Thames Valley police and crime commissioner debate

Four candidates, who are bidding to be the police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, took part in the debate

Four candidates standing in the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) election next month have taken part in a BBC TV debate.

On 2 May, people across the region will be able to vote for who they want in the role.

PCCs have an important part to play in how a police force goes about its work.

So, what can and can’t they do?

PCCs are elected officials whose role is to help ensure police forces function effectively but not to run those forces themselves.

They hold forces to account and scrutinise their performance on behalf of the public they serve.

They also set the annual budget for their force and oversee community safety, as well as setting out force strategy and policing priorities in a Police and Crime Plan.

The Conservative candidate and current Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber

Five people, all of them men, want your vote: Matthew Barber (Conservative), Tim Starkey (Labour and Co-operative party), Tim Bearder (Liberal Democrat), Ben Holden-Crowther (More Police Officers for Thames Valley) and Russell Douglas Fowler (Independent).

To get some idea of what they say they would do for the Thames Valley’s 2.34 million residents, BBC Politics South invited them to take part in a TV debate in Reading.

On the morning of the show, Russell Douglas Fowler dropped out but the other four had a lot to say on a wide variety of issues.

Tim Starkey is the Labour candidate

Current PCC Mr Barber and Mr Starkey sparred over how to reduce shoplifting.

Mr Barber said: "Local officers in all our areas are picking off the most prolific shoplifting offenders because this is a crime that really affects victims."

In response, Mr Starkey said the force needs to work with local businesses to identify repeat offender.

"I’m told, when I speak to shop owners, that it’s very often the same people targeting the same shops," he said.

Ben Holden-Crowther is an independent candidate

20mph speed limits and the number of people killed on the region's roads was another hot topic.

Mr Bearder questioned why "we do not have a single average speed camera in the entire Thames Valley", adding: "They work perfectly well just over the border in Bedfordshire."

There are 4,000 police officers in the Thames Valley. While the candidates say they all want more police officers on the books, a bigger worry for all of them is the difficulty the force is having in keeping hold of newly qualified staff.

Tim Bearder is the candidate for the Liberal Democrats

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given he’s an independent candidate running under a More Police Officers for Thames Valley banner, Mr Holden-Crowther made this a big part of his pitch for voters.

He said: "If you look at Police Federation surveys, you know the number one thing that they say is that pay is the main reason their morale is low."

All of the candidates acknowledged pay was one of the things PCCs cannot control as it is a matter for the government.

What though of Russell Douglas-Fowler who decided not to take part in the debate?

He says: "People want to see the police out and about. Seeing the police will deter crime because people would be scared to commit it, now they know they can get away with it.

"Deterring crime will save money. We need a Police and Crime Commissioner that provides them with security."