By Sarah Booker-Lewis, BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporter
- Four candidates hope to become the Sussex police and crime commissioner (PCC) and are standing for election on Thursday 2 May.
- They are the incumbent Katy Bourne (Conservative) and three challengers – Jamie Bennett (Liberal Democrat), Jonathan Kent (Green), and Paul Richards (Labour and Co-operative).
- Each candidate was sent ten questions sourced from the public.
Below are the responses from Conservative candidate Katy Bourne, who tweets as @KatyBourne. She is pictured above.
What difference will you make if you are elected?
Continue cutting crime – neighbourhood crime already down 23 per cent, residential burglary down 33 per cent, fighting drugs gangs (585 disrupted last year) and reducing re-offending
Keep making police visible – tackle anti-social behaviour with hotspot patrols. Establish dedicated “Fatal Five Roads Unit” to tackle anti-social driving, speeding, noisy vehicles
Make businesses safer places – keep improving police response to shoplifting, get more retailers to report. Give Rural Crime Team more tech capability. Support victims – continue funding to keep women and girls safe in public spaces
How will you deal with shoplifting and protect shop staff?
Locally, I’ve invested in a dedicated Business Crime Unit with solved rates up to 69.9 per cent and established our Safer Sussex Business Partnership to protect shop staff.
I’ve set up quicker reporting in local Co-op stores, with more prolific shoplifters taken off our streets and introduced DISC [online information sharing], with 5,000 businesses now reporting crime and sharing information quickly with police.
I helped develop the Retail Crime Strategy with Project Pegasus – a ground-breaking partnership between the UK’s top retailers and police tackling organised crime gangs operating across national retail.
Police rarely respond to calls about drug addicts taking drugs and dealing in our street where a number children live. How will you tackle drug crime?
One of my key priorities remains the relentless pursuit of drug gangs. Last year, Sussex Police disrupted 585 drug gangs and county lines. In January, detectives dismantled a major gang from Worthing who were sentenced to a total of 78 years’ imprisonment.
Illegal drugs cause misery to those that become addicted to them and to our wider community. I will ensure that resources fund our Specialist Enforcement Units, Roads Policing, Tactical Firearms Unit and Neighbourhood Policing Teams so that we continue to take down these dangerous gangs.
Groups of young people abuse and harass people in my area and behave in an anti-social way. What will you do about troublesome teenagers?
I successfully introduced Reboot, a scheme for troublesome teenagers, which last year delivered a 72 per cent reduction in young people re-offending.
I have also set up Immediate Justice, a pilot programme working with people who are committing anti-social behaviour.
The pilot sees offenders paying back to the community, through unpaid work, in order to repair the harm and damage they have caused and it is proving very popular with the public who can see the results.
Few police officers were on duty during the recent public disorder in Barnham and not all of those were available to respond. How will you ensure enough officers are on duty to protect people and property and keep the peace?
Thanks to local taxpayer contributions and government uplift, Sussex Police now has more officers in over a decade yet, despite seeing increasing demand, officers solved 21 per cent more serious crimes last year and reduced neighbourhood crime by 23 per cent and residential burglaries are down 33 per cent.
The incident in Barnham was caused by four children not local to the area or known to Sussex Police. All were arrested and bailed pending further investigation.
What will you do to improve the policing of bad driving, illegal scooters and other traffic offences?
As PCC, I’ve already invested in our Roads Policing Unit because I recognise the impact that anti-social driving has on the communities affected.
If re-elected, I’ll set up a ‘Fatal Five Roads Unit’ specifically to tackle anti-social driving, speeding and save lives.
I also want the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership to be more ambitious and adopt a Vision Zero approach – to cut fatal and serious collisions by half by 2035. I will also continue investing in Operation Crackdown and Community SpeedWatch schemes.
While shortcomings in policing fraud are not unique to Sussex, what changes would you make?
As PCC, I raised funding and oversaw the establishment of the country’s first joint cyber-crime unit between Sussex and Surrey Police.
I will continue supporting Operation Signature and Sussex Police’s ground-breaking work with the banking sector to tackle fraud against local residents saving them millions.
I will also continue investing in our fraud caseworkers who work with elderly victims to help them cope and recover.
How will you retain the best staff and improve morale, welfare and the force’s reputation while weeding out those who fall short of the required standard?
The Casey Review into misogyny, racism and homophobia within the Met Police was a pivotal moment for all forces.
To rebuild public confidence, I immediately made the necessary investment changes to re-vet all serving officers and staff, including in my own office – we couldn’t afford not to.
The morale and welfare of serving and future officers and staff is always uppermost. I’m pleased we have a Chief Constable who cares about her people and a team working tirelessly to achieve the very best from the workforce.
Other forces seem to be more open and transparent in dealing with misconduct by officers, in line with legal changes. How will you bring Sussex into line with best practice?
I do not agree with this assertion. Sussex Police does hold public misconduct hearings to ensure openness and transparency and the chair (who always had to be an independent lawyer appointed by my office) made the final decision on whether a misconduct hearing can proceed in public or not.
The law has now changed, allowing Chief Constables to chair misconduct hearings in the future and this decision will now be theirs to make.
Why should we vote for you?
I have the experience and proven track record that’s keeping us Safer in Sussex.
We have more police officers – neighbourhood crime down 23 per cent, burglary down 33 per cent, 21 per cent more serious crime solved.
We’re a top performing force for answering 999 and 101 calls. We’ve a dedicated Business Crime Unit – solved rates up to 69.9 per cent. A large, Rural Crime Team. I’ve directed millions to support victims of crime and divert young people from harm. Let’s not put this at risk – vote Katy Bourne.
:: Polling stations across Sussex are due to open at 7am on Thursday 2 May and close at 10pm. Photo ID is required for those voting in person.
