Lincolnshire PCC elections: The candidates

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections take place on May 6 and the county has five candidates all fighting for the position.
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The PCC oversees the strategy and finances of the force, and also hires and fires chief constables, who are responsible for the daily policing operations.

Marc Jones was the second elected PCC of Lincolnshire in May 2016 and this time his role is being challenged by Labour City of Lincoln councillor Rosanne Kirk and Chair of the Lincolnshire Police Independent Advisory Group (IAG), David Williams from the Lincolnshire Independents party, Ross Pepper from the Liberal Democrats and Peter Escreet from the Reform Party.

Here are the candidates’ main priorities:

Marc Jones (Conservative)

Says he has taken Lincolnshire Police from the “brink of bankruptcy” to a financially stable service for Lincolnshire with record police officer recruitment, major investments in technology to keep the force one step ahead of criminals and keep communities safer

Has targeted funding to tackle repeat offending

Championed a number of national initiatives including rolling out the county’s first ever mandatory alcohol tagging programme through Lincolnshires’ courts

Pushed for tougher action against emerging drugs such as Spice and Mamba

Is leading on changes to the law to further protect victims of crime

Rosanne Kirk (Labour)

Wants to “Make Westminster Pay” for lack of funding for Lincolnshire Police

Keep taxes low for Lincolnshire

Says she will take a pay cut of £25,000, a total of £100,000 over the four year term and put that money into frontline policing

Remove the post of the unelected deputy PCC (currently Stuart Tweedale), investing the £72,000 saved into dealing with rural crime complaints

Promises to fight for and listen to all of Lincolnshire, particularly the forgotten about villages and rural communities that don’t feel they get justice anymore

David Williams (Lincolnshire Independents)

Make communities safer through increased visibility and accessibility of the police

Target anti-social behaviour and drug abuse building on the strong sense of community spirit to provide tailored solutions to local problems

Improve road safety through investment in resources, technology and a programme of road user education and behaviour

Target rural crime, delivering a flexible and adaptable response as well as strong deterrence measures

Tackle violent crime and domestic abuse by addressing the root causes so that no one need fear for their safety in the presence of others

Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats)

Ross has said he will fight for fair funding from the government for Lincolnshire Police to meet the country’s particular needs.

A key aim, he said, is crime prevention, arguing that cutting crime and breaking the cycle, before it happens is the best use of resources to cut offending rates.

He believes there is a need to be tough on serious and violent but also provide quality support and respect for victims, especially in incidents of sexual assaults.

Ross said he will work with the public, local stakeholders, and the police to create a priority plan that puts an emphasis on community policing.

He has committed to pledge £25,000 a year of his salary if elected to charities that will help crime prevention in the county.

Peter Escreet (Reform Party)

The Reform Party has been contacted for a summary of Peter’s top five key priorities. This section will be updated as and when they are received.

The party wants to get rid of “unelected cronyism of the House of Lords, the outdated civil service, the bloated BBC”.