Herts Police and Crime Commissioner election: Labour candidate Tom Plater will target shoplifters if he wins
Labour’s police and crime commissioner candidate in Hertfordshire has pledged to “nix” retail crime.
Cllr Tom Plater said that shoplifting had become a “huge issue” in the county.
On the campaign trail, ahead of polling day on Thursday (May 2), he said: “People aren’t seeing their police out on the streets, not for lack of being told we’ve got the most police we ever have had.
“Retail crime is a huge issue in Hertfordshire and we know that because last year shoplifting went up by 35%.
“What I’m working on is how we bring that back down, and how we protect our local businesses and shopping parades.
“I think that comes down to getting more bobbies on the beat, getting more police on our streets, but also intelligence-led policing.
“I want to look at community information and intelligence, and then use that to pinpoint where these crimes are happening, and also where the stolen goods are being sold, so we can nix this crime from both sides.
“Businesses here seem very keen. They want something done – they want to see police on the streets and they want to feel protected.”
Office for National Statistics figures for the year ending September 2023 showed a 35% rise in shoplifting – a total of 6.9 such offences per 1,000 people in Hertfordshire.
Data for the year ending December 2023 shows a slight uptick to 7.2 shoplifting offences per 1,000 people – higher than anywhere else in the East of England (average 6.1 per 1,000) and London (6.6 per 1,000).
Cllr Plater added domestic abuse and violence were among his concerns.
“I would first like to take a leaf from the book of Kim McGuinness, who is the PCC in Northumbria, and integrate domestic abuse charity staff into our force control centre so they are working alongside control centre staff,” he said.
“When we come across cases where people are calling 999 because they’ve been affected by domestic abuse, there could be someone in that control centre who can direct them to the most appropriate services.
“The other thing I’m looking at is police vetting. It’s something which I don’t think is a silver bullet, but actually, if you look at the most recent inspectorate report into Hertfordshire Constabulary, specifically on vetting, there’s a real issue in the fact that its vetting systems don’t link up with its computer systems.”
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services found in 2022: “Hertfordshire Constabulary has a vetting management IT system, but this system didn’t link to its human resources system.”
This meant human resources teams were sometimes “unaware of individuals’ vetting clearance” if the systems were not updated manually.
Cllr Plater said: “Making the police safer for women and girls to be police officers is the only way we’re going to tackle violence against women and girls.”
He added: “It seems very clear to me the PCC is the voice of the police to the people, and I truly believe that relationship has to be reversed. If the public is not happy with something, that needs to be communicated.”
Cllr Plater is a member of North Herts District Council, based in Letchworth, but is standing aside to contest a council seat in Stevenage – as well as the PCC role – on May 2.
“I’ve worked across multiple sectors in my career, including arts and culture, tech and, most recently, security,” he said.
“The thread that links them all is that I’ve always stood up for the people around me – whether that’s working with MPs to represent students during Covid-19, highlighting difficulties for freelancers in our economy or standing up for my residents as a councillor.
“The experience I need for this job isn’t that of being in the police but of problem-solving with fresh eyes and representing our residents, both of which I already do, day in, day out.”
THE OTHER CANDIDATES
Jonathan ASH-EDWARDS (Con) – https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/conservative-candidate-will-build-on-lloyd-legacy-if-he-wins-9364124/
Cllr Matt FISHER (Green Party) – https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/green-party-candidate-will-build-community-spirit-if-he-wins-9364088/
Cllr Sean PRENDERGAST (Liberal Democrat) – https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/lib-dem-candidate-will-prioritise-domestic-violence-if-he-wi-9364111/