Election 2021: Meet the Hampshire police and crime commissioner election candidates - in their own words

TONY BUNDAY – Labour and Co-operative

Tony Bunday (63) is proud of his long history delivering high quality services across Hampshire. He is an inspector for the Care Quality Commission, the government’s independent regulator of health and social care and a former health, social care, and youth offending manager.

Tony believes his experience as a government inspector, and his extensive front-line knowledge, makes him well qualified to regulate local police and criminal justice services.

He has worked in a variety of roles involving close working relations with the police. He worked with young offenders in Basingstoke, Andover, Eastleigh and Winchester, managed Young Offender services in Portsmouth and Havant, and managed mental health, homelessness, and substance misuse services in Southampton.

Tony believes our police need a much fairer share of government funding to be effective for all communities, from urban to rural. His priorities, on top of fighting for more resources are;

more investment in crime reduction. improved public access to community police services. more effective approaches to the so-called war on drugs. better responses to violence against women and girls. safer streets for all.

Tony Bunday. www.tonybunday.co.uk

STEVE JAMES-BAILEY – Hampshire Independents

When it comes to policing, it is the residents of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight that are important. But to combat the issues that matter to them most, they need a voice to steer their police force.

‘Where are the police?’ ‘You never see them any more,’ ‘101 is a waste of time,’ ‘The criminals seem to do what they want’. These are common cries for help.

Overwhelmingly, people say ‘we want more visible community police officers’.

With 12 years in the Royal Air Force, and 23 years in Hampshire Constabulary, combined with significant local community officer experience, I believe I know what matters and I am well placed to make it happen.

Community patrolling is the bedrock of grass roots policing. Often said, little progress so far. So, we need to:

be able to ring 101 and get a credible and timely response. address rural crime head on. take victims of crime, even at lower levels, more seriously.

I have one simple message: ‘I pledge to you all that, if elected, you WILL see your regular local community beat officer once again, I promise you that.’

DONNA JONES – Conservative

Donna Jones has been a magistrate in Hampshire for 16 years which has helped her develop a strong background in criminal justice. She is committed to increasing the number of police on our streets in order to reduce crime.

She was the first woman to lead Portsmouth City Council. She has a thorough understanding of managing public sector finances; of generating new income and removing wastage from out-dated contracts ensuring your taxes are spent wisely.

Donna wants to open new contact points and increase the visibility of the police - so you don’t just see crime reducing, but you feel crime reducing too. She will do this by removing bureaucracy and working with local councils ensuring the money saved is spent on more police officers.

Donna said: ‘The additional funding the government has committed to Hampshire is an opportunity to build a police force that works for you. From improving the 101 service to giving feedback when you’ve reported a crime, I want to make Hampshire and Isle of Wight amongst the safest places to live.’

RICHARD MURPHY – Liberal Democrats

Knife crime up, violent crime up, car crime up, but police staffing down. We’ve all seen the consequences of the decision to underfund our police. It’s time for change in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Since becoming the Liberal Democrat candidate Richard has been hearing strong messages about what practical steps you want him to take as our next Police and Crime Commissioner.

Our police in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight receive £43m less than the national average, a problem the Conservatives have failed to fix for years.

Richard is committed to:

fighting for fairer funding; making our police more visible in our communities; working with young people, diverting them away from crime; working with the Chief Constable and the whole police family to take practical, evidence-based approaches to everything they do; and bringing together the justice system, local authorities, volunteers and other groups to make our communities stronger and safer.

Richard Murphy is standing as the Liberal Democrat candidate after 30 years in business, nearly 20 years of that in central Hampshire. He has the experience to manage the multimillion-pound police budget and a large team – and make the change we so urgently need.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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