David Taylor, Welsh Labour Profile + Q&A

(Other candidate profiles + Q&A’s: Arfon Jones, Julian Sandham, David Taylor, Simon Wall, Matt Wright)

Wrexham.com has asked every Police and Crime Commissioner candidate for a profile, plus answers to 15 questions we submitted to them. Below is what we have had in return for this candidate.

Links: www.davidtaylor.uk  ,   www.facebook.com/DavidTaylorPCC ,  twitter.com/david_taylor

Q & A

Q1. Many people are still unsure over the role of PCC, what do you see the role of PCC being, and what would you change from the work of the first holder of the post?

I’m putting myself forward because I believe North Wales needs a new crime plan and a Police Commissioner willing to stand up for its people – someone who supports officers on the frontline but is not part of the police establishment.

I will be a hands-on Commissioner – honest about my politics and honest about the direction I will bring to the role.

Q2. Wrexham will see a change in the fabric of policing with a new town centre station, and a larger HQ in Llay. What are your views on this change?

My priority is to see more police on streets, not in buildings. I want to see a stronger police presence in the town centre so I will aim to ensure the new HQ is able to deliver that.

Q3. Car arson has sadly been a high profile problem around Wrexham, is this type of issue something a PCC can have specific intervention on, and if so, how?

Car arson is a type of anti-social behaviour and the police need to come down hard on the yobs responsible for this crime. I have set up an alert line on 01978 898223 and am asking anyone concerned that appropriate action is not being taken to get in touch.

Q4. The PCC role covers North Wales, what practical thing(s) will you do to represent the concerns and interests of the people of Wrexham and the surrounding area specifically?

I will crack down on anti-social behaviour and declare war on wasters. Decent people living and working in Wrexham have had enough and I will take their side when it comes to applying the law.

Zero tolerance works. It cuts crime. It drives regeneration. It encourages investment. If I am elected as North Wales’s Police Commissioner it will be coming to Wrexham – and fast.

Q5. At the last election we asked if there would be a decrease in transparency following the abolition of the police authority which had its public meetings and published papers. At the time of writing the last public meeting minutes on the PCC website are from June 2015, the last minutes in the Scrutiny section are from September 2015. The most updated section on the site is the ‘news’ with lots of press releases. How will you increase transparency?

I am determined to be a more open and accessible Commissioner. I want to be a hands-on Commissioner with a higher public profile, holding the force to account on behalf of people and explaining the work I do with regular communications to the public using both face to face meetings and digital communication to be as accessible and transparent as possible. I will hold surgeries alongside Councillors, AMs and MPs and be an active and visible presence across North Wales. But my openness will not begin and end in North Wales. I will be a strong voice speaking up for our area in Cardiff, in Westminster and in the North West of England, which shares many common crime problems with us.

Q6. Do you have a view on the current police precept level, and what you would intend to do?

We get taxed enough as it is at a local level in Wrexham so I don’t want to increase it and certainly have no immediate plans to do so. But if there are further Tory cuts to policing I may be faced with some very difficult decisions because my view is we simply cannot afford to lose any more police on the streets here. I can promise that any change to the precept during my term as Commissioner would only happen after extensive public consultation.

Q7. Are you able to publish on your campaign website (or social media etc) all the campaign donations you have received from individuals and organisations, your membership of any associations, clubs or societies, and your sources of income? If not, why?

Yes, and they will be fully declared inline with Electoral Commission rules. Currently my expenses are being met by the Labour Party and myself.

Q8. The PCC role is mooted to expand to include taking on strategic direction of the fire service, and perhaps become a blue light commissioner with responsibility for all the emergency services. What are your views on this and do you think there are savings to be made by for example asking fire or police officers to act as paramedics, or for paramedics and fire officers to deal with the policing aspects of road incidents?

I am not convinced the UK government has made the case for this yet, and as other emergency services are devolved to the Welsh Government it’s unclear how these proposed reforms could apply in Wales. That said, I am not dogmatic about structures, I am for improving services and accountability so I will keep an open mind at this early stage.

Q9. What scope do you think the “and crime” element of the role provides? What influence do you expect to exert on justice policy beyond policing, with prisons, probation and the courts for example.

Quite a bit, potentially. Building strong partnerships is crucial to this role and I would hope to do this particularly through the North Wales Criminal Justice Board. I am especially keen to ensure that local businesses benefit from the new prison, and to look at how we can improve Welsh language services across the justice sector.

Q10. Have you ever committed a crime? What happened?

See Q.12

Q11. Do we currently have any laws you disagree with that you do, or would be prepared to, break?

I suppose everyone in politics has laws they disagree with or find frustrating, that tends to be why they get involved in the first place – to improve them. Would I break any laws? No. Even when we disagree with the law it is important to respect it.

Q12. Have you ever taken recreational drugs, and do you think we should treat recreational drug addiction as a criminal or a health problem?

Once or twice a long time ago, which I regret. Am I in favour of legalising drugs? No. Do addicts need help? Yes. It’s both a criminal and a health problem.

Q13. Will you publish the police incident log online, after appropriate redactions?

In principle I’d have no problem with this, I’m all for greater transparency, but I just don’t think it’s feasible from an operational and cost perspective. But I’m happy to look at what can be done.

Q14. Do you think the UK leaving the EU would make North Wales more, or less, safe?

A vote to leave the EU would be great for criminals and hardly anybody else. The criminals could wriggle free from the provisions of the European Arrest Warrant – which means they have no hiding place in Europe – while the rest of us would face massive risk.

That’s why, regardless of what happens on 5 May, I’ll be campaigning for a vote to keep the UK in the EU.

Q15. Can you commit to maintain the current number of police constables per thousand of the population?

Yes. I want to increase the number of frontline officers.

Profile

I’m putting myself forward because North Wales needs a new crime plan and a Commissioner who supports officers on the frontline but is not part of the establishment.

I am honest about my politics and honest about the direction I will bring to the role:

CRACK DOWN ON ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

I’ll do everything I can to keep policing visible and bring back the local bobby. More police and PCSOs on the streets make people feel safe and deter crime.

WAR ON DRUGS AND TRAFFICKING BY MANCHESTER AND MERSEYSIDE GANGS

Drugs are a huge problem in many of our towns and the A55 is being used for trafficking. I want the police to get tough on dealers who are blighting communities.

ZERO TOLERANCE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE

Failures of different agencies to share information has meant missed opportunities to protect vulnerable people in North Wales. I’ll introduce better training and work more closely with others to identify victims earlier.

PROTECTING PEOPLE FROM SCAMS, FRAUDSTERS AND CYBERCRIME

I’ll crack down on criminals who prey on older people – whether door-to-door, on the phone or online – and I’ll create a North Wales Cyber School to help younger people guard against being exploited online.

SMARTER ROAD SAFETY

I’ll work with Community Speed Watch groups to improve road safety and I’ll review how cameras are used to best effect – I want to end the perception of unfairness in how speed controls are enforced.

A COMMISSIONER FOR EVERYONE

I’ll make services more accessible. If a distressed person wants to report a crime in Welsh then they should get access to a fellow Welsh speaker immediately. I’ll establish a new Countryside Crime Taskforce to improve rural policing.

(Other candidate profiles + Q&A’s: Arfon Jones, Julian Sandham, David Taylor, Simon Wall, Matt Wright)