BOROUGH voters will have the chance to vote on who is to be the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) on Thursday (May 2).
In the West Midlands force area there are two candidates standing for what is the biggest PCC role in the country.
Incumbent PCC Simon Foster is the Labour Party candidate and Tom Bryne for the Conservative Party.
The role has been surrounded in controversy in the past few months as proposals for the role to be put under the jurisdiction of the West Midlands Mayor’s office were thrown out just before elections were called last month.
The role has been held by Labour in the region since it’s introduction in 2012.
Mr Foster was voted in three years ago after the previous election was postponed due to the Covid pandemic.
However, Mr Byrne is hoping to come out victorious and introduce his ambitious plans to ‘overhaul policing in the West Midlands’.
The former police officer, who lives in the West Midlands, pledged to immediately halt the proposed police station closures, which includes the Solihull station on Homer Road and conduct a thorough review of both the police estate and the size of the PCC’s office, aiming to cut wasteful spending and enhance operational effectiveness.
He said: “My knowledge and understanding of policing, grounded in first-hand experience, make me the best person to get a grip on crime in our region.
“We need to halt our police station closures and strengthen proper local policing, whilst driving up the performance of our police force.”
As the Conservative Candidate Mr Byrne has a plan to deploy more officers to the frontline to actively combat crime.
He has also outlined a plan to crack down on violent crime, especially offences involving knives and weapons
Mr Byrne said he wants to return to proper local policing and has promised more visible and engaged police officers on the streets.
He said: “Our communities deserve to feel safe, and that comes from having a robust, visible police presence — officers who know their streets and who are trusted by the people they serve.”
Tom Byrne has also pledged to lift the West Midlands Police out of special measures and restore public confidence.
He added: “It’s essential that we restore public confidence by getting our police force out of special measures as swiftly as possible and ensuring they are held to the highest standards of performance.”
