Reflections

A few observations now that those elections are at last over. For myself and my wife Veronica, losing is tinged with the additional sadness of leaving Cornwall again. That's a given because we have to return to work at the Next Century Foundation's London office. However there are one or two thoughts I'd like to leave you with.

1. The idea of using the Brixham experiment as a process by which community payback can be delivered by the Police Force at street level rather than putting young people through the criminal justice system still seems sound to me. Especially in an era in which Police Commissioners also control voluntary sector budgets and thus can deliver both sides of the equation: The Police to deliver alternative justice at street level and the voluntary sector to provide the vehicle for the community service that is the option instead of the offender going to trial.
2. I am heartened to report that Tony Hogg, the Conservative candidate, the victor in these elections, told me not just once but twice during the count that he would commit to delivering the one policy I considered most important, that of delivering a detox centre for under-21s. I am glad and grateful he is picking up that baton and running with it and wish him all success. 

Clearly our Police Force is unhappy, not just because of the spending cuts that have resulted in reductions in manpower; they are also annoyed by the ongoing centralisation of everything on Middlemoor and the cult of creating service "hubs" rather than delivering at local level. Many recent Police reforms, such as that of combining CID and uniformed officers in joint units, appear to have been unsuccessful and may be worth reconsideration.

Hopefully our new Commissioner will address the morale issue.

Only one really sour note in the whole elections business and I cannot help but mention it. If it were a mere grumble I would leave it be but I believe this to be a point of principle so it has to be aired. Councillor Greenslade stood as an independent and indeed placed advertisements in the newspapers describing himself as "The True Independent". The difficulty I have is that he was and he remains a serving Liberal Democrat councillor and has retained his party membership. I resigned my party membership to stand for these elections (I had been a member of the Labour Party). Councillor Greenslade's behaviour is, I believe, inappropriate. Perhaps it will lead to a change in the ground rules by the Electoral Commission to stop anyone behaving in this way in future.

And finally, the hunting community can breathe a sigh of relief. I would probably, indeed almost certainly, have been the only candidate in the country who would have enforced the Hunting Act. That would indeed have been controversial.

As for my ideas of targeted Zero Tolerance policing in areas in which street level violence was getting out of control - they sound draconian but I believe that something dramatic needs doing to stop the continuing slide into increased levels of violent crime in Devon and Cornwall. And I think it could have worked.

Anyway - good luck and best wishes to the victor and his wife and good luck to our redoubtable Police Force. They deserve every success.

Thank you

This message is to thank the thousands who voted for me and especially thank those that campaigned for me. You were remarkably wonderful.

And thank you to the people of Devon, Cornwall and the Islands as a whole. I commend the victor to you. Tony Hogg was an honourable contender and I respect your choice to give him the very considerable authority he will accrue as from Thursday 22nd November when he takes over and the Police Authority is abolished. I am sure he will wield the power he dispenses on our behalf with dignity.

The hustings: This one in Dawlish

Especially thanks to my wife Veronica, and to my sister, Maggie Tomkinson from East Devon, who worked tirelessly as my agent. What an adventure this campaign has been. I will now return to my work as Secretary General of the Next Century Foundation where we are preparing to send a team into Gaza led by my son Samuel whom some of you will have met on the campaign trail. I too will also be back and forth to Gaza and Israel during the coming months whenever we are not busy putting together the forthcoming International Media Awards, one of this world's more heartening events.

I well remember being in a public meeting in Saltash when someone described Saltash as the frontline between Devon and Cornwall and said, "This is the Gaza Strip", and my much unfairly maligned fellow contestant, Tam Macpherson of Plymouth said, "If this is the Gaza Strip then I live in Beirut". And perhaps he was right; Union Street Plymouth is arguably more dangerous than downtown Beirut late on a Saturday night.

There are huge problems in Devon and Cornwall and I believe the position of Police Commissioner is that of a kind of peacekeeper and presents a rare and magnificent opportunity to do some real good in this broken but beautiful world. Good luck to Tony Hogg in his endeavours (and to his wife who will need to be something of a grass widow at least for the next month or so).

But mostly, let me say what an opportunity this has been to really get to know my homeland here in the South West. What a magnificent part of the world we live in. I cherish the time I have spent on this campaign. My thanks to all who read this. I count you all my friends.

Yours ever

William

p.s. Ambassador Hambley, my US advisor on zero tolerance policies and my friend (some of you may have met him on the campaign trail) wrote the following note on the results. You may like to have it for your reference:

Well, the preliminary "first cut" results for the election for Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly (PCC) have been tabulated.

This is, by far, the largest constituency geographically in the United Kingdom and had far more candidates (10) than constituencies with a far larger number of registered voters -- many of which had only 3 or 4 candidates running for this potentially powerful office.

Voters were asked to vote for two candidates -- one as their first preference and a second -- if they wish -- as their second preference candidate.

Only the two candidates with the highest totals of first preference votes go forward to the final round of counting for the second votes to determine the actual winner. The second preference votes for all of the remaining eight  candidates were then distributed among the first two.

A total of 196,987 votes were cast, which is only a mere 15.14% of the total electorate.

The two leading candidates were:

Hogg (Cons) 55,257
Greenslade (Indep/LibDem) 24,719

The other candidates received the following votes:

Williams (Labour) 24,196
Blake (LibDem) 23,948
Smith (UKIP) 16,433
Jordan (Indep) 12,382
Morris (Indep) 10,586
Smith (Indep) 10,171
Calderwood (Indep) 8,667
Macpherson (Indep) 4,306

The night clearly went to the Conservatives. With almost a 30,000 vote lead, it was impossible for Greenslade to overcome the Tories.

Team Morris performed brilliantly. Despite our failure on this occasion, the team -- energetically led by Agent Margaret Tompkinson with assistance from family and friends throughout the area --  put on an excellent and inspiring campaign against what in the end proved to be insurmountable odds.

Regarding Christians

A number of Christians have been asking questions of the candidates in this election. I myself am a Christian. My response to the questions I am being asked is as follows:

They write: There have been occasions where individuals or groups that have sought to explain Biblical teaching in a public place have been the subject of aggressive policing and even arrest, as have those, for example, who have sought to inform people about the nature of controversial subjects such as abortion. The inclusion of the word ‘insulting’ in Section 5 of the Public Order Act has been especially problematic in this regard. I should therefore be interested to know whether you support reform of the Public Order Act.

Let me be clear. The role of the Police Commissioner is to facilitate the enforcement of the law, no matter how unpopular the legislation. That applies to Section 5 of the Public Order Act just as it applies to the Hunting Act or any other piece of unpopular legislation. I am not trying to dodge your question. The word 'insulting' should be removed from the public order act. However, I also share Tolstoy's view that when it comes to religion the expression "I am right and you are wrong" is the cruelest thing one person can say to another.

They ask:

What steps can be taken in the interim to ensure that police policy and training equips Police Officers to safeguard the freedom of Christians and others to speak Biblical truth in the public square, even where some may find that truth controversial.

If Christians break the law they must be willing to face the consequences and stand up for what they believe. They should never be given special privilege. To do so would be a fundamental error. Having said which I believe the police force is there to protect freedoms including both freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Therefore, if it helps assuage your concern, please note the fact that I rank the right to Freedom of Expression above the demands of the Public Order Act - within reason that is. If someone preaches hate they will find the provisions of the Public Order Act being enforced. Note also however, that there is a clear distinction between operational policing and police policy. If elected I will set police policy and not dictate operational matters.

They ask: Would you therefore be prepared to take advice from national and local Christian groups to ensure such freedom can be protected and any confusion about the Law clarified?The answer is most definitely. Indeed I will seek out the views of fellow Christians and engage with them on these issues. This post is about consultation.

You refer to the involvement of Christians in serving their local communities in areas that overlap with local policing (e.g. Street Pastor or Street Angels groups). Could you indicate support for the work of local Christian groups in the local community, alongside the police and what guarantees can you give that they will continue to have the freedom to do so, whilst maintaining their Christian ethos and identity.

The big plus of Street Pastors is that they do not evangelise and have thus garnered huge respect. They lead by example and have proved an invaluable resource. I will support them. More than support them, I will provide them with real backing wherever possible.

On Speed Cameras and Drink Driving

On the speed camera issue - they are installed by the local authority not the police and the police have almost no say in the matter. We do have a say in enforcing speed limits however. And perhaps we have been a little lax lately due - in part - to lack of resources.

My intention is to concentrate such resources as we have on the drink driving issue this Christmas if elected. We have a slight decrease in road casualties in the past year but that is still not satisfactory enough. So we will perhaps think of a little seasonal crackdown. Not what people want in the festive season but it's been done before and it's for their own good.

Some aspects of this relates to the Chief Constable's operational remit - not mine - but if elected I would be the one who sets up the police plan in consultation with the Chief Constable - and the drink driving issue is very definitely high on my agenda.

More Questions on Zero Tolerance

This is my answer to a member of public who has sent a series of questions to all candidates:

1.    If elected, what would be your first priority task?

Actually it would be to gain the confidence of our demoralised and understandably angry police force. But that is not what you mean. I have a number of priorities however let me highlight the most high profile of them all. I would introduce zero tolerance policing in an area where street crime (alcohol related violence) is increasing. Alongside which I would introduce a program of community payback delivered as an alternative to the criminal justice system by the police.  

2.    What methods would you use to complete this task (e.g. project
plan, action plan with rough outlines of steps required to complete the
task – please list sub-tasks required)

There would be a process of consultation involved - most particularly with the police force itself. However, we would need to set in place voluntary sector support for the community payback element of the scheme. Also for wet rooms for sobering people up having taken them off the streets. We would need to consult the local authority concerned with regard to section 27 dispersal orders. We would need to recruit Specials to reinforce our regular police officers on a one to one basis in the target area. We would need to consult the Police and Crime Panel. We would need to use our statisticians to identify the area to be focused on.

3.    What is your timescale for completion of this task?

This is an ongoing task. We would focus on one area for a period of time (to be determined in consultation) and then focus on another area.

4.    How will you measure the outcome as successful or not?

The crime statistics and the reaction of the general public. We will consult at every stage.

5.    How will I, as a member of the public, be able to measure your
performance on this and other tasks?

You will see the difference. However please note that I myself will be highly visible and accessible. I will be discussing outcomes with the public.

6.    What actual difference will you make to Devon and Cornwall’s
crime levels?

The answer is significant. Currently we are seeing a year on year rise in violent crime of 10% and a 12% rise in sex crimes like rape. That is quite atrocious. I would certainly hope that that will change.

MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM MARTIN BELL

"To many voters this is an unwanted and unnecessary election. It will replace the old system of accountability with a new one which threatens to politiise the police. It is for that reason very important to defend the independence of our police forces from interference by political commissars. The political parties have their candidates in the field, whose only qualification in some cases is their party loyalty. A number of outstanding Independent candidates have also put themselves forward, whose election would be greatly in the public interest. It would keep our valued police services politically neutral and publicly accountable.

"I urge all voters to consider the Independent option."

Martin Bell

Domestic Violence

I have been asked about my response to the domestic violence issue by the manager of the "North Devon Repair project", a perpetrator programme funded through the Against Domestic Abuse and Violence (ADVA) partnership based at Devon County Council. This is my response:

Domestic violence is an issue of grave concern. Here in Devon and Cornwall we have a year on year rise in cases of domestic abuse of about 5%. Generally (though not invariably) we are talking of violence against women perpetrated by men, either boyfriends against girlfriends of husband against wives. It affects whole families of course, as youngsters that witness domestic violence on the part of their parents are themselves deeply traumatised by the experience. Three-quarters of the children at risk come from families in which their is domestic violence. Obviously we need a multi-agency approach. And we have to be careful about the solutions we choose. Putting children into care is not generally satisfactory. 80% of the children taken into care eventually end up in prison.

What I would like to examine is the use of 311 notices. I think we need to enforce Harassment Orders / Non Molestation Orders. A power of arrest must always be used with Occupation Orders.

Torbay has a dedicated solicitor to deal with cases of domestic violence so that they avoid the problem of the poverty trap whereby some cannot afford to take the appropriate legal action.

I am not a legal expert and I am not planning to become one. But I will seek advice from those that are and that includes people like yourself. And my intention (subject to consultation) is to employ a police lawyer to deal with domestic violence. I view this as a matter of grave concern.

Questions Regarding Zero Tolerance

* ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR *

I have said that I would immediately introduce Targeted *Zero Tolerance* policies in areas where alcohol related violence is not reduced. One elector of this constituency asks:

1. Why does this have to be limited to areas
    where alcohol related violence is not reduced.
    Surly targeting the whole spectrum of anti
    social behaviour as zero tolerance would
    benefit the whole community faster leave no
    grey areas of ambiguity especially after
    hearing some of the horror stories some people
    have gone through.

A very good question. The problem is that we live in an era of cuts. Were our Police Force full strength we could do this. But the Police budget has been cut (is in the process of being cut) by a fifth. So what we can do is to set an example in the worst affected areas (specifically those areas in which street crime such as alcohol related violence is on the increase).

2. Taking into account all of the seven point
    action plan you have quoted how much of it can
    be action immediately you become the
    commissioner ?

"Immediately" is one of those words that has shades of meaning even though it sounds clear. Let me be specific. Some projects that I am totally committed to like the detox centre for under-21s addicted to alcohol would take time to set up. Perhaps a year before it takes shape as a project. Then we have to get the cooperation of other agencies. And if we fail to bring others on board we have to initiate the process ourselves. But it will happen. Other projects like my "Child Safe" initiative require consultation with parents and teachers before they fully take shape. This post is about consultation and I do not have all the answers. However, the zero tolerance initiative (to talk about one of the more high profile projects) will be fairly immediate. Of course we will need to put the support teams in place and empower the police to do what we require. For instance we may need to put Section 27 dispersal orders in place for the area to be targeted. But without going through everything point by point, let me say that much of my manifesto will be implemented immediately and you will see evidence of that. Indeed you will see a lot of me. I will be a highly visible Police Commissioner if elected.

3. I know personally where a credit card crime
    was in process and the goods bought illegally
    was to be picked up by the person who stole
    the details. The police was informed of this
    and the time of the pick up but was shocked to
    learn that they did not have the time or
    resources to be on at hand for the pick up but
    to call 999 when the pick up turn up. What can
    I expect if the same scenario came up again if
    you should get elected the post.

This is a disturbing story. The truth is that there is a distinction between operational policing and police policy. The Chief Constable deals with operational matters and the Police Commissioner deals with policy matters. However the Police Commissioner is there to hold the Police Force accountable to the public and can hire and fire the Chief Constable. If this were to happen again I would want to know the details so that I can raise this specific question with the Chief Constable. The event you describe is clearly unacceptable but we would need to investigate the matter.

On Privatisation

All candidates are being asked whether they will privatise police services.

Privatisation of Devon and Cornwall police services is not on my agenda. And with regard to the principle underlying question here, that of the possibility of making police staff redundant and then using a private sector company, like G4S, to do the paperwork, that will not happen if I am elected. This commitment is a matter of principle.

Which means that companies like G4S do not feature in my plans. Not that I have anything personal against G4S. I am not on a crusade here. I have other priorities. However, just to make things doubly clear, I have no connections with any companies that might conceivably be offered police contracts.

Does the same apply to crime and other investigative work, forensic work, control room and custodial duties, preparation of cases for trial, and so forth? The answer is yes within reason. For instance the police use independent expert companies sometimes for facial recognition type analysis on CCTV. Be aware that I am not going to make blank cheque type pledges that would tie the hands of myself or the Chief Constable. Would I ever have a private company handling police cells? No. And I am extremely unlikely to privatise forensic services. They tried that in America and it was an utter catastrophe. I repeat I am against privatisation. But more specific pledges are inappropriate. I do not dislike the private sector. They are people too. Indeed I have spent almost my entire life working in the private sector.

Voluntary Services

The Trustees of Voluntary Youth Services (see details below) have been asking me questions. VYS supports and advocates for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector in Devon.

Question One: Please outline what you see as being the main issues being faced by children and young people today in relation to the role of Police and Crime Commissioner?

Answer: Young people are the main victims of crime as well as being the main perpetrators of crime here in Devon and Cornwall. That does not mean I want to demonise the young. I am profoundly concerned to support the under-21s who face intollerabale pressures in today's world. My main concern is alcohol related crime. Do you realise that we now have (latest figures) a ten percent increase in violent crime against the person in the past year. That's astounding. That means over twenty thousand incidents of violent crime in Devon and Cornwall in the past year. Just in terms of the mere human suffering this represents, this is atrocious. And this crime type is on a steep upward curve. As a prison visitor I visited hundreds of people in for violent crime and though one or two such crimes were drugs related (people seeking drugs), with that exception, all of the hundreds of people whom I visited in for violent crime committed their crimes whilst tanked up on alcohol.

Question Two: With Local Authorities and potentially the Police Crime Commissioner facing reduced budgets year on year what is your vision for the future role of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector in the design and delivery of youth crime prevention programmes?

Answer: I am going to introduce zero tolerance policing in areas where street crime is running out of control (essentially the areas of Devon and Cornwall with the worst increase in street crimes such as alcohol related violence). Zero tolerance means a presumption to arrest.

However I do not want this to result in more youngsters going through the criminal justice system. So I will roll out the Brixham experiment throughout Devon and Cornwall wherever I impose zero tolerance policing. This is our Police Force's response to my question on the Brixham experiment so that you are clear as to what we are talking about:

Concerning Community Payback in Brixham:  This is a local scheme that happens to have the same name as the Community Payback scheme that is run by Probation but in fact, the two are not related.   The Brixham scheme was set up by PCSO Cheryl Foster and the Youth Enquiry Service (YES), as part of a Restorative Justice approach to young people shoplifting in a local shop.  The young people were placed in voluntary working by YES.  This has now stopped because YES have had their funding reduced and could no longer support the voluntary work scheme.  In fact, at the moment, there are no young people who would be considered for the scheme, but the lack of money would stop it from occurring anyway. 

To answer your question, Restorative Justice schemes like this are already used as an alternative to a charge or other non-court disposal (such as an official police youth reprimand or youth warning).  Restorative Justice is a way of dealing with crime without the need to involve the courts or have official sanctions such as cautions or youth warnings.  It is used to deal with offending by both adults and young people. It is used extensively in Devon and Cornwall, however the types of reparation made by the offenders varies from one crime to the next.  The scheme in Brixham is only one example of Restorative Justice, albeit one where voluntary groups have been involved with the outcomes.  Voluntary groups are not used extensively in this way.

However, I will be using voluntary groups extensively in precisely this way.

Question Three: In Devon the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector has played an important role in delivering Youth Crime Prevention Services for a number of years. In April 2013 national funding received into the sector will be re-routed via the Police and Crime Commissioner. As Commissioner can you outline how you will in the short term work with the VCSE sector and Local Authorities in relation to commissioning opportunities around Youth Crime Prevention Programmes for April 2013?

Answer: Funding for rape support will not be cut in year one in any way - it will be ringfenced - though there may be some redistribution of funding. Funding for major pan-national groups like Crimestoppers that can get funding from other sources may be reduced if budgets are tight (we have to deal with the possibility that budgets may be cut). I want to fund the mentoring group "White Gold" and will do that - even in year one. I regard mentoring as important. Everything will be done in consultation with the voluntary sector.

 

Background: Voluntary Youth Services – Devon (VYS)

VYS (www.vysdevon.org.uk) is a charity and well-respected specialist infrastructure network for those voluntary and community sector groups that work with and for children and young people in Devon. The current membership includes network organisations; these include Devon Scouts, St John Ambulance and the Army Cadet Force, over 120 individual youth and community organisations that work with and for children and young people and a growing number of affiliates.

Wildlife Crime

We are getting closer to the election. I may therefore post more information on this site than I have been doing so far. 

First wildlife crime. I have more enquiries about wildlife crime than almost every other issue. Actually I get hundreds of e-mails from the anti-hunting pro-wildlife lobby and a mere one or two at most from the pro-hunting lobby. Which is curious, almost counter-intuitive. A sign of the times? Anyway, this is the response I am sending on this issue:

I am the only candidate in Devon and Cornwall who has included a wildlife crime commitment on their manifesto as you will see if you check it out.

I would commit to supporting our wildlife and pledge to commit sufficient funding to policing and enforcing wildlife crime legislation, including the Hunting Act.

The Hunting Act is the law of the land, and I will see that the act is enforced. However I will not want to divert police resources from other crimes which I have prioritised in an era of cuts.

I am personally interested in wildlife issues. I am from Cornwall but for a while I farmed in Wales and when we lived in Wales my wife founded the Glamorgan Badger Group. You can quite rightly infer that I am against the badger cull (though I will have to uphold the law of the land regardless of my personal opinions).

I will take a special interest in Marine issues. I am a Padi diver (haven't dived in a while though) with a reef diver qualification (which is something Padi goes in for in hot climates). I also chaired the West Cornwall Marine Forum on fisheries issues about ten years ago (though sadly that organisation no longer exists).

I am also concerned about the conditions endured by animals when transported to abattoirs and will take a personal interest in seeing vehicle checks are made in this regard.

Another important issue has to be birdcrime. I have just been told that in Devon and Cornwall alone we recorded 91 reports of bird of prey persecution in the ten year period 2002-20011 inclusive. Both my wife and my brother-in-law are members of the RSPB. You can be confident that this is not an issue I shall be putting on the back burner.

There are currently 31 officers in Devon and Cornwall who deal with, and assist with, wildlife crime.  This is very much a specialist area of crime and these officers have volunteered to perform this role, usually because they have an interest in wildlife crime.  This role is performed in addition to their day-to-day duties and responsibilities, there are no dedicated wildlife crime officers at this time.

There is a case for designating one officer as full time WCO to act as central contact point for outside agencies and to coordinate the WCO response across the force. This model has been followed in several other forces to good effect.

I will appoint one full time officer to deal with both wildlide crime and enforcing the hunting act. Though you should be aware that operational policing is the remit of the Chief Constable. If elected I can hold the Chief Constable to account of course. But I am not legally entitled to interfere in operational matters.

For your reference, the senior officer who is in overall charge of Wildlife Crime Officers is Inspector Julie Challoner, who is based at Newton Abbot police station.

William's Manifesto

We have a Police Force to protect the public and maintain human dignity. We have a right to feel free from threats of robbery, violence, abuse and fear. Police are not here to fill forms and shuffle paperwork. They are here to keep our society free, our children safe, to protect life and property.

This is William Morris’ seven-point action plan for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly:

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR:

·      Immediately introduce Targeted Zero Tolerance policies in areas where alcohol related violence is not reduced.

·      Street Wardens in holiday trouble spots.

·      Support church volunteers working at night in Town Centres.

·      Reintroduce remand fostering for young offenders.

·      Campaign against cheap strong liquor and child access to alcohol.

CHILD ABUSE:

·      Introduce new Child Safe programme after close consultation with parents and teachers.

DRUG ABUSE:

·      Increase resources for home detox. 

·      Crackdown on littering with drugs paraphernalia.

·      Establish Britain’s only drugs and alcohol detox centre for under-21s.

RAPE AND ASSAULT: 

·      One third of rapes in Devon and Cornwall are of girls under sixteen. Rape is abhorrent. The rape issue will get top priority.

·      Introduce more efficient and effective civil orders for domestic abuse.

RURAL CRIME:

·      Farm Crime, including rustling and wildlife crime, will be treated as urgent.

POLICE ON THE BEAT:

·      No cuts to local policing. These officers are essential.

·      Less bureaucracy. More pre-charge Restorative Justice, and Community Payback for young offenders.

·      More sworn officers in Town Centres Friday and Saturday nights.

·      Vehicle spot-checks in crime hot spots.

CAUSES OF CRIME:

·      William Morris will speak out about poor social conditions and unemployment.

Submitted by the agent, Margaret Tomkinson, Beacon Farm, Yarcombe EX14 9LU on behalf of William Morris 

Contact details for William Morris:

william@southwestjustice.org

Tel: 07918643802

www.southwestjustice.org

Angwinack, Ludgvan TR20 8BN