shorter. We wouldn’t normally name a Civil Servant, however it is already public that Simon Bullock was on the shortlist, but his employers have told him to withdraw due to political restriction.

As your editor is a former serial victim of political restriction rules he is keenly aware that in the Civil Service the rule is that you can’t be involved in national politics, but local politics, including getting elected, are OK. Bullock explained that his employers have decided to treat Police and Crime Commissioners as national politics! But wasn’t this localism? I guess PCCs will have a greater mandate than most individual MPs, and will use that weight at all levels but, come on guys, be reasonable!

It can’t have helped that his twitter profile describes him as localism policy lead for the Home Office, working on Community Safety and Police and Crime Commissioner implementation, but rules is rules, and it is odd that his application got so far without this being addressed.

My own view is that in most instances political restriction is wrong, and that a register of political interests would usually be better, and far more informative. People can hold political views, be open about them, and still provide good advice, and it would be better if we knew where they were coming from. It is counter-productive to exclude the people most interested and experienced in government from being elected to government.

Labour Even-Shorter-Lists

Labour selections produced shortlists of one again in the following areas, meaning these people are the official Labour candidates and local members don’t get the one-member one-vote selection process they were expecting.

Leicestershire – Leicester City Councillor Sarah Russell.

York – York Councillor Ruth Potter.

Conservative List

The first details have begun to emerge from the Conservative selection process. This consists of a national stage where, following application and interview, successful candidates are added to a Police and Crime Commissioner list. Selection arrangements beyond this are local, and may differ from one area to another, hence the avoidance of the term ‘shortlist’.

In Staffordshire, for example, Robbie Marshall and Neill Harvey-Smith appear to have got on the list, but it is admitted that a third candidate could yet be added.

The following have openly declared they are on the list – Peter Walker in North Yorkshire, Bernard Rix in Bedfordshire and Steve Waight in Sussex.

Not confirmed as listed yet are Darren Jaundrill in Thames Valley, or William Wallace and Ken Maddock in Avon and Somerset. In the last case though, as Councillor Maddock resigned from his role as Leader of Somerset Council to run for Police & Crime Commissioner in Avon & Somerset in the same week as the results began to filter out, it’s just possible that he is on it. His move also has implications for other Council Leaders hoping to be PCCs. Police Minister Nick Herbert has already said he sees the two jobs as incompatible, and Cllr Maddock clearly thinks he needs to give up the job in order to make time for the campaign, even before being selected.

Other Developments

A local report has the Liberal Democrats expected to field a candidate for PCC in Sussex, while the Greens there are undecided. Is there anyone in Sussex who isn’t standing for PCC?

Former Lancashire Labour hopeful Chris Maughan confirmed he is supporting Mark Atkinson to be Labour PCC in Lancashire.

Jon Collins has noted that of the 34 shortlisted/selected Labour candidates for PCC we know about, 9 are current/former MPs, 4 are ex senior cops, and 14 are councillors

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has put up a briefing for Police and Crime Commissioner candidates.

Victim Support complained about PCCs taking over their funding arrangements. Policy Exchange’s Rory Geoghegan said he was “Disappointed, but not surprised, to see a 96% state-funded charity @VictimSupport trying to retain monopoly position“, and Bedfordshire Conservative Bernard Rix took the view that “Bedfordshire will benefit from Government changes to victim support“

Richard Ford reported that Nick Herbert said PCCs could get responsibilty for local justice services in the future.

Sussex Labour hopeful Paul Richards complained of the impact of the policing arrangements on Brighton for a visit by the English Defence League, saying “If I was Police Commissioner I would want serious thought given to whether it’s acceptable for a small group of EDL to march thru Brighton.” Asked whether this was not an operational issue for the Chief Constable, he replied that he had chosen his words carefully, and he would like to test it in discussion with the Chief Constable. Perhaps while he’s at it, he might ban the Labour party from cluttering up Brighton with a big police operation next time they fancy having a conference there?

Seeing as this update is published slightly late, we are past the embargo on Paul Richards’s latest Press Release for St George’s Day, in which he says that if he is elected as Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner he will “introduce an immediate policy to favour firms which manufacture in Britain like Land Rover”. Richards says “Sussex police spend millions of taxpayers’ pounds on everything from police cars to uniforms, from waste paper bins to firearms. During my campaign I will be asking the hard questions about how this money is spent, and how it can be used to boost local firms, create local jobs, and back British industry.” A number of questions come to mind:-

1. Is it April 1st? – no it’s the 23rd.

2. Is it legal? Can we really favour firms just because they’re British? What would the EU think? Would we have to leave the EU? (please say yes)

3. Is it sensible? If a British and a German firm are charging the same for an equivalent product, I can see the sense in buying British. If the Brits are charging less or the same Richards’s policy changes nothing, so it only makes a difference where they charge more. How much more is he willing to pay? And as he has to get that money out of British taxpayers, are they any better off?

4. Is it still the 21st Century? This reminds me of governments shoring up lame duck companies. This reminds me of the 70s. This reminds me of the money spent bailing out Rover. And while we’re on the topic, it reminds me of driving around in police cars that were Metros and Maestros that the police should never have bought, but perhaps they thought they should buy British, or was it “never mind the quality, feel the price”?

5. Do we do anybody any real long-term favours when we shield them from free trade?

6. I note that he says that foreign-owned companies are ok as, “if they invest and employ workers in Britain, then the British police should be giving them a boost”. I guess Sussex police will be buying all their books from Amazon then, regardless of their company’s tax status.

There, I’ve probably offended enough people not currently covered by equality laws to get a real debate going without me actually getting prosecuted.

This week in crime…

Ah, another week gone by. Where does the time go?

Well in court, it flies by faster still – take this case, where a total of 442 years for a repeat child sex offender was transformed into just 13.5 years by the magic of concurrent sentencing. There’s nothing like British justice.

 

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Candidate Statement of Paul Biddle MBE

Posted on 22/04/2012 by samchapman

Paul Biddle is seeking the Conservative nomination to be the Police and Crime Commissioner in Devon and Cornwall. 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, a photo (of you!) that you have rights to, and preferably an imprint, which will be needed for the formal election period later this year.

Paul Biddle is seeking nomination from the Conservative party to be the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

This is not a time for gifted amateurs or Politicos who see this as another gravy train.

I have wide experience of the Criminal Justice System from the front line to strategic policy, I also believe in more community engagement in policing with the appropriate powers.

Through my overseas work I have seen what happens when rule of law fails

Born in Brighton in 1956, Mr Biddle moved to the West Country in 1982.

He has been married to Anne for 26 years and has two daughters.

He began his career in the regular Army, serving from 1971 to 1977 in Germany, Denmark and Northern Ireland, and then with the Territorial Army Parachute Regiment until 1983

Mr Biddle joined the Prison Service in 1985, working in all types of prisons, including HMP Dartmoor and HMP Exeter, along with secondments to the Probation Service, and was the first person from the UK criminal justice system to be seconded to the Commission for Racial Equality.

He co-wrote the highly influential document “The management of race relations in prisons”.

He has also worked in the National Operations Unit as a “use of force advisor” and was awarded the MBE in 2002.
He completed his career in 2007, seconded to the National Offender Management Service.

During his prison career, Mr Biddle was also seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, serving in Iraq as senior prison advisor (2004-5) and Palestine (2005) as Head of Mission, supervising a joint UK/US monitoring mission of Palestinian Terrorists, and twice to Afghanistan where, in 2006, he was cited for brave conduct for negotiating with the Taliban during the 2006 four-day riot at Pul-e-Charki prison, near Kabul.

Phil Weatley, the then Director General of the Prison Service, told him in a letter that his actions had been “a tremendous achievement that undoubtedly saved many lives”.

Since retiring, Mr Biddle has worked as a Security Sector Reform consultant in Indonesia, advising the Government on counter-terrorism, and was deployed to Afghanistan (2009) with the UN Assistance Mission supporting provincial justice and de-radicalisation programmes and then with the EU (2011).

In 2010, he was deployed by Her Majesties Government at short notice to respond to the breakdown in security and the destruction of the justice system in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.

Since 2007 he has been a deployable member of the UK Stabilisation Unit and works closely with the UK military including attending courses and training.

Paul is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and is currently working in Iraq on a UN justice project.

If selected would see the PCC as a full time job with no distractions.

Posted in Candidate Statements, Conservatives | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Candidate Statement of Ibrahim Master

Posted on 21/04/2012 by samchapman

Ibrahim Master is on the shortlist for the Labour nomination to be the Police and Crime Commissioner in Lancashire. 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, a photo (of you!) that you have rights to, and preferably an imprint, which will be needed for the formal election period later this year.

I believe my credentials to become Lancashire’s first Police and Crime Commissioner are second to none. In addition to being an active Labour Party member for over 20 years and a successful businessman, I have also enjoyed much success working for various public and voluntary sector organisations.

Most importantly, my thirteen years as an Independent member of the Lancashire Police Authority has provided me with the necessary experience and skills of holding the Chief Constable to account – and I am not the only one who feels this way; I have amongst my endorsers some of the most esteemed public figures in the realms of law and order, including Rt. Hon Jack Straw MP, Baroness Ruth Henig (President of the Association of Police Authorities and Rt. Hon Keith Vaz MP (Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee).

I have an in-depth insight into the inner workings of what constitutes a successful Police Force. Given the breadth and depth of my experience, I am confident I can hit the ground running from day one – a luxury which is out of reach for candidates with limited experience of policing and community matters.

My work with a diverse range of community organisations has made me acutely aware of the disparate needs of the communities – which again will be crucial to the success of a PCC in reaching out to the stakeholders he will serve because shaping and delivering an effective and efficient policing service based on the needs of our communities and stakeholders is a key feature of how a PCC will need to work.

Over the next few weeks I will be campaigning, as I have always campaigned for the last twenty years, up and down the streets of Lancashire to drive home the message that a vote for Labour means more safer, secure communities. With all the cuts announced by this government, we need to emphasise Labour’s amazing achievements during their time in power. When Labour left office in May 2010 there were a record numbers of police officers (16,500 more police and 16,000 new PCSO’s than in 1997). Crime had fallen by 43%: the chance of being a victim was at its lowest since records began.

Those halcyon days seem like a distant memory given the alarming rise in crime over the past two years.

It is a moral imperative to arrest this decline and to secure the safety of the good people of Lancashire, that has compelled me to stand for PCC.

More information on my campaign can be found on www.imaster.org.uk

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Top 10 posts so far…

Posted on 20/04/2012 by samchapman

As at 20 April 2012
This includes topical posts, but excludes Candidate Statements and pages for geographic areas. If you like it, it will be moved to the menu bar and updated on an irregular basis!

10. Questions in the House miss so many points – coverage of Theresa May saying the only official publicity candidates would be getting would be on an official website a bit like TopOfTheCops

9. Sure Things – under all sorts of unprovable assumptions, in which areas should certain party candidates feel safest?

8. A Holiday Treat for fans of “The Thick of It” – we were mobbed by fans of Peter Capaldi, or “Malcolm Tucker” as you may know him better.

7. Boris writes the first PCC manifesto – fairly self-explanatory. Note that Boris is the only London Mayoral Candidate to make the top 10, though we also covered Ken Livingstone and Brian Paddick. We didn’t pretend that people were seriously considering the Greens, while ignoring UKIP – we’re not the BBC!

6. Scores on the Doors as Labour nominations close – comparing rumours about candidates with rumours about numbers, and the odd fact.

5. What are Conservative Candidates Thinking? – or ‘why is a site run by a tory over-run by Candidate Statements from lefties?’

4. Campaign Economics – it’s a bit expensive to run without a party paying for it.

3. This is not normal politics – response to George Galloway’s win in Bradford West

2. An Exercise in Presumption – blasting the Local Government Association’s attempt to set up a Police and Crime Commissioners Association. There’s also a further update on this topic here.

And,

Wait for it,

Drum-roll please…

1. How NOT to shortlist for Police and Crime Commissioner candidates – covering unhappiness within Labour that certain nominations are either fixed to one candidate or to a Hobson’s choice shortlist.

But the impressive thing is that the number 1 article was written only 3 days ago, and yet has more views than popular articles that have had nearly 3 months to accumulate visits – perhaps this article reflects a pressing concern?

The ranks are done by numbers of views per page. If you like one of the posts enough to think it should appear in the top 10 then take to your favourite form of social media and promote it. Each article has links to Twitter, Facebook and the rest at the end to help you do this.

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Candidate Statement of Godfrey Daniel

Posted on 19/04/2012 by samchapman

Councillor Godfrey Daniel is on the shortlist for the Labour nomination to be the Police and Crime Commissioner in Sussex. 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, a photo (of you!) that you have rights to, and preferably an imprint, which will be needed for the formal election period later this year.

Labour needs a credible candidate as the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner. I have wide experience of the Criminal Justice System being the only Labour Member of the Sussex Police Authority (2009 -2012), also serving (1997-2001). I was a member of the Sussex Probation Board (2001-2007). I have been a magistrate since 1989.

I am a successful politician at both borough and county council levels. I won my Borough Council seat in Hastings in 1994 (which was regarded as ‘unwinnable’) and my County Council seat in 1997. I have been re-elected to both seats with increasing majorities ever since. I was Mayor of Hastings and am currently Deputy Labour Leader at East Sussex County Council. I am the Chair of Planning on both Hastings and East Sussex Councils. I had a successful career in teaching, fostering, residential social work and local government. I have lived in Hastings for over 25 years, after moving from Frant (near Wadhurst). I studied at Sussex University for 4 years, living in Brighton.

Neighbourhood policing and clear policies for dealing with domestic violence, hate crime and drugs are my priorities.

I have a sense of humour, and a strong commitment to the people of Sussex.

Posted in Candidate Statements, Labour | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Candidate Statement of Peter Levy

Posted on 19/04/2012 by samchapman

Pete Levy is the Liberal Democrat nominee to be the Police and Crime Commissioner in Avon and Somerset. 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, a photo (of you!) that you have rights to, and preferably an imprint, which will be needed for the formal election period later this year.

I will be seeking the Liberal Democrat nomination for Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset.

Following brief service with Wiltshire Constabulary I joined the Royal Military Police. After military service I established a second career in media and communications. I’m Somerset born and bred and believe I have the skills essential for this role. My knowledge of local government systems means I’m aware of the strengths and weaknesses in informing and representing the views of residents across a large and diverse region.

I’ve been a Liberal Democrat member of Bristol City Council since May 2010. As a member of Avon & Somerset Police Authority since then I’ve been involved with the change program dealing with the budgetary challenges supporting the Constabulary in providing the highest level of service.

I will commit to the PCC’s office being inclusive, honest, representative, fair-minded and accountable.

Politicisation of this office is not acceptable or fair to the integrity of the Police service provision. It certainly isn’t fair to the people of Avon & Somerset Police area. I want a robust and honest collaboration between PCC’s office and all local authorities, regardless of political affiliation.

The office of the PCC will work with the current communications team, partners and all local media outlets to develop a comprehensive communications delivery strategy. Police use of digital technology combined with traditional methods of engagement will be maintained and developed to reach the widest possible audience.

I will work with the Constabulary and organisation such as the Police Federation to ensure Police Officers and staff are informed, motivated and supported.

There will be a concerted effort to continue the work of the Police Authority and Constabulary to address the unfair and immoral issue of ‘Damping’. The process whereby the government sets out how much money we should get for policing and then immediately apply a process called damping where they take away a large proportion of our budget. We have lost £60m over the last five years and that money gets re-allocated to other forces. The government continue to promise this will be addressed and they continue to ignore it.

To protect people and property is a key objective of any Police organisation. Victims of crime and the more vulnerable members of our community must be identified and put at the heart of all undertakings of the relevant partnerships and constabulary.

Posted in Candidate Statements, Liberal Democrats | Tagged , | 1 Comment