Essex PCC Nick Alston says he will not stand for re-election

Nick Alston said he wanted to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests

The police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Essex has announced he will not be standing for re-election next year.

Conservative Nick Alston became the county's first PCC in November 2012.

During his tenure he said he had sought to support the "excellent work of Essex Police and to challenge the force to do better where failings were identified".

The decision not to stand in May 2016 was a "difficult" one, Mr Alston said, but added he wanted to spend more time with his family.

He admitted he had been "uncertain about the role of PCC" when he first took office, but was "now convinced that the direct, open and transparent accountability to local people that PCCs provide is becoming an exemplar of effective modern, local democracy".

Bobbies on beat

His work had been carried out "against a backdrop of the need to manage deep reductions in funding", Mr Alston said.

In an interview with The Times newspaper in his role as chairman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, he said having traditional bobbies on the beat was an "outdated notion" and their effectiveness was "unproven".

"Bobbies have beats because in the old days they didn't have telephones, they didn't have cars. Those days went 50 years ago," he said.

However, Mr Alston told the BBC: "But, do we want our local policing engaging with communities in targeted ways where they're going to make a difference? Of course we do."

Involvement "at local level" such as youth work, schools work and mental health services was the way to "tackle the problems that exist", he said.

'Shrinking resources'

In May he revealed the murder investigations into the deaths of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea in Colchester in 2014 had cost the force £2.6m, leading to an overspend in its budget.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the killings.

Mr Alston also announced plans to close 50 of the 80 buildings the force owns, more details of which would be released in September, he said.

Despite working within "shrinking resources", Mr Alston said he remained "determined that Essex Police will be fit to face the ever more complex demands of 21st Century policing".

He said he felt "immensely privileged" to have been chosen for the role of PCC.