John Campion has set out his plan to cut crime further with some key commitments to target criminals and keep the communities of West Mercia safe.
By relentless focus and shrewd targeted investment as Commissioner over the past five years, John has overseen crime being reduced including burglary by nearly a third. As Police Officer numbers rise, and the structural investment in policing is embedded, now is the time to maximise that investment for the benefit of the communities of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Telford & Wrekin by cutting crime further.
John has pledged to build on this if re-elected by:
• Building on the 400 additional Police Officers he has already recruited, by pledging tocontinue to recruit record numbers to ensure West Mercia Police has the highest number of officers it has ever had
• Building on his record of reducing crime in West Mercia, by maintaining the relentlessly focus on pursuing criminals – giving the police the resources, and holding them to account for tackling those criminals causing the most harm in our society.
• Ensuring every Community has a visible and accessible Policing team working with them to tackle crime affecting their community
• Denying the criminals use of our roads with enhanced roads policing
• Investment in technology including Automatic Number Plate Recognition and specialist digital forensics
• More Specialist Investigators targeting organised criminals dealing drugs and exploiting vulnerable children and adults
• More Specialist Police resources focused on confiscating the proceeds of crime – making sure that criminals know that crime will never pay
• Ensuring West Mercia Police has the resources and a clear plan to tackle rural and business crime
• Ensuring all victims of crime have regular updates from officers investigating their complaint
John Campion said: “Whilst West Mercia is a low crime area, crime can never just be accepted as inevitable – our community expects and deserves better. Criminals should live in fear of being caught, held accountable for their actions and have the proceeds of their crimes confiscated. I, like our community, expect our police to target criminal behavior, investigate crime, protect the vulnerable and help deliver justice for victims and the wider community. Reports of crime should be taken seriously, proportionate investigations undertaken with victims kept updated. Too often this is not happening, whilst I have made progress as Commissioner to focus our police on fighting crime and holding them to account, now is the time to maximise the benefit of our investment in policing with better service to the community and crime continuing to fall.”
He added “To achieve this I will ensure the Police have the resources and focus they need to relentlessly fight crime to keep our community safe. I will continue to hold the Chief Constable to account in an evidenced and professional way to ensure the community has a strong voice at the heart of policing delivering results. Over the past five years I have made progress but there is always more to do. My commitment to the communities of West Mercia is clear – fighting crime will always be at the heart of my mission as Commissioner.”
