Candidates hoping to be next Staffordshire Commissioner outline their priorities

Candidates hoping to become the next Staffordshire Commissioner have highlighted their priorities should they be elected.

The 2nd May vote will be contested by Ben Adams of the Conservatives, Alec Sandiford, from the Liberal Democrats and Labour’s Alastair Watson.

Introduced in 2012, Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for ensuring local police meet the needs of the community, through setting budgets, appointing chief constables and deciding on policing objectives.

Staffordshire is one of a number of areas where the commissioner performs a similar role overseeing the fire and rescue service.

This will be the fourth time a commissioner election has taken place in Staffordshire, with Conservative candidates winning on all three previous occasions. Turnout, while initially very low, increased to 28.9% in 2021, which is comparable to local elections in the area.

Ben Adams – Conservatives

Mr Adams has served as commissioner for three years, having won the Covid-delayed election in 2021. He was previously a district councillor in Lichfield and a county councillor in Tamworth.

He says “good progress” has been made since 2021, and points to achievements such as the increase in police officers in recent years.

“My main priority will be to continue the progress we’ve made and build on strengthening the organisation with more officers and more staff.

“I also want to see greater use of technology, such as the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras. Since Covid we’ve seen increases in car crime and in rural crime, and often the best way of catching those criminals is when they’re on the roads.

“We’ve put response teams back in the local areas and response times have been good, despite the fact that demand has increased quite dramatically in the last two or three years. Now that response is in a better place, neighbourhood officers will have more time to build relationships with residents and community organisations.

“I think people are getting good value for money with the fire and rescue service. We’ve not been under pressure to close stations or cut jobs, which isn’t the case in other parts of the country.

“With Staffordshire Police, I will be looking to invest in things like new technology to stay ahead of the criminals.”

Ben Adams

Mr Adams added that he was confident that Staffordshire Police would be taken out of special measures in May.

Alec Sandiford – Liberal Democrats

The Lib Dem hopeful Mr Sandiford is a councillor in Stafford, and has also been selected as the party’s parliamentary candidate for Stoke-on-Trent South at the next General Election.

He believes there needs to be more face-to-face contact between officers and residents.

Mr Sandiford said:

“One of my priorities would be a return to good old-fashioned community policing – more police officers on the street, with crimes being dealt with and investigated.

“As a councillor I am well aware of the rise in burglaries, car thefts and anti-social behaviour. But many residents tell me the same thing – that when they report a crime, they’re not spoken to by an officer. Some say they don’t even see the point in reporting crimes.

“Another issue is the fact that Staffordshire Police is one of only six in the country that is currently in special measures. That has happened under the current commissioner’s watch, and is a failure. I don’t think voters should reward that.

“As commissioner I would work with local authorities to get more funding for community policing in Staffordshire. The number of officers in Staffordshire is still down on 2010.”

Alec Sandiford

Alastair Watson – Labour

Mr Watson has been a Labour councillor in Stoke-on-Trent since 2011, and currently serves as cabinet member for financial sustainability and corporate resources.

His pledges include making police officers more visible, tackling drugs and violence against women, and support for fire officers to adapt to changing demands.

He said:

“We need to maximise the visibility of police officers, whether that is through things such as mobile units or town centre patrols. We can also do this by reducing the administrative burden on officers.

“I will be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. Policing can be proactive, reactive or responsive, but my personal preference is preventative policing. I will champion prevention wherever possible, and support tougher action and sentencing for offenders.

“I am also pledging to tackle the tragedy of violence against women and girls, and clamp down on drugs and drug dealing, which is a real problem for our communities – particularly when it comes to hard drugs, but even softer drugs aren’t that soft.

“We are still hundreds of police officers down on where we were before austerity. The officers and PCSOs who have been recruited recently are still learning the role, so some of their time has to be devoted to training as you would expect. We would be in a much better place now if it hadn’t been for those austerity cuts to policing.”

Alastair Watson

The commissioner is responsible for setting the police and fire and rescue budgets, which includes setting council tax precepts.

This year the two add up to a £314.8 million. Band D households in Staffordshire are currently charged £273.57 a year for policing and £86.77 a year for fire and rescue services.

Staffordshire Police had 1,964 officers in March 2023, up from 1,832 the previous year, but still down on the 2,315 officers the force had in 2007. Figures for 2023 show that crime overall was up 11% on 2019/20, while anti-social behaviour was 47% down.