Election for new Police and Crime Commissioner

On Thursday 15th November we will be asked to vote for the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police.  I attended a hustings event at Oxford Town Hall last week where the candidates all set out their manifestos and answered questions.  The photo above shows all candidates except one of the independents who arrived too late for the line-up at the beginning.  The event was chaired by  Professor Ian Loader (middle), Leader of the Criminology Unit, University of Oxford.  Candidates from left to right in the photo are Professor John Howson (Liberal Democrat), Tim Starkey (Labour), Anthony Stansfeld (Conservative), Barry Cooper (UKIP) and Geoff Howard (Independent). Patience Awe (Independent) was the candidate who arrived late.  It was a lively evening with many questions from the floor.

I have been a member of Thames Valley Police Authority as an elected member from Oxfordshire County Council for five years now, and we are due to be abolished in favour of all the work being overseen by one person.  There are currently 18 members of the Police Authority, 10 of us are elected from county and borough councils across Thames Valley, and the others are independent members including two magistrates.   We work on several committees all of which are open to the public and set the council tax and the police budget annually.  As I have reported on this blog, I have also attended ceremonies on a regular basis where we commend officers, volunteers and staff for the service to the community for bravery and long service.  I will miss the work we have done, but do feel it is important to exercise your vote on Thursday, as we do not wish this important position to go unchallenged.

You can view all the candidates on the Home Office website here.

The role of the new commissioner will be to allocate the budget, set the council tax precept and be responsible for how it is spent. They will set the strategic direction and aims for the police force through the Police and Crime Plan. They will also hold the Chief Constable to account. The candidate will also have to swear an oath of impartiality and be independent of party politics.  Quite a task to take on.  On Friday it will be our last meeting of the Police Authority and I shall look forward to seeing who is our successor.