Leading The Fight Against Crime
Sarah Varley speaks to the new Lancashire Police & Crime Commissioner, Andrew Snowden on how he plans to support the Chief Constable and lead the fight against crime
Congratulations on your new role. What should Preston & Fylde residents expect from you during your time as Police & Crime Commissioner?
Thank you! As Police & Crime Commissioner I will be passionately leading the fight on crime. It’s still a relatively new role and some people are still sceptical, but I think it comes down to who holds the role. If done well by someone who genuinely wants to make a difference, the role can have real value in shaping public safety and that’s what I hope to achieve. I’m here because I want to see a much tougher, no-nonsense approach to getting criminals off our streets.
How do you plan to deliver on this?
I will be starting afresh with a whole new policing and crime plan, focusing on getting tough on crime and cracking down on criminals. Too often we see offenders getting off lightly and excuses being made for repeat offenders. I want to start working with national Government around sentencing and the criminal justice system. A good start has been made with a number of bills going through at the moment but we need to do much more on the sentencing side.
How will funds be distributed?
I’ll set out a police and crime plan over the next few months, consulting with the public and the force on their priorities, and that will determine how I allocate the budgets. I’m working with the Chief Constable on where there might be efficiencies we can make and where we can then prioritise that funding. I’m having a briefing in the operational control centre this afternoon, so I can see how that works and understand it so when I’m setting budgets and priorities with the Chief Constable I know what is achievable and what the police need my backing on.
How do you intend to tackle concerns about an increase of organised crime coming into Lancashire?
I’ve already had a good conversation with the Chief Constable about protecting our Lancashire borders and repelling crime coming in from elsewhere at the point it crosses our borders. The Chief and Deputy Chief Constable are very aware of this issue and that is something I will be fully backing them up on. We have dedicated units tackling serious organised crimes such as county lines gangs. It will require continuous hammering to disrupt and dismantle their networks. It is not going to be fixed overnight, and certainly not with a light-hearted approach. It’s going to be a tough nut to crack so we’re going to have to keep hammering it and that is what the police will have my 100 per cent backing in doing. No excuses or exceptions will be made for these criminals, these are dangerous people who should not be on our streets.
The Office of the PCC for Lancashire
County Hall, Preston PR1 0LD
01772 533587
commissioner@lancashire-pcc.gov.uk
lancashire-pcc.gov.uk
