Without sounding like the voiceover on The Apprentice, The elections for the new Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner are due on 2nd May 2024, so the Hunt is on!
What we have decided to do for the regions is list the Candidates and their responses. We sent a vague and generic set of questions to each PCC to ascertain what there feelings were, their priorities and see if they would give genuine, or well rehearsed answers. There are no right or wrong answers, no good or bad – we are not asking for them to be theft orientated, although aware would be nice. The questions and answers are listed below.
Have a read and if that helps you make a choice of who you wish to vote for, then that is great. We don’t advertise which Party they represent as we are taking them on their word, and will hold them to that. We don’t believe politics should play a part in the role, but nor should it act as a barrier if that candidate wishes to engage and represent the community.
SARAH FEENEY – WARWICKSHIRE – E-MAIL SENT: 11.50AM – RESPONSE: 12.19AM – TOTAL: 29 MINUTES
Mrs Feeney wished to point out that she is married to an ardent motorcyclist who has a number of motorcycles, and is a DAS & CBT Instructor so feels she is aware of the challenges in parking a bike somewhere safe and locking it securely. That is something that resonates with us all!
UKBTA: WHAT ARE THE ISSUES THAT YOU FEEL REFLECTS THE MOST SEVERE RISK TO LIFE IN THE REGION?
Sarah: On Warwickshire roads bike and car collisions have been highlighted as one of the most severe risks to life on the roads. On several routes where there have been serious life changing incidents or deaths there are a few signs already about motorists thinking about the impact of their driving on motorbikes. The other is the state of the roads – my husband came off his bike a few years ago when he slid on a patch of diesel and adverse weather conditions affect those on 2 wheels far more than those on 4 or more.
UKBTA: WHAT ARE YOU AWARE OF, AND WHAT HAVE/ARE YOU PROPOSING TO COMBAT THIS?
Sarah: As I have said, there is already some signage but I think there needs to be education work done around these issues. My husband had a serious crash in his 20’s trying to avoid a driver who clearly didn’t have any road awareness of how to deal with bikers. Education for all road users on how to deal with each other is something we don’t seem to do any more. – I can remember years ago a number of adverts that dealt with driving alongside horses, bikes etc and would like to put together an education piece again on these issues.
I think we need to take a multi-agency approach to some of the issues – clearly road signage and engineering is generally the remit of the County Council and I would seek to work with them to use accident data to look at the causes. Where we can talk to local councils, farmers and businesses about the issues that cause road accidents then we absolutely should.
We should also seek to engage with the biking community. Not all of them have the correct gear and sadly I’m aware that some of the fatalities and serious injuries could be avoided by using proper defensive equipment, making sure helmets are changed if they are old or ben dropped and insuring proper armoured clothing is worn. Nothing fill me with greater horror than seeing someone in a pair of shorts, t-shirt and slip on shoes with no gloves in the summer. Having been to a number of shows with my husband, I have seen some of those injuries on stands.
UKBTA: WHAT DO YOU FEEL ARE THE CAUSES OF THESE ISSUES AND DO YOU FEEL THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE MADE ANY IMPACT?
Sarah: As I’ve said there are a number of issues and causes for these and I haven’t seen any major changes for the better in the last few years in Warwickshire.
UKBTA: DO YOU FEEL POLICE ARE EQUIPPED AND STAFFED WELL ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUES?
Sarah: No – Warwickshire Police have just uplifted their force by 200 officers to meet Home Office targets – sadly many of these are not deployed on the frontline and nor do we seem to have many motorcycle officers either. I think it is important to get officers who are also motorcyclists as they understand the challenges. You haven’t asked specifically about bike theft and the impact but it is a big issue. One resident in the area I live in experienced attempted theft of a motorbike even though it was securely locked up and alarmed in their front garden. Some of the biking community have a bike because they live in areas where it is difficult to have a car, or a second car and if you live in terraced houses you may only have a small area at the front of the house to park in. The answer from Police was to find somewhere else more secure to park in, but it wasn’t clear where that may be. It might be helpful to perhaps have bike theft prevention literature aimed at bike riders so they can see what can be done. Again, it is something we could work with the council to do – put in anti theft bars to lock bikes to.
UKBTA: WHAT COMMUNITIES ARE IMPACTED, AND HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU COULD CHANGE THAT?
Sarah: I’ve had a number of communications from communities who are terrified by the impact of stolen bikes being raced around their area. I’m going to visit one set of residents tomorrow to talk about these issues. There are clearly a number of groups impacted – bikers, residents, young people.
As I’ve said, education is important but so is diversion for young people. Many of those coming into the justice system early enough cold be diverted away from theft as many do it as part of peer pressure or for something to do. Residents need to feel more empowered to report nuisance bikes and again as a multi agency approach. The Police and Local Authorities need to ensure that residents concerns are taken seriously.
As I’ve said above, we need to make it more difficult to steal bikes as well – make sure the owners gets the right advice and support to help them out.
UKBTA: HOW ACCESSIBLE ARE YOU TO THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU WISH TO REPRESENT?
Sarah: I’m always happy to visit and engage with people. I’m out tomorrow to talk to residents about the concerns they have and to see what I can do. I’m not going alone, I’m taking potential local councillors out to try and and see what we can sensibly to sort these issues out together. Some of it has to be the community helping by reporting issues as well.
UKBTA: IF A COMMUNITY MEMBER CONTACTS YOU AS A PCC, WHAT IS/WILL BE YOUR ACTUAL RESPONSE TIME?
Sarah: I think I would aim for a first response in 3 days. It may take longer to sort the issues out, but would at least first contact and a proposed way forward in 3 days.
Thankyou for your time Sarah.
That is your first Candidate for Warwickshire PCC. Voting is on 2nd MAY 24 – as we always say: Nothing Changes in a Silent Room.
RICHARD DICKSON – WARWICKSHIRE – E-MAIL SENT: 11.50AM – RESPONSE: 13.19PM – TOTAL: 1Hr 39 MINUTES
Richard responded in a good time frame. He wanted to make us aware that he had been involved in a number of cycle lanes and was aware of cycle theft, but felt uncomfortable responding to questions without relevant security checks and assurances in place He did not want to communicate with a group and preferred a verified voter only.
We understand Richards’ concerns, our job is very much the same as a PCC to an extent so we understand the risks, our volunteers have been attacked and even shot at before, but you get used to that risk!
We are appreciative of Richards’ response and wish him the best of luck with his campaign.
PHILIP SECCOMBE – WARWICKSHIRE – E-MAIL SENT: 11.50AM – RESPONSE: WAITING – TOTAL: TBC
