CHESHIRE Police Crime Commissioner candidate Neil Lewis has launched a public consultation on how people should spend the £800m police budget for the region, which works out as £1,000 per voter.
Mr lewis says whoever is elected on May 5 will have huge power to decide how £800m is spent over the next 4 years with just a lightweight monthly scrutiny board which gets to vote to accept or reject the Commissioner’s budget once per year.
That is why Lewis says he is asking Cheshire residents what their priorities are, prior to the Cheshire wide election.
“I believe this could be the only opportunity that most residents will have to influence the Commissioner’s decision making in the next four year,” he said.
Lewis is asking “do you believe more police time and money should be spent on roads and road speeds? Or do you believe that we are in the midst of a cybercrime epidemic and the police should get involved? If so, how?
“Is your view that further police money and effort needs to be focussed on tackling domestic abuse and violence against women? Do you agree that investing in technology delivers better policing?
“Or do you just want to see more police feet on the beat? And will redirect money to achieve this?
“Do you trust the previous Commissioner’s website to share up-to-date and accurate information about Cheshire police performance and the level of police activity in your area?
“And what about eSafety and online safety for our children and grandchildren? Or, protection from fraudsters and scammers for our elderly residents and grandparents?”
“These are all really important questions which will determine how safe we feel and how safe we really are in our communities, in our towns and online over the next 4 years”, Lewis added.
You can let Lewis know what you think by emailing him at [email protected] or via www.NeilLewis.org, https://twitter.com/Neil_Lewis or via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NeilLewis4CheshirePCC
1 Comment
It’s good to be asked but I still don’t really get what these Police Crime Commissions do or how a man/woman of the street can simply stand and become one if voted in and then have the power to decide what is spent where. Maybe it’s just me but it would seem more logical for the actual police who are out there doing the job every day to say where they think more money is needed to help them achieve their objective of keeping crime etc lower.
If I do have to say where I’d like ‘my’ £1000 quota to be spent, well burglaries/thefts in the local area seem to be high so any way that helps stop that….or better still how about giving householders a some of their said quota to enable them to install CCTV. Maybe that would cut down on local burglaries/thefts and also help catch any culprits too. 3 of us of voting age in our house so 3 x £1000 is £3000….CCTV would only be about £300 so still £2700 left for the police commissioners pit to dish out ‘wherever’. Ok so I was joking and realise that’s not possible but it does seem a good idea though……