Why should we vote for you?

I have served as Vice Chairman of Cheshire Police Authority and as an executive member of Cheshire East’s successful Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, I was also a board member of the Children’s And Young Persons Trust Board.

My family and I have lived in Cheshire for over 36 years and I have served our community as a councillor for 15 years and sat on many outside organisations.

I am committed to retaining front line visible policing in our neighbourhoods and driving down not only crime statistics but the fear of crime.

I gained invaluable experience whilst on the police authority, of policing, the formulation of the policing plan, and the budget setting process. I was also involved in the rigorous scrutiny processes that held the Chief Constable to account for police performance across Cheshire, no other candidate standing can offer that level of experience.

If elected to the role of Police & Crime Commissioner I will ensure that Cheshire Police are fully accountable to the residents of Cheshire and have transparent processes in place, it is only by having robust scrutiny and systems in place that are beyond reproach that the public will have increased confidence in our policing.

Should police officers be routinely armed?

British policing is routinely unarmed policing. Having all UK police officers armed, certainly does not mean that the risk to police officers of being shot will be eliminated, and gun crime may increase if they were. So I am not in favour of routinely arming all police officers.

In the USA where all police officers are routinely armed, 36 police officers were killed in 2012 by gunfire despite being armed. In this country we have highly trained firearms officers who are ready to deal with any incident that requires an armed response, 24 hours a day 365 days a year. In my previous role as Vice Chairman of the Police Authority, I visited the £10m state of the art public order and firearms unit at Police HQ and witnessed officers undergoing their rigorous firearms training. Resident’s within Cheshire can be reassured that these specialised officers are trained to deal with all firearms situations in a professional and measured manner and can be rapidly deployed.

Do you agree with decriminalisation of drugs?

The Police & Crime Commissioner will not have any legislative power to decide whether the decriminalisation of drugs is undertaken. I personally am firmly committed to the availability and increased use of drug rehabilitation. To stop the endless revolving door of the justice system that some drug addicts undergo on a regular basis, by repeated offending and incarceration. It is only by treatment that addicts can be taken out of this endless cycle.

Should householders have greater powers to tackle burglars?

The current legislation has always allowed householders to use reasonable force to protect both their property and themselves. Recent cases have demonstrated that the law has now taken a more pragmatic view on the level of force used when a resident is confronted by a burglar in their own home. Rightly taking into account the fear of attack, to themselves, and their families. With this apparent shift in determining levels of acceptable force by householders, cases should be still be viewed on an individual basis regarding the circumstances and level of actual force used to protect ones home and loved ones.

What will be your top priority?

One of my top priorities if elected, is to put to together a budget that will protect visible front line policing in Cheshire, the budget will be published early in 2013 so work on formulating it will start on day one of being in office. With an overall budget deficit of £35m to consider, effective ways of mitigating the financial reductions and maintaining services are essential in the long term strategy for Cheshire policing.

Another priority is organising and structuring the consultation process with partners across Cheshire. I will also be putting into place the calendar for the face to face surgeries that I want to conduct with local residents pan Cheshire, to help shape policing priorities in their area and influence the policing plan. These are just two of the issues I will be working on if elected on Nov 15th.

How do you envisage using the power to commission policing services from the chief constable (or other providers, and what risks do you foresee?

From 2013, it will be up to Police and Crime Commissioners to decide what community safety related services they want to commission in their area. They do not have to look to community safety partnerships to do this but could turn to the voluntary sector, the private sector or even individuals to provide the services they believe are needed.

Over my long service in public office, I worked with many organisations to achieve positive outcomes for the delivery of services across Cheshire. The opportunity to review existing service provision and commission new providers is one that will be undertaken with the utmost diligence to ensure that any changes if made, will ultimately benefit the residents of Cheshire. The role of the PCC is about partnership working with a wide array of public bodies across our area to achieve positive outcomes in all aspects of safeguarding but also ensuring that resident’s fear of crime is reduced.

What would you hope to achieve in your first 100 days of office?

The questions asks what I hope to achieve in a hundred days, not what I will have to achieve in that time. As I stated in a previous answer, if elected I will be formulating a budget paper that can protect front line visible policing in Cheshire, from day one of taking the oath of office. This be presented for scrutiny in early 2013. I will in that time also be undergoing consultations and reviewing with partners levels of service provision to formulate how we can best serve the residents of Cheshire by collaborative working. Pan Cheshire surgery meetings with residents to shape the policing plan and listen to any concerns will also be underway. The role of Police and Crime Commissioner will be exceedingly busy but it is a role that I consider I have the necessary experience and energy to enable me to make a positive difference to policing and crime prevention across Cheshire.

What electoral promises will you make regarding the fear of crime, which continues to rise despite the reductions in actual crime?

The police cannot solely address the issue of reducing the fear of crime, it is a multi-faceted problem that encompasses a wide variety of scenarios and requires a unified approach from councils, housing associations, schools and other partners to fully address this issue.

My pledge is that I will diligently work with all partners to address anti social behaviour and all acts of criminality in neighbourhoods to reduce resident’s fear of crime. As a councillor and member of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, I was involved in organising events for young people on local estates around Halloween and Bonfire night to prevent the very high levels of anti social behaviour that had happened in previous years. This initiative involved the housing associations, police, fire service, council and schools and even local supermarkets who donated food and drink for the BBQ that we put on for the all the residents.

Anti social behaviour was significantly down over the years that we undertook this initiative, and this aptly demonstrated that it is only by partnership working that we can make serious inroads into reducing the fear crime and ensuring that our neighbourhoods are free from anti social behaviour and criminality.

Police authorities have been criticised for being invisible. How will you visibly connect with all the diverse communities of your area and bring democratic accountability to life?

I have stated in my election literature that I will engage face to face with residents by holding surgeries across the Cheshire policing area to ascertain their views and concerns on policing and issues in their neighbourhoods. I am committed to openness and accountability in policing and want to ensure that the policing objectives for our neighbourhoods are driven by the residents who live there. It is vital that local people especially some of our most vulnerable residents are consulted and their views heeded.

Connecting with schools to ensure that all ages are included in guiding the way we police in Cheshire is essential. P.C.S.O’s already play an important role in visiting schools in our communities and engaging with schoolchildren of all ages to talk about safety and other issues.I want to incorporate their expertise and knowledge and conduct regular surveys via all manner of social media through schools, to ascertain the safety concerns of young people in Cheshire and help police address them.

Modern technology allows a myriad of opportunities for residents to engage with the elected Police & Crime Commissioner and I will utilise all modes of communication to enable residents to inform me of their concerns.

How do you propose to address the issue of rural communities where there is a minor police presence?

I have written to every Parish Council and Town Council setting out my plans to set up a formal process for representatives of these bodies to meet with me on a regular basis if elected. This will be to discuss the issues in their areas and how I as Police & Crime Commissioners can assist them in their role of improving the neighbourhoods they represent. This will encompass rural communities and address the particular issues that affect their area.

The police have conducted many operations in the rural areas, in 2009 tractor thefts were increasing and Cheshire police worked with the farming community to make it much harder for thieves to operate in Cheshire. Operation Sphinx, was launched which resulted in the arrest and jailing of the eight people responsible, this type of close working with our rural communities demonstrates the commitment of Cheshire police to stamp out rural crime in Cheshire and is one I will seek to enhance if elected.