Western Daily Press (Saturday)
New police chief backs the Bill
IN his first interview since winning last week’s elections, the new police and crime commissioner for Avon and Somerset has already reiterated his support for the controversial bill that has seen dozens of protests in the region.
Earlier this year there were riots in Bristol – as well as several peaceful protests – against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
But Mark Shelford, who said that he has already spoken to Home Secretary Priti Patel since being elected, said he “wholly supports” the bill.
Mr Shelford received 34.4 per cent of first preference votes and was elected after second preference votes were counted, beating Labour’s Kerry Barker.
He is only the area’s second PCC, filling the shoes of independent Sue Mountstevens, who stepped down after nine years in the role.
The PCC sets the strategic direction for the force and one of Mr Shelford’s first tasks will be to appoint a new chief constable after Andy Marsh announced he would leave in July for a new challenge.
Asked what qualities he is looking for in a new chief constable, Mr Shelford said: “Somebody that exudes leadership and command and has unshakeable belief in the Peelian principles of policing.
“They need to have all the qualifications, knowledge and experience. Key to me is the leadership piece.
“Andy Marsh has been an exceptional leader who has really changed Avon and Somerset for the better. He came in at a difficult time when there had been quite a few chief constables and morale was quite low.
“He had to deal with a really difficult time and led exceptionally well.”
A key challenge for police over the last year has been handling protests during successive lockdowns.
The new PCC has said he wholly supports the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill as it reinforces “the British people’s right to peacefully protest but not to disrupt, so those people going about their lawful business should not be affected by a protest”.
Speaking last summer, Mr Shelford – then already a campaigning candidate after the pandemic delayed the elections – slammed the police leadership for “surrendering control” and claimed the force missed two opportunities to stop a “rampaging mob” pulling down Bristol’s statue of the slave trader Edward Colston.
He said: “Leadership from the middle to the top of the police was weak. There needs to be a complete overhaul of how these types of events are policed, or many people in Avon and Somerset will start to lose faith in the ability of the police leadership to deliver what is needed – safe, secure, lawabiding communities.”
Now in post, he struck a more measured tone. He said it was not for him to interfere in operational matters and it would be “extremely unfair” to say whether the statue would still be standing if he had been the PCC at the time.
“I want to understand what the plan is and whether we need to change the resource requirement to support the frontline officers,” said Mr Shelford, whose new job comes with an £86,000 salary.
“We should never give way to a mob. We should always police without fear or favour.”
He said he would not rush to appoint a new chief constable and has asked his team to put together a timeline by early June.
“I don’t want to hire somebody and find they’ve only got two years of service left.
“You need time to take over and run and mould a uniformed organisation like this to get it right. I don’t want them coming in and going out again. For whatever reason that’s what my predecessor did. I want to learn the lessons from that.”
One of Ms Mountstevens’ first moves when she was elected in November 2012 was to appoint a new chief constable.
Nick Gargan was in post for 14 months before he was suspended following allegations of “inappropriate behaviour towards female officers and staff”. There were two acting chief constables before Mr Marsh took up the role in February 2016.
The appointment of a new chief constable will not rest solely on Mr Shelford’s shoulders. The candidates will have to go through vetting and psychometric testing, and be questioned publicly by the police and crime panel.
After Mr Shelford only secured 17 per cent of the vote in Bristol – half that of Mr Barker – Green rival Cleo Lake claimed the Conservative had no mandate in the city.
The new PCC did not respond directly but said he looked forward to working with city leaders and the community in Bristol.
Mr Shelford picked up more votes than Mr Barker in all other authority areas and finished 15,000 votes ahead overall.
Other candidates pledged to hold the Conservative government to account and call for a review of the funding formula that historically has not favoured Avon and Somerset.
Mr Shelford said he would do the same: “I’ll be shouting and screaming to make sure it’s better balanced. I and a number of other Conservative PCCs were on a call with the Home Secretary and the Minister of Policing last night talking about this very thing.
“They were receptive. It’s clearly a complicated set of decisions they need to make. That’s not frightened me before. I’ll go out and shout for resources.”
The former soldier said he could not make a commitment that individual police stations would remain open.
“One of the first pieces of work is to look at the operational footprint and make sure we’re as efficient and effective as possible,” he said.
“Taking police stations away doesn’t help offer reassurance.
“Covid may have given us an opportunity as there may be office space available.
“I can’t say there won’t be changes – I’m sure there will be. My aim is to have that community coverage. Neighbourhoods are the most important part of what we do.”
Asked what his top priorities are, Mr Shelford said: “My first priority is to go out and visit as many of the police family as possible in my first 30 days.
“My second is to make sure we have a police and crime plan made from my manifesto.
“The next priority is recruitment; the chief constable is the most important.”