Northamptonshire PFCC candidates are making visible policing a priority

All three candidates hoping to become Northamptonshire’s next Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) said increasing police visibility was a priority.

The Conservatives, Labor Democrats and Liberal Democrats promised that, if elected, increasing police numbers would be key.

In July 2019, the government announced plans to recruit a further 20,000 police officers in England and Wales by the end of March 2023.

The Home Office set a target for Northamptonshire Police to reach 1,480 officers by March 31 last year.

When that date arrived, the official headcount for the county was 1,519. According to government figures, that is 193 officers per 100,000 inhabitants.

The BBC asked people in the province what they would like the PFCC to do, and police visibility was a common answer.

William McCann, 70, from Wellingborough, said: “I would like them to make sure we have enough police on the streets.

“When someone gets broken into, it no longer seems to be a priority.”

Abigail Gorgensen, from Long Buckby, said: “We need a greater police presence.

‘You used to see a lot of police patrolling the streets, but now you don’t see anyone anymore. I don’t know what they’re doing now.’

Below are the candidates listed alphabetically by last name.

Conservative Martyn Emberson said: “I am committed to visible policing in Northamptonshire and will draw up a new police, fire and crime plan in consultation with local people – if elected.

“The police and fire services must follow the direction set by the plan, which will allow local people to see more visible police work.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Ana Savage Gunn told the BBC: “The government appears to have forgotten that the population has increased and the complexity and severity of crime has increased.

“So we actually need more police officers to police now than ever before, and we’re not getting that.”

Labor candidate Danielle Stone said: “A key promise of the next Labor government is to create community policing hubs, which would be multi-agency hubs, which I fully support.

“There are two things we need to do to ensure that the police can do their job well: we need public services to do their job well again, so that the police are not the backstop, and we need more police .”

The election for the PFCC will take place on Thursday, May 2.