The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
On Thursday, May 2, the election for the Police and Crime Commissioner takes place in Lincolnshire.
The role is to hold its force to account and be the voice of the people who elected them, holding overall responsibility for the totality of the force, writes the Local Democracy Reporter service.
Ultimately, the PCC for Lincolnshire will be in charge of strategy and finances for the county’s police force, as well as holding the power to hire and fire Chief Constables, who are responsible for day-to-day operations.
Lincolnshire’s current Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones (Conservative) has been in post since 2016 and last won re-election in 2021.
This year’s candidates are:
* Peter Escreet — Reform
* David Dickason – English Democrats
* Mike Horder — Labour
* Marc Jones — Conservative
* Lesley Rollings — Liberal Democrat
REFORM – PETER ESCREET
Grantham-based cybersecurity consultant Peter Escreet pledged to reverse council tax increases if he is elected this time around.
In 2021 he finished fifth.
“I’m not a politician, I’m quite the opposite,” he said. “I have confidence in the people of Lincolnshire, and I won’t win; it will be them who win.
“It will be Lincolnshire sending a message to the government that they want change.
“We have lots of career politicians in Lincolnshire, are they the sort of people we want in politics? They are disconnected from reality, and the public sector appears very good at spending money for spending’s sake.”
Peter says he will earn around 75 per cent less if he takes on the Police and Crime Commissioner role and vowed to slash numbers in its office.
He describes himself as “one of the only candidates in England offering people a cut on their tax,” and that it’s “about time somebody started cutting tax rather than increasing it.”
But how will that aid policing in Lincolnshire, as the lowest funded force in the country? Peter suggested “visible policing” is the only way to make people feel safer in communities, and would offer people the chance to donate directly towards the force itself rather than pay a fixed council tax precept.
“Nothing has changed since 2021, and the biggest campaigning evidence I have is that there has been no change across these last few years despite the maximum council tax increases.
“This should be recognised across people’s politics, whether you are Labour, Conservative or Reform. Crime has gone up and up, while the current PCC talks about how well we’re doing.
“Anyone with a brain between their ears knows this government are very good at wasting money, just because you’ve spent X amount doesn’t mean you’ve spent it well.”
He continued: “I’m not here to be a cheerleader for the police and I’m not here to just bash them either, but there is a lot of work to be done to highlight what is going wrong.
“Challenging the bad stuff allows space for more good stuff to come out of it, and we’ve seen bad things come out of Lincolnshire while our PCC sits there in silence.
“I’m not anti-police and I’m certainly not we and us, if I am elected I am accountable to the public and the chief constable is accountable to me. It’s about ensuring they do their job properly and I do mine too.”
ENGLISH DEMOCRATS – DAVID DICKASON
Boston-based David Dickason spent 25 years with the British Transport Police
He achieved the rank of Chief Inspector, worked with the London Underground and advised police forces in the US and the Home Office within the Crime and Disorder Act.
“I’ve not been very happy with what I’ve seen in Lincolnshire, and I think I can do a much better job,” he said. “It’s about far more than just throwing money at it, but more about identifying the way policing is being undertaken at the moment.”
David also said it was important “not to make sweeping statements” about pledges and promises as change can “take time.”
“One of the first things I would do is establish the problems, both within the community and businesses, but also within police staff and officers too. It’s about finding out what’s going well and what’s going badly, then asking what is causing these issues and what is stopping us from delivering the service we need to.”
He wants “visible” policing with more officers on the street, saying it can serve “not only as a visual deterrent, but also reassurance” for the public.
“It’s certainly one way to reduce crime, but the problem is Lincolnshire is so big that it becomes difficult. However, you need to get the confidence of the community back, and they need to know you are there and ready to react. I think there should be a point of contact for every single village, and I think that point of contact should attend parish council meetings too, so the public can be aware.”
He called for the police to “stay out of politics”.
“It’s not about ticking boxes and filling a quota, I want the proper person with the skills to do the job to the right standard.
“I’m not going to be there to bash the chief constable, this is about working together to represent the views of the community to senior management team.
“I obviously can’t get involved in operational policing but I can look at the strategy and explain what people want in certain areas, and I’d like to think my experience will give me some idea of how to achieve that.
“I think the main thing that bothers me is you have people saying it’s the government’s fault and nobody is asking if our resources are being used correctly in Lincolnshire.
“Given my experience, there is a lot I can bring that others probably can’t.”
LABOUR – MIKE HORDER
Mike Horder is a former police officer with more than 25 years of experience in Leicester, with the tactical firearms unit in Cambridgeshire, rural neighbourhood policing in Rutland and police negotiator for hostage situations.
“I put myself up for this because when looking at Lincolnshire you can see a few issues. We need someone who is really going to push for more funding, and I think when you have the outgoing police chief constable commenting on funding being too low, it’s quite a dramatic moment.
“I’m concerned the Conservative PCC doesn’t want to rock the boat and won’t want to go against the central government pitch, despite the current funding formula clearly not working.
“I am also concerned with integrity. It’s really, really important for the senior management of an organisation to be beyond reproach, working in a way that is honest, open and completely transparent.”
Mike hopes to bring crime stats down across the board, but has particular focus on the “ripples” created by cases of domestic violence and abuse, which he says damages “the very fabric of our society.”
“My conduct throughout my police service and generally has demonstrated that I am someone the people of Lincolnshire can respect and rely on.
“My intention would be for Lincolnshire to lead the way, and that starts with the culture we set. I’ve met a lot of the officers already and been so impressed with them, but the force can become very corrosive if the person at the top isn’t setting the standard.
“Any officer that shouldn’t be in uniform should be removed, and the role really is for us to work together very cooperatively with the chief constable, in order to make the force work to its optimum. Friction wastes energy and time.”
Mike says of standing for Labour: “When Tony Blair came into power they put lots of demands on the police, but as well as putting that requirement on forces, it also gave them the resources needed to achieve that.
“I’ve probably become more politically motivated by what I saw with the cuts from 2010 onwards under the Conservative government.
“My personal feeling is that this has opened people’s minds to consider other options.
“I think it has enabled people to break away from party politics and look at who and what is the best option for Lincolnshire.”
CONSERVATIVES – MARC JONES
Marc Jones is hoping his previous record as the PCC will give him the edge over rivals.
Mr Jones says of his great pride: “The G4S contract was costing some £26 million a year and since I ended that, we’ve seen around 600 staff revert back to Lincolnshire Police from G4S, so much so that the force control room is now completely staffed by our own staff members.
“Now we’re starting to see the results of that in the quality of service the public are getting. 999 calls have gone up 26 per cent in the last year and we are consistently in the top three control rooms in the country for response times.
“Over 91 per cent of calls were answered within ten seconds, that is outstanding performance that would not have happened without the cancelling of that G4S contract.”
Mr Jones says the police budget has increased by £66 million.
“It has been an absolute honour to help transform the force from a crippling position to a forward-thinking, innovative organisation,” he said.
On election turn-out he said: “A lot of the public appear very frustrated by national politics, so the idea of turning out months before a general election doesn’t fill them with joy. It’s not about the PCC elections themselves, but people having political fatigue.
“It’s up to us as candidates to put the positive case forward, and ultimately the people get the elected person they deserve. If you vote for someone, you have a much better chance of succeeding than you do from not voting at all.”
Other candidates have raised concerns over fairer funding for Lincolnshire Police, the distribution of council tax precept funds and the costs of operating the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).
Marc says he has stayed true to a pledge that funding the OPCC would never require more than one per cent of the overall policing budget, and says you “won’t get a thriftier” organisation,
“The precept is part of the funding model,” he says. “The advantage of paying council tax for local services is when you elect somebody to oversee it, they can publish clear priorities on how it will be spent, and be held accountable for that.
“None of us like paying more tax, but government have not increased certain other national taxes, such as income tax and fuel duty, but instead made extra funding available for local authorities to use through council tax.
“I have a really clear view that I want low taxation and I want law and order, but those two principles come into conflict when setting a budget, as you can’t have both.”4
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS – LESLEY ROLLINGS
Deputy leader of West Lindsey Borough Council Lesley Rollings says her experience in politics and past career have her well placed to take on the Police & Crime Commissioner role.
“Being a teacher meant that equality, justice and freedom are very important principles to me,” Rollings said. “It’s about treating everyone with compassion and making sure everyone is protected.
“I’ve a real interest in working within communities, and if I were to do this job, there would be lots of supportive discussion and sharing of ideas — that is how I’ve always looked at things, from council work to school teaching.
“Surveys in recent years suggest the main concern has been dwindling numbers of police officers.
“Communities value having officers around, and it’s important to have that connection where the police can let you know what is being done in your area.”
Other priorities include cutting crime at source by working with partner agencies to provide opportunity for young people, providing pathways out of drug taking, which she says has become “endemic” and clamping down on “sophisticated” rural crime gangs.
“We aren’t soft on crime, but the responses we see from this government are soft. Talking tough is not enough, it’s about looking at the wider strategy, she continues. “In Lincolnshire I don’t get the impression in communities that there is a mistrust in police, but in the process itself. People tell me they never see an officer.
“The government can’t keep not investing in our police and expect them to be all things to everyone at all times.”
Lesley says the “most important thing” about being a PCC is maintaining a strong professional relationship with the chief constable.
“They are the professional who knows best how to run the service, and it’s about supporting them to explore how things can be done better, rather than simply passing down your opinion.
“We appear more concerned about spin and creating the idea that a lot is going on, rather than listening to the public. Crime is getting worse, drug taking has become increasingly violent.”
