Ex-crime commissioner says he leaves ‘on a high’

GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S outgoing police and crime commissioner Martin Surl says he is leaving the post on a high but will not stand again for the position.

Mr Surl, who has been in the role since it was created in November 2012, finished third in the PCC elections.

He is proud of the progress the force has made in helping to reduce crime during his tenure and is confident that the county is in a much better place than when he started.

“I leave on a high. It’s obviously emotional. I had a fantastic eight-and-ahalf years,” he said.

“It was clear to me fairly early on that the tide had gone out for independents. The role was now becoming highly political.”

He added: “I leave with no hard feelings; it was a tremendous journey and I’m confident I’ve left the constabulary and the county in a much better place than I found it.”

He puts his success in reducing crime down to a combination of factors. “Bringing the force through austerity and the reintroduction of neighbourhood was a good start,” he said.

“I was very much about diverting people away from crime and not demonising young people.

“We’ve heard a lot about antisocial behaviour but young people are not that.

“The approach we took was to support them and make sure policing worked for them and not against them to bring them through that.”

Mr Surl says he has had a good career and has ruled out running again for election. “Not because I wouldn’t like to, but we have to accept that the Gloucestershire Constabulary is now under the control of a political party,” he said. “Something that I always adverted to. That is the situation and now they need to step up and prove that it is not a bad outcome.”

The Conservative Party’s Chris Nelson is the county’s new commissioner.