Police boss hopefuls set for debate (From Braintree and Witham Times)
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Police boss hopefuls set for debate
8:00am Friday 12th October 2012 in News
CANDIDATES hoping to become Essex’s first Police and crime commissioner will face each other later this month.
All eight candidates will be heading to Anglia Ruskin University, in Chelmsford, on Wednesday, October 31, during the election trail, to speak about themselves and their policies for the role.
The candidates for the November 15 election are: l Nick Alston (Con) l Val Morris-Cook (Lab) l Robin Tilbrook (Eng Dem) l Andrew Smith (UKIP) l Mick Thwaites (Ind) l Andrew Lyster (Ind) l Linda Belgrove (Ind) l John Gili-Ross (Ind).
Voters will be able to attend the event free of charge and can ask all the candidates questions about their policies and how they would deal with issues within their areas.
Chairing the hustings will be the university’s deputy vice chancellor Prof Alan Sibbald.
He will introduce each PCC nominee before opening the floor to the public for questions.
The elections next month will see a total of 37 commissioners voted in across England and Wales, with the winner of the role in Essex assuming office on November 22.
With a salary of £85,000, the commissioner will have the power to appoint the chief constable of the force and hold them to account as well as setting the budget for policing across Essex.
On top of these duties, they will also be responsible for publishing a police and crime plan and determining policing priorities for communities around the county.
A recent survey showed only one in five people living in Chelmsford were aware the elections were taking place.
However, a national TV advertising campaign is due to be launched ahead of the hustings. This is to raise awareness.
Meanwhile the watchdog Electoral Commission, will be posting details about the PCC role.
The event will take place at the campus from 6.45pm to 8.45pm.
For more information about the event, e-mail andrea.hilliard@anglia.ac.uk
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