Police and crime commissioner elections will be held for a second time on May 5. Labour candidate CHRIS JONES set out his vision for the job.

QWith cuts to the central government policing grant, should Norfolk taxpayers see further increases to their council tax bill in the years ahead beyond those already planned?

A Unlike chancellor George Osborne I would not be prepared to risk further damaging cuts to our police and will use the powers of the PCC to ensure that the chief constable receives the resources he requires. The PCC's own consultation has shown that Norfolk residents support that approach, and are willing to pay the additional council tax made necessary by central cuts.

Q The home secretary has indicated she would like to see more powers handed to police and crime commissioners, such as control of fire services. Would you like to see the PCC given more powers? If so, which ones?

AThe PCC already has a wide range of important responsibilities. In my view fire and rescue services have very different characteristics and needs, and require different governance arrangements. While there are benefits to be found from combining some operational functions I am not convinced that a single PCC would be best placed to provide governance for both services. I would be concerned that the fire service would, as the smaller partner, get less attention than its importance requires.

Q What will you do in the job day to day? Where will you be based?

AMy focus in the job would be on active public engagement, raising the profile of the PCC in our communities and empowering local residents to take a more active role in decision making. I will be working with partner agencies across the criminal justice system to deliver closer multi-agency working and joined-up thinking. I would expect the PCC to remain based in the Wymondham offices – close to but distinct from the police headquarters. The role of the PCC cannot be performed from behind a desk.

Q You will have significant other resources to be used to fund initiatives and services designed to prevent crime and improve community safety. How will you decide how to cut that cake?

AI have a particular interest in mental health issues, both as a cause of crime and also as a significant demand on police resources, and improving liaison in this area will be vital. Prevention needs to be rooted in local communities, and I would prioritise local co-operative initiatives that can be shown to improve community safety. The PCC has resources to allocate, but also has the influence to act as facilitator of engagement by other agencies and I would actively seek opportunities to use that influence to multiply the value of direct funding.

Q What do you plan to be your main contribution to improving the performances of the services that you will lead, fund or influence?

A Forensic psychiatrists work at the interface of several systems: the law, the NHS, community care and criminal justice. I believe 30 years' experience of multi-agency working will be invaluable in negotiating the conflicting demands of different partner agencies. My career has given me direct insight into issues of crime, public safety and rehabilitation and I understand the roles and strengths of all the services that I will be working with.

Q What do you see as the biggest crime issues facing the region?

ANorfolk remains one of the safest communities in the country but levels of hidden crime are increasing rapidly. The police face new challenges and are having to develop new strategies to combat such things as sexual crime, child exploitation, domestic violence, and cyber-crime.

Q Given the closer cooperation between Norfolk and Suffolk, is there a case for a single PCC for both counties and if the three county devolution package unfolds will the PCC's role need to be altered?

ACo-operation between the two counties is already significant and will continue to grow. However at this stage there are significant differences between police services in Norfolk and Suffolk, and I believe that a full merger would be premature. Both counties have proud individual identities, and public identification with their local constabulary is a significant part of confidence in and accountability of the police. It remains to be seen what devolution will look like. While PCC roles will need to be considered as part of that, it is too early to say what the final structure should be.

Q With scarce resources are there any current services the police provide which you believe they could or should stop doing?

AWhen 20pc of police time is spent dealing with mental health issues we know we should be looking to other agencies to pick up some of that responsibility. Closer working and shared protocols would free up police time for their core responsibilities.

We should also look at other ways of delivering functions which do not require the skills and training of police officers – significant parts of traffic management and public welfare could be provided by other agencies.

Q How important do you think it is to the public that there is a visible police presence on the streets and do you believe under your watch you can maintain that?

AVisible policing in local neighbourhoods is vital to public confidence in the police. However I also recognise that some of the best police work in terms of crime prevention and in tackling sex abuse, cyber-crime and terrorism often goes unnoticed.

This work is central to protecting us all and the police need to be able to allocate resources to these less visible roles. Providing the political support for this, on behalf of the community, is a key role of the PCC.