Liberal Democrat candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner on 5th May

Dr Jonathan Wallace is the Liberal Democrat candidate for the role of Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

PCCs were created to oversee local police services. They are elected by people living in the police force area. The first elections took place in November 2012 but only one in six people cast a vote. The next election is on 5th May 2016 using the purple ballot paper (with postal votes already having been sent out. If necessary postal votes can be delivered to your nearest polling station).

Jonathan says ; "Labour's PCC has been invisible in many areas of the Northumbria force and I am promising to be a high profile commissioner in local communities if I win in May.

"As a Liberal Democrat PCC, I will work within the system to ensure we get the best deal for Northumbria Police. However, the PCC experiment has been a failure, especially under Labour. Not many people feel that they have a say over how the police force works for them. And community policing has been neglected by Labour.

"But ultimately, we could save a great deal of money by scrapping PCCs. If we could get rid of them, the money to pay them and run their offices could be used to employ more police in our local communities.

"If elected, I will lobby the government hard to scrap PCCs. Until they are abolished, I will battle to ensure community policing is at the centre of the Northumbrian Force's activities. I will be high profile, in touch with residents and not hidden away in an office in Newcastle.

"I live in Sunniside, Gateshead. I'm Leader of the Opposition on Gateshead Council. I was first elected in 1987 at the age of 23 while still a student at Newcastle University. After working in the private and public sector, I gave up the "rat race" to live the "good life". I grow my own food, keeps goats, bees and poultry and run a small business making preserves."

Thanks,
Jonathan Wallace - Liberal Democrat PCC Candidate, Northumbria