Election? What Election? The one on Thursday May 5th!

Horsington voters are urged to turn out tomorrow, Thursday 5th May, to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner for the Avon and Somerset area.

No, we hadn’t heard anything about it either. There has been no publicity or leaflets, no emails, nothing much on the news, so it looks as if the winning candidate will secure victory on a very low turnout – as usual.

Fnding out who is standing requires a trawl through the internet with no guarantee of success.

But if you haven’t time to go on line yourself, here are the candidates, mainly in their own words.

Kerry Baker – labour
Barrister. Offers some serious practical pledges

•  More officers on the beat – in rural communities, towns, on estates and in the inner cities •
• Officers who know their community and where people know them •
• Better technology – to allow police officers to work where they are (instead of having to return to the ever dwindling number of police stations) •
• Body cameras for all police officers •
• The reinstatement of specialist teams – to deal with child abuse, sex offences and domestic violence

Chris Briton  -Green Party
Occupation not given
No pledges or practical proposals. Doesn’t seem to have a clue

Paul Crossley Liberal Democrats
Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council for 9 years.
Clearly experienced in getting things done.
Has 3 priorities:

• Safeguard frontline policing
• Cut re-offending •
• Improve detection rates and provide closure for victims

Aaron Warren Foot – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Occupation not disclosed.
Has five pillars – very similar to Labour, but every one will cost more-

• Ensure that ALL crime is recorded and improve the ease of reporting
• Reverse the current decline in police numbers.
• Guarantee rural police units get the tools they need to tackle crime.
• Work closely with partners to stop people with mental health issues being detained in police cells.
• The reinstatement of specialist teams

Sue Mountstevens – Independent
Occupation – Police and Crime Commissioner
Has practical experience in the job. Lists several priorities

• Protect residents and police from political interference.
• Keeping Politics out of Policing •
• Prevent crime so you can be safe and feel safe •
• Listen and be your voice: working with the Chief Constable for better policing •
• Champion Police Officers, PCSO’s and Special Constables in your Neighbourhood •
• Be a fierce advocate for victims •
• Work with partners to make justice more accessible, faster, simpler
• Ensure your money is spent efficiently, effectively, wisely

Kevin Stewart Phillips – Independent
Occupation – Police Officer of 26 years standing
Obviously knows about policing, but should an ex-policeman be the PCC?

• Putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system, ensuring working in partnership the needs of the victims are prioritised. •
• Re-focus and Re-assess the needs of Neighbourhood Policing, listen to what you are saying and embed policing back into the communities.
• Protect the people that protect us, be the PCC that increases the number of police officers and PCSO’s year on year to be able to deliver the visible service we all want. •
• Deal with traditional and modern day crimes robustly and effectively, making best use of the criminal justice system to achieve the right outcomes. •
• Deliver value for money, making sure that the budgets available are spent in the right places to deliver the service you should rightly deserve.

Mark Weston – Conservative Party
Local Councillor. Claims PCC costs £100k per year more than the old Police Authority. Has some practical priorities:

• Putting the community at the heart of Policing- I believe in Community policing with a strong, visible presence on our streets. •
• Devolve and empower local policing- The Force area is too large to adopt a ‘one size fits all approach’. •
• Reducing Re-offending- I will work with the Crown Prosecution Service and Courts to speed up justice to get criminals off our streets and before the courts. •
• Greater support for victims of crime- Make better use of new victim support methods, such as restorative justice, to provide a victim-led system of support. •
• Reducing Rural Crime is a priority- I will prioritise combatting rural crime. We must tackle the perception that this is an afterthought
• Tackling anti-social behaviour and drug crime- We need to ensure that local residents and the Police are working together to tackle these problems robustly.

The Blog’s view (for what it is worth)
This looks like a 3-horse race between the Labour and Conservative candidates and the present incumbent. We favour the incumbent because she has had 3 years practical experience in the job and is free from political pressure and party politics, which should be nothing to do with policing.

We deplore the lack of publicity and poor communication for this election.

Blog odds:
Mountstevens – 6-4 fav
Baker 3-1
Crossley -7-2
Weston -7-2
Phillips 6-1
Foot -20-1
Briton 100-1

Vote at the Village Hall from 7am to 10 pm

Results