{"id":3338,"date":"2012-10-29T07:35:33","date_gmt":"2012-10-29T07:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.quintessential.org.uk\/sa-mathieson\/?p=3338"},"modified":"2017-07-12T18:13:48","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T17:13:48","slug":"profiles-of-the-thames-valley-police-commissioner-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samathieson.com\/sa-mathieson\/profiles-of-the-thames-valley-police-commissioner-candidates\/","title":{"rendered":"Profiles of the Thames Valley police commissioner candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Added 12 November: Why you should vote in the police commissioner elections<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A version of this article appeared in Chipping Norton News<\/a>, November 2012<\/em><\/p>\n

On Thursday 15 November, Chippy will get its first chance to vote for a police and crime commissioner, who for the next four years will have the ability to hire or fire the chief constable of Thames Valley Police. It is the largest non-metropolitan force in the country, covering nearly 2.3m people in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, and spending \u00a3371m this financial year. Our commissioner will be paid \u00a385,000 annually, to be accountable for how crime is tackled in the three counties and to make the police accountable to the people they serve.<\/p>\n

It is a new type of election, held in late autumn when no other votes are taking place. As a result, some fear a low turnout and a freak result \u2013 including the woman who will report to the winner. \u2018There’s always been a concern that if you have a small turnout, the potential for people with very extreme views to be elected is greater,\u2019 Thames Valley chief constable Sara Thornton told the BBC<\/a>. \u2018If the mandate is regarded as weak because few people have voted, it won’t help them to be able to get things done.\u2019<\/p>\n

Chippy residents can help by turning out to vote, either in person between 7am and 10pm, or by post \u2013 although the deadline for applying for a postal vote is 5pm on 31 October (contact West Oxfordshire District Council<\/a> on 01993 861522 or 861525). Unlike council elections, candidates will not get leaflets delivered to every home; instead, these statements are available through http:\/\/www.choosemypcc.org.uk\/<\/a> or by calling 0800 1070708. To help you choose, we\u2019re publishing a summary of each candidate\u2019s background and views.<\/p>\n

The Candidates<\/strong><\/p>\n

Patience Tayo Awe (Independent)<\/strong>
\nMs Tayo Awe is an IT post-graduate qualified in project management who has served as a charity trustee. She believes the public should take a greater role in setting local police goals, that victims of crime should have a greater voice, that politics should be kept out of policing and that IT is crucial in tackling crime.
\nWeb page<\/a>, election statement<\/a><\/p>\n

Barry Cooper (UKIP)<\/strong>
\nMr Cooper works at his family\u2019s furniture business in London. He wants a zero-tolerance approach to low-level crime and anti-social behaviour and more protection for \u2018the law-abiding majority\u2019, while opposing political correctness, excessive bureaucracy and cuts to police budgets. He also wants to see improved detection rates and police response times.
\nWeb site<\/a>, election statement<\/a><\/p>\n

Geoff Howard<\/strong> (Independent)<\/strong>
\nMr Howard is a former teacher, businessman and a magistrate of 20 years’ standing. He was also a councillor for Slough borough council for 13 years, where he moved from Labour to the Conservatives then to UKIP. He is standing as an independent as he believes the commissioner should be apolitical, and thinks it should concentrate on crimes that affect people locally.
\nWeb page<\/a>, election statement<\/a><\/p>\n

John Howson (Liberal Democrat)<\/strong>
\nMr Howson has spent 22 years as a magistrate in Oxfordshire, but his career has focused on education, first as a teacher, then as the first deputy head of Oxford Brookes University\u2019s school of education, and since 1997 running education-related businesses. He believes the force should offer better value for money, improve detection rates \u2013 rather than putting more police on the beat \u2013 and provide greater respect and more help for victims of crime.
\nWeb site<\/a>, election statement<\/a><\/p>\n

Anthony Stansfeld (Conservative)<\/strong>
\nMr Stansfeld, who has served in the Army and managed an aircraft company, is an executive member of West Berkshire Council and a member of Thames Valley Police, where he chairs the performance committee. He says that making household burglary a priority in urban areas has seen doubling in detection rates and significantly fewer burglaries, and also wants to see a focus on reducing rural crime.
\nWeb site<\/a>, election statement<\/a><\/p>\n

Tim Starkey (Labour)<\/strong>
\nMr Starkey has been a barrister for 11 years, is a parish councillor in Buckinghamshire, and previously stood as a parliamentary candidate for the Lib Dems but left the party in protest at the Coalition Government\u2019s cuts. He wants to restore police officer numbers to 2010 levels, curtail private sector involvement in the force, ensure support for victims of crime and improve efficiency, such as by letting victims track the progress of their case online.
\nWeb site<\/a>, election statement<\/a><\/p>\n

As the News went press, two independent candidates, Khan Juna<\/a> and Martin Young<\/a> had withdrawn from the contest.<\/em><\/p>\n

The online version of this article also includes information about Geoff Howard, who announced his candidacy after the print version had been gone to press.<\/em><\/p>\n

More links on the Thames Valley Police commissioner candidates<\/strong>
\nThe issues affecting Thames Valley Police:\u00a0BBC<\/a>
\nProfiles of the candidate:\u00a0BBC<\/a>, Bucks Herald<\/a>, Oxford Times<\/a>
\nCoverage of hustings at Reading Town Hall BBC<\/a>, Reading Post<\/a><\/p>\n

This article is available via http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/ChippyPoliceVote<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

West Oxfordshire’s tweeting policeman<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Added 12 November: Why you should vote in the police commissioner elections A version of this article appeared in Chipping Norton News, November 2012 On Thursday 15 November, Chippy will get its first chance to vote for a police and crime commissioner, who for the next four years will have the ability to hire or … Continue reading “Profiles of the Thames Valley police commissioner candidates”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2,3,16,304],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-cotswolds","category-police","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nProfiles of the Thames Valley police commissioner candidates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Information and profiles on the Thames Valley 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