THROUGHOUT this week, the Gazette will be previewing the seven candidates for the Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner election on May 5. In focus today is Conservative candidate Mark Weston.
Mark Weston is a family man from North Bristol where he lives with his wife and two children.
He has experience as a member of the police and crime panel that scrutinises the current commissioner, having been a councillor for 10 years working with residents, the police and other agencies to keep the streets safe.
He said that over the last three years police numbers have fallen and police stations have closed, yet the back office team has more than doubled. The media team has grown by a quarter, the office of the PCC now costs £100,000 more than the police authority it replaced and we are on our fifth chief constable in under four years.
Mark said “The current priorities are wrong. We need to protect the front line, not inflate the back office.
“I want to work with our neighbouring constabularies in order to share support services whilst investing in front line policing – ensuring we marry the best of traditional policing with 21st-century technology.”
Mark’s campaign priorities are:
To put the community at the heart of policing:
Mark said: “I believe in neighbourhood policing with a strong, visible presence on our streets where the police work with local residents to keep us all safe.”
To protect our police stations and custody suites:
“I believe our police stations are an important part in protecting local communities. Too many have closed in the last three years and I am fighting to keep those we have left open.”
To reduce re-offending:
“I will work with CPS and the courts to speed up the justice process to get criminals off our streets and before the courts.”
To get greater support for crime victims:
“Make better use of new victim support methods, such as restorative justice, to provide a victim led system of support.”
To ensure rural crime is a priority:
“I will prioritise combatting of rural crime, providing the right equipment for the job. We must tackle the perception this is an afterthought.”
To tackle anti-social behaviour and drug crime:
“We need to ensure that local residents and the police are working together to tackle these problems as robustly as possible.”
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