‘Everyone in Avon & Somerset deserves to be and feel safe’

Crime is rising. Our streets, including in Bristol, feel less safe than ever, despite the efforts of frontline officers.

A recent survey shows a jump in the proportion of people in the city whose fear of crime affects their everyday lives to more than one in five. In more deprived areas, it’s almost one in two. Meanwhile, the percentage of Bristolians who think that the police and public services successfully tackle crime and anti-social behaviour has fallen by a quarter since 2019.

Everyone in Avon & Somerset deserves to be and feel safe. But, after our area saw more than 650 police jobs cut under the coalition, the Tory police & crime commissioner (PCC) wants us all to pay more for less. His latest plans would see more police cuts while raising taxes again. Our region simply can’t afford another four years of a Tory police commissioner.

We urgently need change and that change can be achieved in this election, as well as at the coming general election.

I am proud to be standing for the Labour Party on a platform of renewal. Having previously represented the South West as an MEP (2014-19), I know what it takes to represent our communities – and have what is needed to make a real difference.

I would be a visible and accountable police commissioner. The incumbent, unlike Sue Mountstevens who previously held the role as an independent, has flown under the radar.

I have already taken action. I worked with Dan Norris, the Labour West of England metro mayor, to set up a grant scheme offering up to £2,000 towards the costs of security measures such as CCTV, screens, body cams and hand-held radios. According to the ONS, our area had the largest increase in shoplifting in England and Wales, up by a shocking 42 per cent. Large retailers have clubbed together to fill some of the funding and policing gap left by this government, but Labour stepped in to help smaller independent retailers – while the current Tory police commissioner remains AWOL.

Our area is crying out for investment in neighbourhood policing. The current commissioner has defended Tory government cuts and overseen a serious fall in police visibility and victim satisfaction. He’s putting up our council tax again while cutting police numbers. Like Rishi Sunak, and Liz Truss before him, he’s asking taxpayers to pay the price for Tory mismanagement.

With your support, as police & crime commissioner, I would have three priorities for our area:

• Restore trust and confidence in the police: this means restoring visible neighbourhood policing to help reconnect the police to our communities. Neighbourhood policing is vital to building relationships, gathering intelligence, following up with victims and integrating crime prevention into day to day policing.

We also know, from too many reports and from the recent TV series To Catch A Copper, that there are police officers that let the majority down badly. I welcomed the bravery of the chief constable, Sarah Crew, letting the daylight in on this reality – there has to be honesty about the problems in order to confront them and deal with individual and systemic failures. In a city where racial discrimination and harassment are rising, our institutions need the leadership that people deserve.

Channel 4’s TV series To Catch A Copper “highlighted that there are police officers that let the majority down badly” – says Clare Moody – photo: Channel 4

• End the epidemic of violence against women and girls: at least one in five reported crimes are related to violence against women and girls, but it receives nowhere near this level of attention. Last year, one in five women in Bristol experienced unwanted sexual attention – rising to almost three in five women aged between 16 and 25. I would focus on measures specifically focused on these crimes – for example, ensuring specialist support for victims, increased use of technology to catch perpetrators quickly, effective recording of crimes to spot and respond to trends. Most importantly, there needs to be much more work done on prevention, particularly working with boys and young men and working with perpetrators to prevent reoffending.
• Protect victims and reduce crime by working with agencies outside of the police like councils, the NHS, and charities. I will put the victims of crime and antisocial behaviour at the heart of my work. It is also essential to provide officers with the resources and technology they need to identify and charge offenders. The best way of tackling crime is to prevent it and I will give focus and leadership to this work

In 2021, Labour were just five per cent short of winning the police & crime commissioner election. This time round, after the Tory government stole our second preference votes, this election will be first past the post, so only Labour can beat the Tories in this election on May 2 – and deliver the change what our communities need.

This is an opinion piece by Clare Moody, Labour’s candidate for Avon & Somerset police and crime commissioner

Main photo: Clare Moody

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