Why do we need Police and Crime Commissioners?
Police and Crime Commissioners will ensure that local people have a say in local priorities. They will make communities safer by cutting crime and link their police forces more closely to the people they serve.
PCCs will also hold the local chief constable to account for the delivery and performance of the force. The introduction of PPCs will mean for the first tiem the public will be able to directly vote for an individual to represent their community's policing needs.
Are Police and Crime Commissioner politicising the police?
No. PCCs will swear an oath of impartiality. Commissioners will reinforce the police's link to the people they serve without interfering with their operational independence. It is fundamental that the policing system remains operationally independent. All police will continue to be under the legal direction and control of the chief constable.
Why should we elect a Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside?
By voting for a Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner you are choosing a commissioner whose one clear objective is to cut crime. They will do this by getting officers out of the back room and on to the front line, talking to local communities to make sure the police are tackling problems which matter to the neighbourhood, tackling anti-social behaviour, and they will root out waste and inefficiencies within their police forces.
Labour's whole approach to Police and Crime Commissioners is confused and hypocritical. They oppose the greater accountability PCCs will bring, but are asking the public to support Labour.
Why are these elections important?
These elections will mean for the first time the public will be able to vote directly for an individual to represent their community's policing needs. We already have democratic accountability in London where the Mayor gives Londoners a voice in policing. But this needs to be extended to the rest of of the country. Many people are not aware that they can approach their police authority if they are dissatisfied with policing. These elections will inform people that there is a place for their voice to be heard.
What is the Supplementary voting system?
The Supplementary vote is the system used to elect the London Mayor. Under SV, there are two columns on the ballot paper, one for voters to mark their first choice and one in which to mark a second choice.
Sefton Central Conservatives recommend that Conservative supporters vote for our party's candidate in the first column and do not make a second choice.
If a candidate received more than 50 per cent of the first preference votes on the first count, they are elected.
If no candidate reaches the 50 per cent threshold, the two candidates with the highest number of votes continue and the other candidates are eliminated. The second preferences on the ballot papers of the eliminated candidates are counted and any cast for the two remaining candidates are transferred. The candidate with the most votes at the end of this process is elected.
Vote Conservative on Thursday 15 November 2012