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23
Mar 2021
Last Updated: 23/03/2021
Lib Dem crime candidate: More frontline police needed
In the second of a series of interviews with candidates for North Yorkshire’s police commissioner, Liberal Demcorat James Barker says more police are needed on the frontline in the county.
James Barker, Liberal Democrat candidate for North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
More police are needed on the frontline to help people feel safe, says the Liberal Democrat candidate for North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
James Barker, who is a City of York councillor, said he wanted to “explore why” more officers are not on the streets, if elected to the role.
Voters will go to the polls on May 6 to elect a successor to Julia Mulligan. There will also be candidates standing for the Conservative and Labour parties as well as an independent.
Mr Barker, who served 24 years in the military, has served as a scout leader and rugby coach.
More frontline officers
Mr Barker said North Yorkshire is not served equally by police and more frontline officers are needed to keep people safe.
He said as commissioner he would look to free up more police to be on the streets.
Mr Barker said:
“We are England’s largest county but not everyone is truly represented. How often do you see a copper?
“I want to explore reasons why we cannot get more coppers on the streets. I want to try and release more to the frontline.”
Read more:
- Political parties confirm candidates for police commissioner elections
- County council elections postponed until May 2022
- Tory crime candidate: No plans to close more police stations
Mr Barker added he would also look into the 101 non-emergency number service. He said he wanted to improve the response of the service after residents complained that it often “left them hanging” and on hold.
Make Ripon "less attractive" for anti-social behaviour
Mr Barker said he would look at working with social services, youth offending teams, the police and other organisations to look at making Ripon “less attractive” for anti-social behaviour.
The city has been blighted by crime in recent months with cannabis farms found on an industrial estate and five incidents in one three-hour spree earlier in February, including a robbery, thefts and reports of a man carrying a machete.
Mr Barker said the problem needed to be “nipped at the lowest form” before it got worse.
When pressed on how his solution would solve the problem when the police had already committed resources to the city, he said he would want to do more.
He said:
“I would want to look at what exactly is being allocated in terms of resources and what we can do more and what we can do better.”
Police stations
When asked if he would continue the policy of closing police stations to save money, Mr Barker said there would be other avenues he would look at.
He described rural police stations as a “focal point of the community” and important for helping people feel safe.
It comes as North Yorkshire has seen a number of stations shut down.
In the Harrogate district, Pateley Bridge police station was recently closed and staff moved across the road in an effort to save £19,000 a year.
Mr Barker said cuts to the police were “starting to bite deep” and that he may have to make some difficult decisions to save money.
He said:
“Some difficult decisions will need to be made. I’m happy to make difficult decisions, but I will not do it lightly.
“I will not do it without as much information as I could possibly have.”
Funding the fire service
Mr Barker said the commissioner’s office needed to look “long and hard” at why North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue was underfunded.
Mulligan, the current police, fire and crime commissioner, said recently that the county’s fire service is among the worst funded in the country.
The government set a 2% cap on any increase to the fire precept for 2021/22. Anything above that amount would require a referendum.
However, the police precept threshold was set much higher at £15 - which means more scope for income for the force.
When asked how he would solve the underfunding of the fire service, Mr Barker said the commissioner’s office needed to look at what it could do about the service's finances.
He said:
“I wish I had a magic chequebook that I could whip out overnight.
“But, again, it comes to looking long and hard at why the underfunding has happened and what we can do about it."
He suggested that the commissioner could look at ways of helping towns which are underserved, such as sharing appliances with other fire services.
The following candidates so far have announced they are standing for election as commissioner:
- Philip Allott, Conservative Party
- Alison Hume, Labour Party
- James Barker, Liberal Democrats
- Keith Tordoff, Independent
The final list of nominations will be published on April 9. The deadline to register to vote in the May elections is April 19. You can register to vote here.
Tomorrow, the Stray Ferret will feature an interview with Labour Party candidate, Alison Hume.
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