THE man responsible for setting police priorities in Cumbria has outlined his plans for the area as he gets to work in his new job.

Peter McCall was elected as Cumbria's second ever police and crime commissioner on May 5, and officially took up office for the first time on Thursday.

He spoke to the Evening Mail about his ambitions to improve the force's response to all crime and understanding of what the public want from the police.

The former Regimental Colonel said: "We all have a part to play in fighting crime.

"We saw in the floods in the community that when push comes to shove people are prepared to get involved in community activity.

"I want to keep that in the fight against crime."

Focus on Furness

Mr McCall, who served in the Royal Logistics Corps and oversaw the relief and military effort during the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, will now amend and develop the county's police and crime plan.

His priorities for Barrow include concentrating resources in the area due to the higher crime rate compared to other parts of the county and working with and setting up more groups like The Well .

He said: "I'm really concerned about the whole west coast of Cumbria and when I look the crime statistics they speak for themselves.

"It's one area of the county I intend to concentrate on.

"I'm keen to work with the community in Barrow.

"It's one of our less well off areas of the county and that often goes hand in hand with increased crime."

Special constables

One of the key developments Mr McCall wants to introduce is increasing the number of special constables, a generally unpaid law enforcement officer who holds full policing powers. 

Mr McCall said: "We know the significant financial challenges for the whole of the public sector.

"I can't wave a magic wand and I think specials are on the way of doing that [helping the budget]. It's a more cost efficient option.

"I would see them as supplementing the police force."

Digital police force

Reflecting on wider issues he wants to address, Mr McCall said making use of technology more was key so victims could find reporting crime easier and monitor how their reports are being acted on.

He said: "I'd like to see a world where we digitalise the whole process from a witness submitting evidence, pictures or whatever, equipping a police officer with a tablet to pick up the report and we need to note that allegation.

"I think that will not only speed up the response to crime but it's a way victims can see what's happening to a case.

"There's nothing worse than not knowing what's happening as then to you that means nothing is happening."

Other priorities will include getting the same standard of domestic violence support across the county, setting up a 'Youth Commission' to engage young people and tackling rising reports of child sexual exploitation .

'Tangible results'

His immediate priority is what he describes as the "understand phase" so he can understand the budget constraints and come up with specific numbers for more special constables for example.

Mr McCall wants his period in office to be marked by "tangible" outcomes and ultimately bring down the county's crime rate.

He said Richard Rhodes, who served as Cumbria's first ever police and crime commissioner from 2012 to 2016, left a strong legacy of outcomes, including setting up a specialist sexual assault support service and the county-wide CCTV network.

Peter McCall profile

Age: 56

Home: Hesket Newmarket

Education: Former head boy at Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton

Experience: Joined the Army in 1982; previously served in Germany, Northern Ireland and Cyprus; commanded a squadron in Bosnia; helped in the coordination of the mission to combat the severe outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone.

Election result

- Second round, with next preference votes used to reach an overall majority

Peter McCall (Conservative) = 41,345 votes

Reg Watson (Labour) = 30,437 votes

- First round

Peter McCall (Conservative) = 32,569 votes

Reg Watson (Labour) = 22,768 votes

Loraine Birchall (Liberal Democrats) = 16,053 votes

Mary Robinson (Independent) = 13,851 votes

Michael Pye (Ukip) = 9,370 votes

What does a police and crime commissioner do?

The role of the police and crime commissioner is to represent the views of members of the public and hold the police to account.

After election, a commissioner must come up with a police and crime plan which outlines his or her objectives for policing, what resources will be provided to the chief constable and how performance will be measured.

The commissioner has the power to appoint the chief constable, hold them to account for the management of the force, and if necessary dismiss them.

Commissioners can also set their precept on council tax to raise extra funds.

Some criticism has been levelled against the role, with voting turnout nationally typically around 20 to 30 per cent.

However, the government said the new role had a greater mandate than the prior "unelected and invisible" police authorities.