David Williams, former RAF officer and current Chair of the Lincolnshire Police Independent Advisory Group (IAG), will challenge Marc Jones in the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections on May 6.
The PCC role oversees the strategy and finances of the police force, and also hires and fires chief constables, who are responsible for the daily policing operations. Marc Jones was the second elected PCC of Lincolnshire in May 2016, and the role is paid £65,000 per year.
The Lincolnshire Independents candidate is one of five fighting for the role of PCC. Labour City of Lincoln councillor Rosanne Kirk, Liberal Democrat Ross Pepper and Reform UK party member Peter Escreet are the other Lincolnshire PCC candidates. Incumbent Marc Jones will stand again for the Conservatives.
Mr Williams wants to use his experience of working for the IAG as well as with youth offenders to increase community engagement and boost the visibility of the PCC and its deputy who will be a female and from a diverse background if he is elected.
He said the “Police and Crime Commissioners doesn’t need to be attending meetings, they need to be driving the agenda.”
“What I’ve been doing over the last three years has given me a very clear insight into a whole raft of issues to do with the criminal justice system in general, bearing in mind my work on youth offending.”
“I see so much opportunity there as well as much challenge. And frankly, I just can’t sit back with the opportunity of this election coming up and say: ‘Oh well, that’s fine, somebody else will get on with that’.
“I really think there are things that I can bring to the party, I’m desperate to make a difference.”
“The biggest thing from a public perspective is community engagement and listening. […] Visibility of the PCC is key for me.”
“The PCC, not as an individual but as an entity, needs to be out and about listening, taking things on board and feeding back. That takes more than one person and that is why that appointment of the deputy is so key.”
In 2016, the turnout for the PCC elections was just 20%, and former city and county councillor Marc Jones fought off UKIP and Labour candidates.
Local and county elections are taking place on the same day this year, usually with a 30%+ turnout, which would also help increase voting numbers for the PCC poll.
More on David Williams’ priorities and strategy can be found on his campaign website.
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