Exclusive: David Sidwick Letter For Election

The next Police and Crime Commissioner election will take place on Thursday 2 May 2024.

David Sidwick, current Police & Crime Commissioner for Dorset

This is David’s appeal to you; the public.

Letter:

“I would like to make a direct appeal to you the people of Dorset to please vote in the Police and Crime Commissioner Election. This election is fundamental to both our safety and also the democratic connection between the police and the public.”

“As a candidate I spent three years researching and talking to the people of Dorset (3 surveys / 50 face to face meetings of 6-200 people and countless zoom calls) – From these countless conversations, you told me you wanted the Police to be visible, connected and engaged – your wishes became my manifesto priorities, and were then adopted in my police and crime plan to change the police operational vision and culture. It couldn’t be what a PCC thought you wanted or to serve vested interests – in this job you serve the people and need to take their brief. Your wishes became my manifesto priorities and then the priorities in the 7 year plan – this is working and we have gone from 10^th safest place to 7^th. Crime and ASB are both down 5% and 25% respectively.“

“But there was something more fundamental – on air show night in 2019 as a candidate I was out with the police in a response van answering 999 calls. It is the busiest night of the year – after the shift I sat down with the sergeant and asked them if I was to become PCC what could I do and they thought for a minute and said “Make us crimefighters again”.”

“To me that says – have a police and crime plan which isn’t a social workers charter and says cut crime and ASB – focus on crime and ditch things that are irrelevant to the core purpose of the police to prevent crime and catch crooks. That is now being delivered and in the words of the former director of intelligence of Dorset Police – “it’s what I joined up to do 28 years ago – serve the public”. May 2^nd is also about what sort of policing you want – do you want social workers or crimefighters? The culture is changing and we must not go back. Please vote for David Sidwick“