I will work hard for a Secure West Mercia; keeping our community safe against threats and responding in an emergency. I will also invest in crime prevention ensuring we tackle the causes of crime.
- Focus West Mercia Police and Criminal Justice partners on bringing more offenders to justice
- Ensuring 999 calls are answered promptly in an emergency and that police emergency response times continue to fall
- Tackling organised crime gangs that bring drugs and misery to our communities
- Continue to develop the joined up approach to tackling serious violence that is too often in our society
- Domestic abuse is still too prevalent in our community. I will invest further resources to tackle the behaviour of the offender and support the survivors of it. I will continue to work with partners and Government to make sure we never give up the drive to eradicate this horrific crime
- Protecting children and the most vulnerable in our society.
- Fraud is not a victimless crime – I will target resources to increase the number of investigators to bring more of the offenders to justice
- Rural crime – more resources to tackle crime in our rural communities. I will work hard to ensure every community, wherever they are in West Mercia, feels safe and has a high confidence in West Mercia Police
- We continue to live in a very safe community we must always remain diligent – I will continue to invest in, and work with, national and regional partners to prevent terrorism and combat extremism
My plan to cut Crime further across the Three Counties
My plan to cut crime further with some key commitments to target criminals and keep the communities of West Mercia safe.
By relentless focus and shrewd targeted investment as Commissioner over the past five years, I have overseen crime being reduced including burglary by nearly a third. As Police Officer numbers rise, and the structural investment in policing is embedded, now is the time to maximise that investment for the benefit of the communities of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Telford & Wrekin by cutting crime further.
I have pledged to build on this if re-elected by:
- Building on the 400 additional Police Officers he has already recruited, by pledging tocontinue to recruit record numbers to ensure West Mercia Police has the highest number of officers it has ever had
- Building on his record of reducing crime in West Mercia, by maintaining the relentlessly focus on pursuing criminals – giving the police the resources, and holding them to account for tackling those criminals causing the most harm in our society.
- Ensuring every Community has a visible and accessible Policing team working with them to tackle crime affecting their community
- Denying the criminals use of our roads with enhanced roads policing
- Investment in technology including Automatic Number Plate Recognition and specialist digital forensics
- More Specialist Investigators targeting organised criminals dealing drugs and exploiting vulnerable children and adults
- More Specialist Police resources focused on confiscating the proceeds of crime – making sure that criminals know that crime will never pay
- Ensuring West Mercia Police has the resources and a clear plan to tackle rural and business crime
- Ensuring all victims of crime have regular updates from officers investigating their complaint
Whilst West Mercia is a low crime area, crime can never just be accepted as inevitable – our community expects and deserves better. Criminals should live in fear of being caught, held accountable for their actions and have the proceeds of their crimes confiscated. I, like our community, expect our police to target criminal behavior, investigate crime, protect the vulnerable and help deliver justice for victims and the wider community. Reports of crime should be taken seriously, proportionate investigations undertaken with victims kept updated. Too often this is not happening, whilst I have made progress as Commissioner to focus our police on fighting crime and holding them to account, now is the time to maximise the benefit of our investment in policing with better service to the community and crime continuing to fall.
To achieve this I will ensure the Police have the resources and focus they need to relentlessly fight crime to keep our community safe. I will continue to hold the Chief Constable to account in an evidenced and professional way to ensure the community has a strong voice at the heart of policing delivering results. Over the past five years I have made progress but there is always more to do. My commitment to the communities of West Mercia is clear – fighting crime will always be at the heart of my mission as Commissioner.
My Plan for Safer Roads
I have set out my plan to make the roads in West Mercia safer with some key commitments to tackle deaths and anti-social behaviour on our roads.
On average one person a week dies on the roads in West Mercia, cutting short too many lives and ripping families apart with grief. There are too many communities across #Worcestershire, #Herefordshire, #Shropshire and #Telford blighted by the effects of speeding and anti-social use of the roads such as noisy exhausts.
As Commissioner over the past five years, I have taken action to reduce the harm caused on our roads by launching a Safer Roads Strategy, recruiting more roads police officers, ensuring the police are targeting speeding drivers.
I am pledging if re-elected to build on this by:
- Recruiting more specialist roads policing officers to target those motorists causing the most harm
- Greater use of technology including introducing Average Speed Cameras on “Highest Harm Routes” across the three counties
- Ensuring Community Policing team have the resources to work with community to tackle areas of concerns
- Targeting dangerous drivers with enforcement and education to break the cycle of roads deaths
- Providing resources to make cycling safer on our roads, including educating drivers and cyclists on how to share our roads safely
- Targeting more funding for Community Speed Watch, and grants for community speed reduction schemes ensuring the local residents’ priorities are being addressed
I have consistently heard from the community their concerns about safety on some of our local roads. Too many lives are being prematurely ended on our roads, with families losing loved ones. My pledge is to redouble our efforts to tackle this sad fact. Deaths on our roads must never just be accepted as inevitable – we must make our roads safer.
I am also committed to reducing other impacts of the anti-social use of our roads including issues such as speeding and noisy exhausts. Too many communities have been blighted by those using their vehicles not having consideration for other residents, including illegally modified vehicles with loud exhausts and street racing. I will ensure the police have the resources and are held to account to reduce the harm associated with our roads.