Crime leader hopes to serve again
The person overseeing policing and criminal justice in Lincolnshire has been given the green light to run for office again.
Marc Jones was unanimously reselected to stand as the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for a second time when elections are held in 2020.
Mr Jones, the Conservative Party candidate first elected in May 2016 to succeed Alan Hardwick as PCC for Lincolnshire, still has nearly two years of his current term to go before voters go to the polls again.
During his time in office, Mr Jones has appointed a new Chief Constable, Bill Skelly, and driven through a number of new initiatives, including a Rural Community Safety Strategy to tackle hare coursing and countryside crime.
Mr Jones said: “Being PCC is a fascinating role which matters to me and there’s so much more that I want to do, so I’m more than happy, at this stage in my life, to commit myself to being in Lincolnshire and doing this role.
“However, elections are never foregone conclusions and now it’s a small matter of me winning an election in 2020.”
One of Mr Jones’ main campaigning platforms will be the contents of his latest Crime Plan which includes a “single, joined-up approach to reducing offending and re-offending”.
The PCC is also committed to investing in better mental health service for the police and support in the force control room, along with “appropriate equipment” for neighbourhood policing teams.
Mr Jones said: “We’ve already made changes, such as bringing in 4x4 vehicles to use in a rural county and transforming the way firearms licensing is done in the county.
“When I started as PCC, it took three months to issue a firearms licence, but now it takes a few days.
“Rural safety wasn’t on the force’s radar before but every member of our community matters and making sure that people living in our villages both feel safe and are safe depends on, with limited resources, making sure that police are on the ground and doing their job.”
He added: “What the future will hold two years from now, once we’ve achieved what’s in the current Police and Crime Plan, it’s very difficult to say.”
Leicestershire and Rutland’s commissioner, Lord Will Bach, will not stand in the next election.
