WITH the second ever Police and Crime Commissioner elections taking place on Thursday, The Press asked the four North Yorkshire candidates to share their thoughts.

1) What is your experience/background with policing and the emergency services, and how will you use that in the role of Police and Crime Commissioner?

Julia Mulligan (Conservative): I have nearly 4 years’ experience in the job. This means I possess an intimate and up to date knowledge of our police service, and have built strong, positive relationships across the City of York, which are essential to delivering safer communities. As an experienced businesswoman, I also have the skills needed to oversee a £140m budget.

Mike Pannett (Independent): If you're going to credibly hold any complex organisation to account you need to know how it works. Twenty years of insight allows me to challenge where required and ask the hard questions on behalf of the public.

James Blanchard (Lib Dem): As a councillor in Kirklees I worked with the local police officers. With devolved budgets, which York Council is now developing as well, I was also able to fund PCSOs and equipment for neighbourhood police. Most importantly though, I was the link between people and neighbourhood groups to their police. I made sure that local people's concerns were heard and responded to by the local police officers.

Steve Howley (Labour): I am a frontline firefighter not a career politician, with first-hand experience of trying to keep someone alive who has been involved in a road traffic collision while you wait 20 - 30 minutes for our overstretched police and ambulance service to arrive because of the cuts. Only if you have experienced the pressures officers face in trying to deliver a quality service, while keeping themselves and the public safe with reduced numbers and resources can you genuinely understand the impact of decisions you may make. That experience means I will do everything possible to protect and improve the frontline because I know how the public rely on it.

2) Which areas of North Yorkshire Police specifically do you think people want to see improved, and how would you go about funding it?

JM: Visible policing is most important and has always been a priority. Indeed Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary praised us as one of the few forces to protect local teams. Now, with improved finances, I have increased funding for police officers from 1,392 to 1,400 and 183 PCSOs to 200, and we are now recruiting. This will be paid for by collaboration, reviewing our estate and new technology.

MP: People tell me that they don't see the police and rural communities feel abandoned. This is about boots on the ground, it's complicated. I can't magic wasted millions back, I wish I could. I can get a grip and stop the waste and extravagance and see that future money is spent where it counts.

JB: There has been a large growth in internet crime recently. More and more criminals have gone online to commit fraud, but also to commit crimes around child sexual exploitation. I want to introduce regular training for police officers so that they can fight 21st century crime. I'll fund this by cutting back on the £3.4m overspend on back-office costs.

The other area is traffic crime. North Yorkshire has some of the most dangerous roads, accidents and fatalities in the country. Speed cameras help, but are not as good as an office on patrol who can also spot dangerous driving away from the camera, or when a driver is dozing off or on their mobile phone. When urban areas want 20mph zones I want this to be supported by the police. I will lobby the government to allow more speed enforcement to be carried out by local council traffic wardens, which will free up resources for the main roads.

SH: The cuts to police numbers in North Yorkshire has all but abandoned our rural communities, volunteer task forces without the powers to intercept or arrest have replaced fully trained and equipped officers, these officers need to be replaced to affectively police our rural areas. I will pay for this by reducing the swelling costs of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and by collaborating with the other blue light services, working together not a full take over.

3) How would you tackle high volume crime such as antisocial behaviour or persistent alcohol-related trouble in York?

JM: I helped fund the anti-social behaviour hub at West Offices and right now, I’m working with Safer York to tackle alcohol-related issues, including trying to get the public toilets re-opened so street urination can be better tackled. I will introduce ‘sobriety tagging’ which includes intensive support for people fighting alcohol addiction, but in some circumstances means offenders are recalled to court.

MP: 20 years of policing showed me that ASB and low level crime seriously impacts on people's quality of life. Partnerships with social housing enforcement teams for instance can be extremely effective in dealing with problem families. As far as York's night-time economy is concerned we need to look at what's working in other cities. Police and licensing enforcement in Cumulative Impact Zones and a no nonsense response to alcohol related crime and disorder has my 100 per cent backing.

JB: I want to see much closer working with the British Transport Police so that people coming in to the city are picked up at the station. We should remember that the night-time economy is very important to people in York. I want to make sure that the police deal quickly with troublemakers, but also be sure that people legally enjoying themselves can continue to do so.

SH: Stop the drastic reduction in police numbers in North Yorkshire, if you are tough on crime then crime reduces. To be tough on crime you need increased visible policing on the streets and in our rural areas. The reduction in police numbers has made North Yorkshire a soft touch on crime.

4) Where does the funding for your campaign come from?

JM: Contrary to popular belief, I have received no money from central party sources! Every penny has been raised locally and many people have supported my campaign in different ways. I’d like to say thank you to all those who have contributed, it is very much appreciated.

MP: My personal savings, anything else is contradictory to being independent. In my view if you're funded or financially backed in any way by a political party you're bought and paid for. That's harsh I know, but we all know there's no such thing as a free lunch.

JB: The £5,000 deposit and all other funds have come from local Liberal Democrats in North Yorkshire. My agent tells me that the largest donation by a single person so far has been £100.

SH: As it’s all the rage at the minute, I have published a full list of donations to my campaign to date on my website stevehowley.co.uk. I am a big believer in transparency, and will take this approach into the Office of the Police Crime Commissioner.

5) Which policing initiatives in York and/or North Yorkshire do you feel are working well and how would you improve them?

JM: North Yorkshire is the safest place in the country, with its highest confidence rate for 18 years. However, I share the Chief Constable’s ambition to be ranked as ‘outstanding’, which means a plan of continuous improvement. From a personal perspective, whilst we have high conviction rates for domestic abuse, rape and hate crime, I’d like more victims coming forward and more perpetrators prosecuted.

MP: The Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in York does crucial support work and Bootham Park's reopening means vulnerable mental health sufferers detained by police can go there. They're expensive facilities but they're also crucial. There's some incredible work going on across the country all in the same direction, but we need to tap into it and be at the forefront here in North Yorkshire.

JB: I'm pleased to see the recent purchase of smaller traffic cameras. This will allow areas of road where the bigger cameras can not park safely to be protected from dangerous drivers. There's no alternative to a police officer in this role though, as a camera can't detect a driver nodding off to sleep or playing on their mobile phone. North Yorkshire has one of the worst rates of driving fatalities in the country, we can make our roads safer with more police patrolling them.

SH: The Had Enough Campaign in York is one initiative which seems to be working well and I would look to further develop this with partner agencies to see how we can encompass the need for greater river safety in order to cut the number of deaths we have in this area. There is also operation HAWK across the county which would further benefit from an increase in Police officer numbers and resources to get us to a level we should be at in tackling cross border criminals and rural crime.

6) Which policing initiatives in York and/or North Yorkshire do you feel do not work well and how would you improve them?

JM: The 101 service needs improving and I want to see through improvements. I remain concerned about rural areas, so am keen for the new Rural Crime Task Force to work well. I’ve had reports PCSOs are not regularly attending some community meetings in York and this needs to be consistent. Finally, policing is changing, particularly in cyberspace and for vulnerable people. The police are responding but more needs to be done.

MP: Now coincidentally just prior to the elections the PCC has announced a Rural Crime Taskforce. It's very late and rebuilding the confidence of rural communities will be tough. It will need funding and resourcing I will look at designated Rural Special Constables and sponsorship to grow it into an effective initiative.

JB: A lot of crimes in North Yorkshire are committed by people coming across the borders with Durham, Cleveland, and West Yorkshire. I want to see much better joined-up working with the police forces in those areas. This has only recently begun with the Cleveland police force, but it needs to be greatly expanded on.

SH: The over reliance on speed camera vans which are becoming a replacement for road traffic policing. Whilst cameras have their benefits if located in the correct places they are also very limited. The Safety Camera Vans only address one aspect of driver behaviour by enforcing certain Speeding offences. More needs to be done to influence the other elements of driver behaviour that contribute to the still unacceptable number of persons killed or seriously injured on North Yorkshire's roads, this can only be achieved through increasing road traffic Policing and greater work with partner agencies.


7) What is the very first thing you would do should you be elected PCC?

JM: My top priority would be to sort out forensic medial examination services for children who have been sexually assaulted in North Yorkshire.

MP: As with any new venture your initial priority is to take stock. That will mean a root and branch no nonsense evaluation of the cost and requirement of everything and everyone under my remit.

JB: I'll introduce regular training so that officers can fight 21st century crime, and keep across new laws and crime-fighting techniques.

SH: Review the obscene cost of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner at over £930,000 per year, this money is better spent on frontline policing.

8) What is the most important aspect of police mental health liaison and how will you manage this in the coming months/years?

JM: Real progress has been made. We have a health-based place of safety; street triage is working and mental health nurses are in the force control room. I am committing to £600,000 to make further improvements including training 300 more police officers. But Bootham Park needs sorting I’d like to do more with Mental Health Action York, an important group of professionals and patients.

MP: The Crisis Care Concordat is a combination of national bodies including the police working on providing 24/7 help for those who need it and North Yorkshire Police are signatories to it. I want to explore funding to further enhance street triage and have Mental Health Professionals on hand 24/7 for frontline support to the police.

JB: People with mental health problems have been getting a poor deal from the NHS for years. The Conservative Government is already rowing-back on the commitments the Coalition made to better funded mental health services. There needs to be a national service to link people who come into the criminal justice system with mental health problems, with the health services that they need as too often they don't exist locally.

SH: It is essential our police officers receive better training in dealing with mental health issues, individuals with mental health issues need to receive the help they need rather than ending up in the criminal justice system. I will tirelessly campaign for the better funding of the mental health within the NHS, funding the agency best placed to deal with mental health will reduce the burden on police budgets leaving money available for real policing, as well as ensuring partner agencies are maintaining the levels of support and care the vulnerable require.

9) Why do you feel your bid for the PCC role is the most appropriate for voters?

JM: Whilst difficult decisions have been made, we are now in a strong financial position, which means we can recruit police officers and PCSOs. I have sorted out the forces’ leadership, after inheriting a mess from the former police authority and have substantially improved services for victims and vulnerable people. In short, I have a proven track record of delivery and a positive plan for the future.

MP: My standing as politically independent is striking a chord with the public because we're all pretty much disillusioned and fed up with party politics. Recent polls place politicians firmly at the bottom of public trust and confidence, and this could quite feasibly upset the cosy political apple cart in these elections as independent candidates, in particular former police officers, unseat the local bureaucrats and career politicians from the PCC elections.

JB: I want to listen to local people's views about their police and how things can be improved. I want to open our police force up to communities so that they can expect a response locally, and to know that they can always come to me hold the force to account. I also want to make sure that we have a modern and effective police force. That can only be achieved through training police officers to fight 21st century crime.

SH: I have first-hand experience how the savage cuts to frontline police, fire and ambulance are damaging the service the public pay for. Only if you have experienced working on the frontline in today’s emergency services can you make the right choices for the public of North Yorkshire. I also have the advantage of working closely with corporate management and finance director within a blue light service. I bring more experience and better more balanced package than any other candidate.