UKIP's Victoria Ayling lays out her plans for Lincolnshire's police force

UKIP has confirmed their candidate for this year's Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner elections is a well known county councillor, Victoria Ayling.
Victoria AylingVictoria Ayling
Victoria Ayling

Councillor Ayling, a trained barrister, has worked for a blue chip company and family businesses.

She has three boys, all educated in Lincolnshire; one in the military, one at university and the youngest at school in Horncastle.

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Victoria was an East Lindsey District Councillor and is currently a Lincolnshire County Councillor. She also stood for Great Grimsby in 2010 and 2015 general elections.

She said: “My legal and business background will make me ideal for the job to ensure best policing for Lincolnshire residents and best value for money.”

“Currently I believe Lincolnshire residents deserve better from their police. I am not blaming the officers but the systems they have to work within. For example, an obsession with targets means red tape is preventing bobbies being on the beat.”

“Meanwhile many residents feel it is becoming pointless calling the police if they are a victim of some crime, other than to get a crime number for insurance purposes.

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“Residents not only need to be safe but need to feel safe, therefore, visible policing is essential. The most reassuring sight for many people is a police car or a bobby on the beat which in turn, is the best deterrent for many wrongdoers. CCTV helps but nothing beats a police presence - this is something I would want to see increased in Lincolnshire.

“One way is to use PCSOs more. Giving them more powers and additional training to assist with evidence gathering at a burglary would be one such example. This ensures that members of the public would actually get a response to such a crime and potential evidence is not lost. Their presence reassures the public and they can assess the situation regarding further input by police officers.

“I am also concerned about the Government direct entry scheme. This allows for some graduates to enter the police service at superintendent level after approximately 18 months of training. The most effective police officers are clearly those that have risen through the ranks with beat level experience. Furthermore, this is extremely insulting to lower ranks with more policing experience, thereby reducing their opportunity for promotion and will most likely act negatively upon the morale of the service”.

“I am concerned that only lip service is being paid to residents’ concerns. A recent survey only had yes or no for answers and nothing for residents to provide other views. I really think it is important to listen and ensure that any surveys exist to improve the quality of the police service to the community as a whole.”

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“The Tories are just concentrating on balancing the books, which is all well and good but it is their colleagues in Government who have set the budget for Lincolnshire and are still insisting on targets which eat up money better spent on front line policing.”

Lincolnshire UKIP MEP Margot Parker said: “Policing is a top issue in the county and Victoria will do a fantastic job if elected of making sure common-sense prevails in the running of our police service.”

Running as her deputy will be Horncastle Town Councillor Jonathan Ferrari, who was also a former police officer from both the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police. Jonathan was selected nationally as the UK police contingent commander for the first ever British peace mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997. He is currently a local businessman and has lived in Lincolnshire since 2002.