On November 15, 2012, elections are to take place to choose a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gwent.
The new role will replace the existing Gwent Police Authority and is designed to hold the police force to account.
PCCs will also be responsible for setting out local policing priorities, police budgets and producing a police and crime plan.
Households in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Newport, Torfaen and Monmouthshire will be voting.
Those wishing to vote in person or by post must have registered by Wednesday, October 31. The deadline for voting by proxy is Wednesday, November 7.
Call 01443 864203 or email electoralservices@caerphilly.gov.uk for further information about registering to vote.
The four candidates standing in Gwent are:
Ian Brian Johnston Independent
Hamish Sandison Labour
Nick Webb Conservative
Christopher Edwin Wright Independent
The candidates’ election statements, published on www.choosemypcc.org.uk, are reproduced below.
Ian Brian Johnston
I was born and bred in the County of Gwent. I am a local man. I am proud to still live in the area where I was brought up. I completed 33 years Police Service with Gwent Police in 2004 before moving on to serve as the Vice President and President of the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales.
I retired from the Police Service in 2010. In Gwent I served in all ranks from Constable to Chief Superintendent. I have worked in all five Local Authority areas covering the Gwent Police Area. I was a Detective Officer for the majority of my career and was the Head of C.I.D. for five years between 1994 and 1999. I previously served at Newport as a Superintendent. I was the Divisional Commander at Pontypool covering all areas of Torfaen and Monmouthshire and finished my career in Gwent as the Divisional Commander covering the Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent Local Authority areas. I know the County of Gwent!
As the first ever full time Welsh President of the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales I worked at a National level. I regularly attended meetings with H.M Government, the Opposition and Senior Civil Servants. I sat on various Home Office Committees. I was fully involved dealing with issues concerning Funding; Use of Resources; Accountability; Governance and Public Confidence in the Police.
I am standing as an Independent candidate because I believe we must “Keep Politics out of Policing”. As an independent I am only answerable to the electorate and nobody else. I will work WITH elected politicians but FOR the people of Gwent without political interference or influence.
Prepared by Janet Johnston (Election Agent) 39 Maes-y-Garn Road, Oakdale, Blackwood, Gwent NP12 0NA
www.ianjohnston4pcc.com
Hamish Sandison
Paul Murphy MP describes Hamish Sandison as having “the legal skills, the political experience, the business acumen, and the personal gravitas to make a very formidable Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent”.
As Labour’s candidate, Hamish is campaigning against the Tory-led Coalition Government’s 20% cuts in police budgets, which he believes are putting community safety at risk by taking police officers off the streets. He opposes police station closures in Gwent, and the privatisation of police services. He supports Unison’s campaign against sacking custody detention staff in police stations and removing police officers from the front line to replace them.
If elected, Hamish is committed to ensuring that Gwent Police delivers our local priorities –
- neighbourhood policing;
- visible policing;
- bearing down on the perpetrators of crime and anti-social behaviour;
- tackling the scourge of drug and alcohol misuse;
- putting the victims of crime first, especially the victims of domestic violence and hate crime; and
- acting to secure greater peace of mind for our older people.
Hamish will work in partnership with the Welsh Government in Cardiff, with local government in Gwent and with the voluntary sector to make our communities safer.
As Gwent’s Commissioner, Hamish will be a powerful advocate of the people’s priorities. He has promised that there will be no major changes to local policing without proper public consultation. And he has signed a pledge to protect the police from political interference.
Hamish is a solicitor by profession. He has lived near Usk for nearly 25 years, fought Monmouth for Labour in the 2010 General Election, and has held senior positions in the Labour Party, including 6 years as a member of Labour’s Crime & Justice Policy Commission.
This form has been prepared by A. Leathwood, of 2 Mill Street Close, Usk, NP15 1AR.
Telephone: 01291 671383
Email: hamish4gwentpcc@btinternet.com
Website: www.hamish4gwentpcc.co.uk
Nick Webb
Having an elected Police Commissioner puts control of this vital public service in the hands of the residents.
The Commissioner will replace an unelected police authority with a transparent and accountable individual who is directly answerable to voters. It is not about politicising the police; it is about ensuring that grassroots community views are heard at the decision-making level of Gwent Police.
My priorities:
- Every resident of Gwent aware of a recognisable and approachable police officer who is regularly seen in their area;
- A well-trained force which can spot potential repeat offenders early on, and stop them in their tracks;
- More police on the beat, with fewer officers held back from doing their job by bureaucracy;
- A panel to scrutinise care for victims of crime;
- A police force which is sensitive to people’s values and diversity, without allowing this to blind them from distinguishing between what is right and what is wrong;
- Releasing as much crime and financial data as possible, so that everyone has the power to audit the Police and Crime Commissioner’s work;
- A better career path for Police Community Support Officers;
- Credible management of a tight budget, which balances the community’s needs with responsibility to spend within our means;
- A commitment to keep the police precept down.
I believe we can build on the recent progress made by Gwent Police to provide an even better service which allows people to follow their aspirations without fear of crime.
This form has been prepared by Jon Burns (Agent) on behalf of Nick Webb, of Usk Conservative Club, 16 Maryport Street, Usk, Monmouthshire, NP15 1AB.
www.VoteNickWebb.com
Twitter.com/ndwebb
Facebook.com/VoteNickWebb
Christopher Edwin Wright
I am a true Independent candidate because to politicise policing is simply wrong.
I retired after thirty years of policing; always in uniform and committed to DIRECT community policing but also specialising in planning police operations and community safety plans, indeed in my last week I worked a night duty and I know first-hand what is needed in your community policing.
My real, recent and relevant knowledge of community & specialised, front-line and support to policing makes me the perfect person to analyse the whole of Gwent Constabulary and decide whether,
a) their policies, direction and strategies will work, and
b) whether these are right for the communities of Gwent, then
i. be able to cut crime and deliver an effective & efficient police within our force area;
ii. be responsible for consulting with the public of Gwent to set local policing priorities;
iii. personally ensure these priorities are suitably funded by setting the budget;
iv. ensure your community’s needs are met as effectively as possible, and
v. hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of Gwent Police.
As your Police and Crime Commissioner I will start the full dialogue with partners, like Victim Support and your Council to ensure that once a victim is identified or an offender is brought to justice then a whole gambit of actions will take place to support or reassure the victim and drive home the repulsion our communities feel about criminals and their actions.
I am not a political candidate. I have not sought political support. I want to assure everyone that my full-time goal is to continue the community policing and crime reductions Gwent Police have shown recently even after the Government’s funding cuts.
Prepared by Deborah Wright – 17, Glyn Derwen, Llanbradach. CF83 3PQ
Why would anyone want to put an ex police officer into a position in which he confesses he would have to apply pressure on the police force for change, when he had failed to effect any of that change whist serving as a police officer? especially those candidates who held high office whilst in the service, that baffles me.
Only one of these candidates has mentioned putting the public first as a priority, Nick Webb, who has also highlighted the need for a deliberate method of public consultation in the new role, keeping the focus on what the public need, and will expect, from the Commissioner once in post. That appears to be very important departure from what the other candidates are saying.
The most interesting election to these posts will be in 2016 when the Commissioner comes up for re-election and will have to justify, and be judged, by the way they have operated in the first four years in post.
One particular candidate who`s only claim to fame appears to be 33 years as a Policeman, said " “Keep Politics out of Policing”. Well, he should remember that "all politics is people", and this role reinvents the fact that people matter in the policing of our communities, the police have largely failed that test, particularly in Gwent over the years, now is the time to ensure that people are no longer ` left behind` in the way our police service serves the ` people`, and, they a play a proper role in that aspect of public life in Gwent after the election.
I don't feel that the new Commissioner should be involved with any other business as there could be a conflict of interest . Are any of the candidates willing to give up their current positions and salary to dedicate themselves to this important position only?
Nigel Hiscox: Very good point, but I doubt it will happen in reality whatever assurances they may give.
I agree with Nigel Hiscox, the commissioner role is a 'Big Job' and could not be carried out properly if there are any conflicting business interests.
Looking through the candidate's profiles it seems that Mr. Wright, an independent candidate, is retired and so free to devote all his time to the job. It is unclear whether the other candidates will be similarly unencumbered. Perhaps all the candidates should make their intention clear as to whether they would devote all their work time to the role?
Arthur is cynical about whether their assurances can be relied upon. I would give them the benefit of the doubt as anyone starting as commissioner by going back on their word would be voted out next time. This is the beauty of this new way, no more faceless, political appointees controlling the police but one person who is accountable.
Dear Mr. Wright,
May I ask if you support the use of CCTV in our towns?
Regards,
Terry Ashton
Have just read the candidates' statements.
A couple of communication errors are noted at the end of my response, but that's a detail and my main reaction is that I wish I had more to go on in making my choice. It seems anti-democratic not to give candidates communication budgets so they could inform the electorate properly and give us a real choice rather than a fairly arbitrary "stick a pin in".
We can deduce the approaches of the political candidates. Many of us will reflexively put one as first choice and vote for anyone rather than put the other as second choice. That means an independent might get in through having the largest number of second choice votes. And it is the independent candidates about whom we know least. Both are ex-policemen, which might be good, but I note that neither has strategic experience at chief constable level – this doesn't necessarily disqualify them, but it seems relevant.
Mr Johnston seems to have experience that fits him better for the role, but that might just mean he's ambitious and was a careerist (in which case it should maybe worry us that he didn't get to the very top). Mr Wright's candidacy suffers from a less crisp written statement and from vagueness about his police service. We learn it was uniformed only, so he might have considerably less strategic experience. A view from the trenches is sometimes very helpful, but it would need to go hand in hand with capability for the commissioner job. So we did need to know more about his leadership and strategic experience, and whether he has the skills for the political aspects of the task.
But any firm conclusions are supposition from too little evidence. These statements really aren't enough to go on in making one's choice. I'm going to be sticking a pin in and hoping for the best, which sounds more like the Lotto than democracy.
In response to an earlier comment: it doesn't seem fair to deduce that, of the independents, only Mr Wright is retired – Mr Johnston declares no current occupation. But of course you can't deduce anything much from these statements.
On communication details …
I'm sure Mr Webb knows what he means by "keep the police precept down", but I don't and I doubt many others will.
I think the word Mr Wright was reaching for is "gamut", not "gambit".
What was wrong with the old systerm ? It seems generally accepted it will be Labour, as the Tories are not really competent; for instance, a bilingualism(an Act has to be rushed through), or there is the West Coiast main line fiasco.
Two of the men are ex-plods, and are local. But what about the outsiders from the parties ?
Having just read all 4 candidates blurb I must admit to being no wiser than I was before.At the moment Mr Webb has caught my interest but there is so little personal information about him it makes me wonder what he is afraid of us finding out about him. What,exactly, do you work at,what is your trade/training to qualify you for this highly responsible post ? And, where can I find out this information? It might make the difference to which way I ,for one,vote.
Whoever becomes the new Commissioner needs to be an independent candidate. Politics, and all the baggage that policitacl parties bring with them, should not come into policiing. The police force has a job to do and it is not a policital entity. Politicians and Councillors, both of whom promote their political views, often make a mess of running their local councils, local government and this country so why, oh why, do we need Commissioners who are standing on the stregnth of their policital views? Crazy. Vote for an Independent candidate.
Well, after reading all the previous , I can only assume that the best person for the job will come down to the one who has lots of friends. Most will not vote and those who do will be left in total confusion with no defining details for anyone to choose from. I will not be voting for a political candidate , that leaves me with a choice of two! Both men who have worked for the police, both who still have connections there and will find it difficult to stay neutral after all that time making friends!
Welcome to democracy!