Training more officers a key target for Cambridgeshire police and crime commissioner
He's starting his first week in post after winning at the PCC elections
Last updated 7th May 2024
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's Police and Crime commissioner says he's determined to make sure ALL voices are heard.
Today marks Conservative Darryl Preston's first day back in the role since winning the PCC elections on Friday.
Mr Preston has held onto the post since 2021 - when he took over from Ray Bisby - and claimed 61,688 votes in this year's elections.
The former Cambridgeshire Police senior detective has previously said he's aiming to tackle rural crime, anti-social behaviour, fight violence and drugs and invest more money into safer roads.
He's told us how he's looking to kick off his latest term in office:
"They're very young in service (training police officers) and I've always said it will take a while before they're truly effective, but what I want to do going forwards is listen to our communities and ensure their priorities come first," he said.
I've been out and about knocking on doors, speaking to people, and our police and crime plan is driven by the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, so in my first week, I'm going to talk to lots of people and ask what they want.
"There are enough people who made their choice, but this is really important to me; it's irrelevant who you voted for and I am there for all of our communities.
"I've been doing this for three years, this is about good governance, listening, getting it right and not rushing to change anything, particularly if it isn't broken."
Mr Preston won in every Cambridgeshire district, including in Peterborough where he claimed 17,360 votes compared to Labour's Anna Smith and the Lib Dems' Edna Murphy who received 16,884 and 8,793 votes respectively.
What is a police and crime commissioner?
A police and crime commissioner (PCC), aims to hold your local police force to account in order to help deliver the policing that you want to see.
They also aim to cut crime, engage with local communities, make sure the policing budget for a particular force is spent in the most important areas and how much of their council tax precept should be charged.