Three candidates in the running for Staffordshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner elections

The candidates are Ben Adams, of the Conservatives; Alec Sandiford, of the Liberal Democrats; and Alastair Watson, of the Labour Party.

Police and crime commissioners, introduced in 2012, are responsible for ensuring local police meet the needs of the community, through setting budgets, appointing chief constables and deciding on policing objectives. Staffordshire is one of a number of areas where the commissioner performs a similar role overseeing the fire and rescue service.

This will be the fourth time a commissioner election has taken place in Staffordshire, with Conservative candidates winning on all three previous occasions. Turnout, while initially very low, increased to 28.9 per cent in 2021, which is comparable to local elections in the area.

Whoever wins the election will assume responsibility for a police force that has been in ‘special measures’ since 2022, after inspectors raised concerns over the way it responded the public and how it investigated crimes. But following recent improvement there are indications that this status will be removed soon.

Mr Adams has served as commissioner for three years, having won the Covid-delayed election in 2021. He was previously a district councillor in Lichfield and a county councillor in Tamworth.

Mr Adams says ‘good progress’ has been made since 2021, and points to achievements such as the increase in police officers in recent years. He said: “My main priority will be to continue the progress we’ve made and build on strengthening the organisation, with more officers, more staff. I also want to see greater use of technology, such as the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras. Since Covid we’ve seen increases in car crime, and in rural crime, and often the best way of catching those criminals is when they’re on the roads.

“We’ve put response teams back in the local areas, and response times have been good despite the fact that demand has increased quite dramatically in the last two or three years. Now that response is in a better place, neighbourhood officers will have more time to build relationships with residents and community organisations.

“I think people are getting good value for money with the fire and rescue service. We’ve not been under pressure to close stations or cut jobs, which isn’t the case in other parts of the country. With Staffordshire Police, I will be looking to invest in things like new technology to stay ahead of the criminals.”

Mr Adams added that he was confident that Staffordshire Police would be taken out of special measures in May.

Mr Sandiford is a borough councillor in Stafford, and has also been selected as the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Stoke-on-Trent South at the next general election. He believes there needs to be more face-to-face contact between officers and residents.

Mr Sandiford said: “One of my priorities would be a return to good old-fashioned community policing – more police officers on the street, with crimes being dealt with and investigated. As a borough councillor I am well aware of the rise in burglaries, car thefts and anti-social behaviour. But many residents tell me the same thing: that when they report a crime, they’re not spoken to by an officer. Some say they don’t even see the point in reporting crimes.

“Another issue is the fact that Staffordshire Police is one of only six in the country that is currently in special measures. That has happened under the current commissioner’s watch, and is a failure. I don’t think voters should reward that.

“As commissioner I would work with local authorities to get more funding for community policing in Staffordshire. The number of officers in Staffordshire is still down on 2010.”

Mr Watson has been a Labour Stoke-on-Trent city councillor since 2011, and currently serves as cabinet member for financial sustainability and corporate resources. His pledges include making police officers more visible, tackling drugs and violence against women, and support for fire officers to adapt to changing demands.

He said: “We need to maximise the visibility of police officers, whether that is through things such as mobile units or town centre patrols. We can also do this by reducing the administrative burden on officers.

“I will be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. Policing can be proactive, reactive or responsive, but my personal preference is preventative policing. I will champion prevention wherever possible, and support tougher action and sentencing for offenders. I am also pledging to tackle the tragedy of violence against women and girls, and clamp down on drugs and drug dealing, which is a real problem for our communities – particularly when it comes to hard drugs, but even softer drugs aren’t that soft.

“We are still hundreds of police officers down on where we were before austerity. The officer and PCSOs who have been recruited recently are still learning the role, so some of their time has to be devoted to training, as you would expect. So we would be in a much better place now if it hadn’t been for those austerity cuts to policing.”

The commissioner is responsible for setting the police and fire and rescue budgets, which includes setting council tax precepts. This year the two budgets add up to a £314.8 million. Band D households in Stoke-on-Trent or Staffordshire are currently charged a policing council tax precept of £273.57 a year, and a fire precept of £86.77 a year.

The commissioner is also responsible for appointing Staffordshire’s chief constable and chief fire officer, and for holding them to account for the performance of their services. They set the policing and fire and rescue objectives, and commission services to reduce crime and support victims, but they are not permitted to interfere with operational matters.

Staffordshire Police had 1,964 officers in March 2023, up from 1,832 the previous year, but still down on the 2,315 officers the force had in 2007. Figures for 2023 show that crime overall was up 11 per cent on 2019/20, while anti-social behaviour was 47 per cent down.