Shropshire Star

New West Mercia police and crime commissioner vows to repay voters' faith

West Mercia's newly-elected police and crime commissioner says he will repay the public's faith in him.

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John Campion said that he wanted to cut bureaucracy, offer a more effective police service and make sure people feel safe by tackling important local issues.

He said: "It's been a very busy first week in office for me, but it has been exciting to start work to repay the faith that the people of West Mercia have put in me, and delivering on the promises I made.

"It is a tremendous honour to have been elected as police and crime commissioner.

"There is a lot to do, but equally there are a lot of opportunities to make improvements which will benefit our communities, the police and other partner organisations.

"I am confident we will start to see some real progress quickly."

Mr Campion said his main priorities would include reforming West Mercia, offering a more secure and a more reassured region. He said: "This is a big, long-term job, but ultimately it will deliver a more effective police service that represents better value for taxpayer's money.

"Whether that means cutting back-office bureaucracy, or working closer with other public services I want to focus more resources on the frontline where they matter most."

He said that he wanted to make sure that priority crime areas get the "attention, resources and expertise" they need, highlighting issues including cyber crime, domestic violence, rural crime and business crime.

He added that it wasn't just enough for people to be safe, but that they had to feel safe too. "This means doing more to tackle the issues that matter, whether that is speeding in our villages, anti-social behaviour in our towns, shoplifting from our businesses, or burglaries in our homes," he said.

"I also want to address things such as slipping police response times, tackling the root causes of crime to prevent offences taking place, and offering more and better support to victims."

Mr Campion said that he would work hard to deliver on his promises, adding: "I have met and spoken with so many people across all three counties over the last few months, and I know people want more in every sense from the PCC role.

"I promise I will work hard to understand your needs, be extremely efficient with your money, and start to deliver a safer West Mercia."

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