Lancashire police and crime commissioner candidates debate anti-social behaviour

Lancashire's police and crime commissioner sets out the way crime is tackled by Lancashire Constabulary.

Candidates to be Lancashire's police and crime commissioner (PCC) have addressed concerns around anti-social behaviour in a BBC Lancashire debate.

There are three candidates for the role, from the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.

In two weeks' time, people living in every part of Lancashire will be able to cast their vote in the PCC election.

The PCC sets the budget for Lancashire Police, holds them to account, and hires and fires the Chief Constable.

In alphabetical order, according to surname, Neil Darby is the Liberal Democrat candidate and is currently a councillor on Preston City Council.

Clive Grunshaw, the Labour candidate, previously held the role from when it was created in 2012 until 2021.

The current commissioner, Andrew Snowden, is the Conservative Party's candidate.

You can hear the debate between 1000 and 1100 on Thursday on BBC Radio Lancashire and on BBC Sounds.

Neil Darby: 'Proper community policing needed'

Neil Darby is a Preston councillor who was mayor of the city between 2022 and 2023

Mr Darby stressed the importance of community dialogue to solve anti-social behaviour issues.

Alluding to his work as a city councillor addressing residents' concerns on the topic, he said that he is "really familiar with the need for our local police to work well within the communities to protect our neighbourhoods".

"We need, first and foremost, to restore proper community policing... to have the wider police force focused on preventing and solving crimes" the Liberal Democrat candidate said.

Clive Grunshaw: 'You can't arrest someone from behind a desk'

Clive Grunshaw was Lancashire police and crime commissioner between the role's creation in 2012 and 2021

Labour's candidate Clive Grunshaw said "the solution is about having more 'bobbies on the beat'" and "more visibility".

"Anti-social behaviour's a blight on our community. But we've seen less visibility from police, less connection [in recent years]. You can't arrest someone from behind a desk," Mr Grunshaw said.

The Labour candidate said he hoped he would "have the opportunity to work with an incoming Labour government". He said that he wanted "to ensure is that we get our fair share [of an additional 13,000 neighbourhood policing officers Labour has pledged] here in Lancashire" to "to get rid of anti-social behaviour".

Andrew Snowden: 'We've put four neighbourhood policing teams back'

Andrew Snowden has been Lancashire's police and crime commissioner since 2021

The current commissioner and Conservative candidate Andrew Snowden said he was "absolutely about making sure that the police are visible in local communities".

"Since I was elected in 2021, we've put four neighbourhood policing teams back. There were entire districts of Lancashire that didn't have dedicated neighbourhood policing teams, which we've put back in place, across Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, and the Fylde," Mr Snowden said.

"You can get 'bobbies on the beat', which is absolutely important in terms of visibility, but then what do we actually do to tackle anti-social behaviour? We know that only in the most serious of cases is the power of arrest going to be warranted for anti-social behaviour," the incumbent PCC said.

"There's been some key things about working with government about getting some stricter sentencing guidelines, so that we can take anti-social behaviour more seriously," Mr Snowden said.

You can hear the debate between 1000 and 1100 on Thursday on BBC Radio Lancashire and on BBC Sounds.

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Why do we have a police and crime commissioner and what do they do?

The Lancashire police and crime commissioner is an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Lancashire Constabulary. They hold the Chief Constable to account, making the police answerable to the communities they serve. They ensure community needs are met as effectively as possible and improve local relationships through building confidence and restoring trust.

Working in partnership with a range of agencies, at a local and national level, the commissioner ensures there is a unified approach to preventing and reducing crime.The post was created in November 2012, following an election held on 15 November 2012, and replaced the Lancashire Police Authority.