Police commissioner appoints deputy – Exeter Today

Devon and Cornwall’s police and crime commissioner is to appoint a deputy despite a panel reviewing her work telling her not to recommend her.

Alison Hernandez wants Torbay councilor Mark Kingscote as her deputy, a man she earmarked for the role in 2017 but never recruited.

She said the force faced challenges in its performance and on the streets and had no time to address both.

Mr Kingscote, she said, had a “unique skill set”, including working with people with complex mental health needs during a 30-year career in the NHS, to focus on issues on the ground while helping management of an organization. which she confesses to being “in a difficult situation”.

It follows a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Police and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which rated Devon and Cornwall Police as requiring improvement and inadequate in half of the areas it examined.

Ms. Hernandez cited the long-term suspension of Chief Constable Will Kerr as a source of the performance problems.

Mr Kerr has been suspended for a year and is being investigated for allegations of sexual assault by the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland (PONI), which he strongly denies.

The commissioner said he wanted a street-focused campaign against anti-social behaviour, drugs and homelessness to start in Torbay and then act as a blueprint for the rest of Devon and Cornwall, but he couldn’t do it without an MP which the impulse of someone like Mr. Kingscote.

She told the panel she worked well with him for 15 years and they shared a ward when they were former Tory councilors in Torbay. He chaired the planning committee and will be instrumental in helping with the planning and management of the property, she said.

While Ms. Hernandez is an elected official, her deputy can be recruited, and she said half of PCCs across the country have such positions.

However, members of the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commission took the same position as in 2017 and did not support his plans.

Committee chair Cllr Sally Haydon (Lab, Plymouth, St Budeaux) said the MP’s salary – £59,000 – would be better spent on police officers. Others have questioned Mr Kingscote’s suitability for the job.

Cllr Chris Penberthy (Lab, Plymouth, St Peter and the Waterfront) said the street-focused campaign had not been scrutinized by the commission or gone through a public consultation and should be tested before a case is made for employment to a deputy for the head. He said it was done wrong.

Ms Hernandez claimed she was “breaking new ground” and wanted to recruit quickly.

She said: “The reality is that we have a challenge in policing in Devon and Cornwall, both in terms of the performance of the organization as a whole and on the streets where people live.

“One of the things I need is some ability right now is to get to the street level with my job, not just the organizational level, and that’s why I’m appointing a deputy.

“This is a political role, so it’s like a mayor appointing an MP. It’s an internal role and it’s not up to the public to decide, and I think he’ll do an excellent job helping me fulfill my responsibilities and duties.

“I’m looking forward to working with him in some of those areas which will help me focus on the performance of the force, but I don’t want to neglect the concerns around anti-social behavior and drug dealing.”

She said she did not expect the panel to support her this time as they did not in 2017.

“We have a force that is engaged with HMCP, an acting chief constable as I have had to stand down the one I recruited and I am building a leadership team to ensure I have the capacity and capability to move this organization. redirect.”

Cllr Martin Worth (Con, Cornwall, Saltash) backed the commissioner: “Yes, it’s a lot of money but he’s going to have to work bloody hard,” he said.