John Dwyer, newly elected as the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire said, "I am delighted and honoured to have been elected by the people of Cheshire but the hard work starts here to deliver my manifesto pledges.
This is an exciting and challenging new role which I see as bringing a new dynamic to policing with myself as a single focus point of accountability. I will ultimately be held to account by the public, not just those who voted for me, but all of those who are served by the Constabulary"
Mr Dwyer, who will take up his post today, Thursday 22nd November, is a former Assistant Chief Constable of Cheshire and was a Cabinet Member on the former Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council.
He said, "My election campaign was based on a series of commitments to the people of Cheshire and my work will be centred on delivering those pledges.
"Cheshire is already a fantastic area and a safe place to live. But we must not rest on our laurels. Success lies in freeing police officers to do what they do best- policing."
Mr. Dwyer′s election campaign priorities were:
- Enhancing frontline policing to enable officers to further drive down crime still further.
- Increasing the Special Constabulary to 1000, with a Special in every town and village.
- Demanding a zero tolerance approach towards yobbish behaviour to punish the small minority who blight our lives.
- Introducing a sentencing unit that will monitor punishments on behalf of victims of crime and, where necessary, campaign for tougher sanctions.
- Making rural crime a particular focus for police activity.
- Building fresh partnerships with a strong focus on drugs and alcohol abuse.
- Introducing the post of Youth Ambassador.
- Building and enhancing the most important partnership of all − the one between public and the police.
As Commissioner, Mr Dwyer replaces the Police Authority.
Chairman of the Authority, Margaret Ollerenshaw said, "The Commissioner will face many challenges, especially at the current time when savings have to be made to meet Government spending cuts. The Authority spent seventeen years monitoring police performance, reflecting the views of the public and working closely with the Constabulary to ensure the people of Cheshire have the type of policing they expect and deserve. In the past year we have focused on making sure everything is in place for that to continue. We sincerely wish Mr. Dwyer well in this new role."
The Chief Constable, David Whatton said, "I am looking forward to working with John in the new role of Police and Crime Commissioner. I am confident that he wants to make Cheshire safe and to make people feel safe by dealing robustly with crime and anti-social behaviour. The wider role of the Police and Crime Commissioner will bring all organisations and communities together to make a positive difference to people′s lives."
In the second count of the election for the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer (Con) defeated John Stockton (Lab) by 48,591 votes to 37,350.
First count (first preference) results were as follows.
Ainsley Arnold (LibDem) 10,653
Louise Bours (Ukip) 3,912
John Dwyer (Con) 40,122
Sarah Flannery ( Ind) 18,596
John Stockton (Lab) 30,974
Total Votes Cast in Cheshire 111,335
Turnout: 14.08%
