Staffordshire police commissioner candidate Matthew Ellis pledges to cut red tape and give officers iPads
THE latest candidate for the role of police commissioner believes he can get up to 100 bobbies back on the beat by cutting bureaucracy – and using iPads.
Staffordshire county councillor Matthew Ellis has been chosen by the Conservative party as its candidate for the county's first police and crime commissioner election.
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Conservative party police commissioner candidate Matthew Ellis
Mr Ellis, currently a cabinet member on the county council for adults' wellbeing, beat fellow councillor Robbie Marshall and civil servant and magistrate Mohammed Haroon.
He will now face Labour city councillor and serving police authority member Joy Garner in the election on November 15.
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Mr Ellis, who will resign his cabinet position if he wins the election, said: "I'm a bit shell-shocked at the scale of the task ahead. We've got to find ways of doing things better. I think the police force is quite fragmented.
"We can streamline things, get police officers being police officers and not bureaucrats. There's a better chance of doing that on a local level than nationally.
"I don't know a single police officer who enjoys being stuck behind a desk. They want to be out doing their job.
"I think we could get 70 to 100 officers out of doing bureaucratic things and back into frontline policing."
Mr Ellis, who has overseen a radical restructure of the county's social services, said he will look at the business case for providing officers with iPads to replace the traditional notebook and pen.
He told the hustings at Fulford Village Hall: "I was a witness to a road rage incident. The police officer took a statement and his pen didn't work. Then he used a pencil, which broke. It's a nonsense. Let's give them iPads.
"If you can get a return on a year's investment in four to five years, that is a good investment."
Conservative members held three hustings events before choosing Mr Ellis, from Lichfield, as their candidate.
At the final event, on Saturday, each candidate was faced with a fictional scenario about a hospital terror incident.
Conceding defeat, Mr Marshall said: "Matthew has performed excellently. We have got an exceptionally good candidate."
Mr Haroon said: "Now we look forward to supporting Matthew."
Commissioners, who will replace police authorities, will be responsible for setting the police budget and deciding on the precept for council tax.
They will also have powers to hire and fire chief constables.
Staffordshire Police employ almost 2,000 officers and around 200 PCSOs.
Comments
by DCT85
Friday, August 10 2012, 12:17PM
“Hold on. We're missing the point here. As I understand it this is about reducing the processing time it takes for statements. The business I'm in has saved hundreds of hours of time using technology.
Got to say it makes good sense to me to move a policeman from doing this 'longhand' to using technology to get him out on the streets quicker. Complicated yes but sounds sensible if we what we is actual policing!”
by gfregfreg
Tuesday, July 17 2012, 12:31AM
“This guy as really thought this through (not), take away the note pad and pen that is cheap and fits neatly into a police officers pocket and replace it with a 400 quid Ipad that is too big to carry around. Its a fact that the Police force are making drastic cuts to try to save money so i'm sure they are keen to spend tens of thousands on Ipad's. Wake up Mr Ellis!!”
by yamahaman
Monday, July 16 2012, 9:19PM
“Yet another plonker who thinks he can re invent the wheel, the whole idea that one person can give direction to such an important service as this is ajoke , a very expensive joke that we can not afford. The system as it is works. I think the public would rather the cash be spent on officers out there doing the job rather than another layer of management, who don't know jack about the job in hand. I am sure the police have enough non operational managers who in the cold light of day have a dose of the shudders, ie they should have done this, they should have done that.
Cut the HR departments, divisonal managers their assistants, and other staff who bring little to the plate, but I pads god help us....”
by P1DEANO
Monday, July 16 2012, 2:24PM
“Let's give them iPads - ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, just what the bobby on the beat wants to be carrying around should he have to chase down offenders! oh sorry the Police have to be out there raising revenue made all the more easier by iPads perhaps!”
by promax
Monday, July 16 2012, 2:19PM
“ERRR. TONTO.who's that man in a mask.I don.t know,but i bet they don't catch him.”
by watchword
Monday, July 16 2012, 1:23PM
“Stop moaning about political candidates - Find a local independent and then back them up with votes.”
by truestokie
Monday, July 16 2012, 1:14PM
“Will someone please inform me as to how someone who supports the violent UAF thugs that regularly attack police officers can be unbiased when elected to the post of Police Commissioner?
This post should bar all political party's as it is an open invitation to corruption.”
by stoke999
Monday, July 16 2012, 12:50PM
“If Mr Ellis had conducted his research properly, he would have found out that the force is already looking at how mobile data can be better used for officers. At the moment, the PDA's are not fit for purpose and are mainly used for updating incidents.
At the moment, police officers have replaced civilian staff in a number of roles having been taken away from the frontline. To reverse this process will require somone else to perform the role.”
by mediamaniaX
Monday, July 16 2012, 11:51AM
“Labourlen, very wishful thinking regarding 2700 officers. By the end of these cut backs you will be able to take 1000 off that figure!! I totally agree that the iPad per officer is a ludicrous suggestion. Its worrying that he does not know that ALL Staffordshire police officers allready have electronic personal devices.
He was a witness to "one" of the many millions of incidents Staffordshire police have reported, and as a result feels he is qualified to say how the police should be run!
His experience is to have overseen social services. A poor performing social services! Why oh why would anyone want this individual to ruin......sorry run what is currently, despite what many think, one of he country's top performing forces.
Mr Ellis says he's she'll-shocked!! That makes two of us!”
by FloatingStone
Monday, July 16 2012, 11:44AM
“Looks like Labour are running scared already!
The idea of giving bobbies some form of device to overcome the need to keep re-entering statements and other details seems like a good one to me. Given a total cost of a police constable of say £20 per hour, you would only have to see savings of 20 hours of police time to get the money back, even if the devices were all bought on the high street.
This is the type of new thinking we need. When will Labour realise that public services can't carry on as they always have been run - not yet apparently.
It looks as is this election could be shaping up as embrace the future versus return to the past. Could be very interesting,”