Warwickshire police election: 'Not enough info' on vote

[dutchman]

All three candidates in Warwickshire's police and crime commissioner election have said the government has not informed the public well enough.



Ron Ball (Independent), Fraser Pithie (Conservative) and James Plaskitt (Labour) hope to be elected to the position on 15 November.

The winning candidate will set priorities for the force, oversee its budget and hire the chief constable.

But the candidates say that the public does not know enough about the vote.

With 41 elections being held across England and Wales, voters should have been sent a booklet containing information about the role of the commissioners, how to fill in ballot papers and where to get details of local candidates.

Mr Plaskitt is not happy that he is having to spend much of his time explaining that the commissioner will replace the existing police authority, instead of talking about what he would do in the role.

Speaking at BBC Coventry & Warwickshire's commissioner debate in Warwick, he said: "I think the government has made a poor job of getting its information out.

"It's their reform, I happen to think it's a good reform and I support them doing it.

"But they said they would inform everyone about the election and the issues and there's a little booklet which every household was supposed to get. I haven't had it, my neighbours haven't had it.

"This is an important post. It'll have a big impact on our county, on our policing and our criminal justice services."

'National disgrace'

Mr Pithie said it was "not acceptable" that the public had not been well informed.

He said: "This is an election which everyone should have information about so they can make the proper choices. It could have been handled a lot better.

"This was always going to be difficult, holding an election in November and getting people interested in the issues and having the time to speak to candidates.

"We would like as many people as possible to vote.

"But before they're able to do so they need information about what it's all about and what each candidate stands for."

Mr Ball was equally unimpressed with the amount of information the electorate had received.

He said: "I think it's an absolute national disgrace the fact that the government have done so little.

"In terms of the validity of the election, we have no alternative but to treat it as though it is supported heavily.

"If I get elected there is no way I'm going to go into the job apologetically.

"The system has been set up, I didn't set it up, it's been really badly administered but in no way will that affect how I approach the job if I'm elected."

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Ex-chief constable's call to boycott police election



A former Warwickshire Police Chief Constable is urging people not to vote in the forthcoming police and crime commissioner elections.

Peter Joslin said he feared changes to the system would leave people with "little experience" in charge.

He said if people who disagree with the changes withheld their vote, the government would know the public did not agree with it.

The government said Mr Joslin's message was "deeply irresponsible".

Policing and criminal justice minister Damian Green said: "Parliament decided to establish Police and Crime Commissioners and allow the public to have their say through the election of their local PCC.

"For the first time the public will finally have a say on key decisions about crime and policing in their area.

"It is wrong and deeply irresponsible to say the public should not take part in a democratic election."

'Little knowledge'

The new commissioners will take charge after an election on 15 November.

The commissioner will be responsible for the force's budget and the hiring and firing of chief constables, replacing the role of current police authorities.

Mr Joslin retired from the police in 1998, having served for more than 40 years. He was chief constable for 15 years.

He said policing in the UK was the envy of the world.

"Here we are changing it so that people with little experience and few qualifications, and certainly little knowledge of the police, could be put in a position where they can go as far as sacking the chief constable," he said.

Conservative candidate Fraser Pithie said it was "regrettable Mr Joslin had come out with such comments".

Ron Ball, independent candidate, said he was "disappointed" by what he called "irresponsible" comments.

Former MP James Plaskitt, Labour's candidate, said Mr Joslin was "wrong" and said the role of the commissioner was to help "build up the resources of the force" and not to look after the day-to-day running of it.

[rebbonk]

The government said Mr Joslin's message was "deeply irresponsible".

I actually think the government's lack of information on this whole topic is "deeply irresponsible."

How the heck are people expected to vote for what they don't understand and candidates who haven't made their manifesto's clear?

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Warwickshire PCC election: Independent Ron Ball wins



Independent Ron Ball has won the election to be Warwickshire's first police and crime commissioner (PCC).

After the second round of counting, Mr Ball gained 33,231 votes, compared with 25,200 for Labour's James Plaskitt.

With a £65,000 salary, the PCC will work with the chief constable to set priorities and allocate the budget.

Mr Ball will be responsible for holding the force to account and is due to take over from the police authority on 22 November.

He is expected to work closely with the PCC in West Mercia after the two forces announced a "strategic partnership" in a bid to save a combined £30m over the next four years.

After a close first round, Mr Plaskitt led Mr Ball by just 898 votes.

Under the supplementary voting system, Fraser Pithie's (Conservative) 20,571 votes were counted again to allocate his voters' second choices.

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Warwickshire PCC Ron Ball's vow to boost local policing



Warwickshire's new police and crime commissioner has said improving local policing in the county is one of his top priorities.

Ron Ball, who won Thursday's vote as an Independent, said local policing was currently "patchy" across the county.

He said he wanted more people to be able to identify their local officer and to recruit more special constables.

Mr Ball said his objectives were "completely in line" with the chief constable's.

The commissioner won last week's election, beating Labour's James Plaskitt by 33,231 votes to 25,200 in the second round of counting.

Mr Ball said he had already been talking through his plans with the police force's treasurer to have more officers focused locally and said it would "affect less than 0.1%" of the budget.

'Greatest need'

The former airline pilot said he had ordered a review of bureaucracy in the force to be carried out within six months, to see if officers' time could be better spent.

Mr Ball, who was sworn in immediately after the election count on Friday, said he also hoped that by recruiting more volunteer special constables it would mean more officers available for the front line.

He said: "From my experience on the election campaign, driving around the county, speaking to people in coffee shops and on the street, it seems the relationships people have with their local officers are patchy.

"From my very unscientific survey, I'd say 50/50 have a good relationship and know their local officers, but we'll be carrying out much more detailed analysis than that to find out which areas are at greatest need."