CURRENT Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire John Dwyer has been selected as the Conservative candidate for next Mays election.
Commenting, Mr Dwyer said: “When I came back in 2021 it was clear that improvement was needed. After a period of instability under Labour’s Commissioner that had seen two Chief Constables forced out of the job, the police had lost focus. They were too slow at picking up the phone. Too slow at getting to emergencies and weren’t doing enough about it when they got there. It wasn’t good enough.
“Working with the current Chief Constable, we have provided the police with much-needed stability, experience, and a relentless focus on improving performance. This has paid dividends.
“Cheshire now has more police officers than at any point in its history. The time taken to answer the phone has more than halved since 2021. (Now less than 5 minutes for 101 and under 10 seconds for 999). The police are getting to emergencies faster, and they’re doing more about it when they get there. Arrests are up by 30% and Cheshire has the highest charge rate for crime of any police force in the country.
“This is what’s at stake at this election. I am confident that the Chief Constable and I can, in partnership, build on the improvements we’ve already delivered and make Cheshire the best police force in the country. But I need your support to do it.”
Mr Dwyer’s selection comes shortly after the recently published statistics by the ONS which show that crime in Cheshire has fallen by 3.2% over the last year compared to a national increase in crime of 2 per cent.
Cheshire is one of only two areas nationally to have seen a reduction in crime over the last year.
Labour have chosen former Warrington Borough Cllr Dan Price as their candidate.
