Justin Tomlinson MP with Abbey Meads Councillors Peter Heaton-Jones,
and Vera Tomlinson at a local Police Point event
Justin Tomlinson MP today welcomed the huge interest shown by Conservative and other candidates in the Police and Crime Commissioner posts which will be elected in November this year.
Police and Crime Commissioners will herald a new era of policing when the power to hold the police to account is put in the hands of directly-elected representatives. Local democratic accountability will replace Whitehall-led bureaucratic accountability. And Police and Crime Commissioners will have mandates from the public to drive the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour.
Police and Crime Commissioners will have specific responsibility to:
* work with the communities in their force area and identify their specific local policing needs
* set priorities by agreeing a local strategic plan for the force
* hold the Chief Constable to account for achieving these priorities
* set the force budget and the policing precept in council tax bills
* appoint - and, if necessary, remove - the Chief Constable
Many high profile potential candidates, including Falklands War veteran Simon Weston, former army commander Col. Tim Collins and former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, have already put their names forward.
Commenting Justin Tomlinson MP for North Swindon said:
“Police and Crime Commissioners are at the heart of the Government’s programme to reform the police to help them fight crime. PCCs will have real power to ensure the police are really accountable to the local people they serve.
“With nine months still to go till these elections, we have already had hundreds of expressions of interest from a diverse range of candidates.
“I already meet frequently with the local police, and I look forward to an exciting election this November and working with the new PCC who will cover Wiltshire and Swindon in the future.”