On Thursday, May 2, there are elections for the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner. Rye News has asked all four candidates for their thoughts on policing in Rye.
Jamie Bennett – Liberal Democrats
The Conservatives have long talked tough on crime, but failed to even get the basics right. Their unnecessary cuts have left our police forces overstretched, under-resourced, and unable to focus on the crimes that affect our communities the most.
Instead of more empty promises, I will commit to what actually works to stop crime – proper community policing, where officers are visible and trusted, with the time and resources to focus on neighbourhood crime. It cannot wait any longer.
Criminals are getting away with it
New Home Office statistics have revealed that a shocking 4,093 burglaries went unsolved across Sussex in the year ending June 2023.
This is equivalent to 11 burglaries going unsolved in Sussex every single day. Meanwhile, just 254 cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed in the same time period – accounting for 4.96% of all burglaries in Sussex.
The national figures paint a similarly dire picture. 76% of all burglaries across England and Wales went unsolved in the year ending June 2023, while just 6% of cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed.
The Conservatives are putting police resources in all the wrong places
Time and again, the Conservatives have put policing resources in all the wrong places. They have slashed PCSO numbers, taking over 91 off the streets of Sussex since 2015.
Instead, they have invested millions into Police and Crime Commissioners, many of whom have racked up eye-watering expenses bills. Yet still, nothing has changed.
What would the Liberal Democrats do instead?
Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted, and able to focus on solving and preventing neighbourhood crime.
This requires the Conservatives to get more officers out on the streets. That must include addressing the dramatic cuts to PCSO numbers, too. PCSOs are often the officers tasked with neighbourhood foot patrols, so we need to ensure that achieving the uplift equates to more visible policing in our communities.
At the same time, the government must free up existing officers’ time to focus on local policing. That’s why we’re calling for a new, national Online Crime Agency that would take over things like online fraud and abuse, leaving more time for local forces to tackle burglaries and other neighbourhood crimes.
Liberal Democrat Policy on Police and Crime Commissioners
Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to scrap PCCs and replace them with Police Boards, made up of local councillors and representatives from local rehabilitation providers.
Our new Police Boards would be properly accountable to the communities they serve, at a fraction of the cost of PCCs.
VOTING INFORMATION
You can find your polling station here: https://www.rother.gov.uk/findmynearest
You will need proof of ID to vote in person, the official Electoral Commission guidance is here:
https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/voter-id
Image Credits: Jamie Bennett .
Worth noting that the Conservative government has changed the voting system for Police and Crime Commissioners (and Mayors). Previously, if no candidate received over 50% of the vote, then the second choices were counted, meaning the victor had the support of at least an acceptance of those who voted. Now we are back to the antiquated First Past the Post system, whereby the winner might well have far less than 50% of the vote. A retrograde step, and one for which I see no justification. This is something the government should be ashamed of and which needs far more publicity.
Turnout is going to be very low. When these elections were first held – and there was no other election at the same time to tempt voters out – the turnout was only 12%. This time I think it is only Hastings and Adur in the whole of Sussex which have district elections on the same day. Let us guess a turnout of 20% (a generous estimate). If the winner gets less than 50% of the vote (easily possible) then the winner will have been elected by under 10% of the electorate. That really is no democratic mandate for the Police and Crime Commissioner. Spare me the “if they don’t like it they should have voted” argument. If democracy fails to engage with the electorate then it is dead.
I agree with Jamie that the PCC posts are farcical and a waste of money. How does a Lib Dem PCC differ from a Conservative, Labour or Green one? We all want good and effective policing. On what basis is a voter to chose someone for a technically demanding role? They are very unlikely to know the candidates. The Police Board idea is a much better one.
Good luck Jamie!