Stuart Jackson is the Green Party candidate on May 6th in the 2021 election of the Police & Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly - ahead of the election, he spoke to Nub News last week about how he plans to tackle the major issues concerning Falmouth.

Stuart worked for most of his life in education, working as a lecturer with adults back in Yorkshire, before securing a senior post with Somerset County Council. There he worked in villages and towns like Wincanton, which has some similarities to towns such as Falmouth. Then he worked as a Police Training Officer for officers and staff from Cornwall and Devon.

Wincanton has similar social issues to Falmouth. Stuart worked with some of the young people who were involved in anti-social behaviour, including theft, so he is aware of some of the challenges for people in Falmouth and surrounding areas.

So what is Stuart hoping to achieve if he gets elected?

• Engage more with local people as partners in Crime Prevention, rather than imposing police solutions on us.

• Ensure senior officers listen more to all the communities the Police serve.

• Improve recruitment to encourage women of all ages to apply to become Constables.

• Encourage more female officers to apply for promotion (only 21% of Sergeants are women).

• Improve recruitment so the Force fairly reflects all our diverse populations in Cornwall & Devon.

Stuart was an English teacher who educated children who had just arrived in the UK, working with young people who sometimes experienced racism and bullying when they arrived in smaller towns.

"Skills of helping people find safe solutions to situations of conflict are among those I'd like to see further developed amongst Police Force staff," Stuart told Nub News.

Stuart continued:

"What we spend on Policing from our Council Tax is thinly spread, of course. People in Falmouth want and need a PCSO/beat officer. Despite our two Police and Crime Commissioners since 2011 both being Conservatives, our current PCC Alison Hernandez has simply cut numbers of PCSOs, which is a tragedy.

"I have gone out on the beat with PCSOs and I have been most impressed with their work. I totally value the work of PCSOs. I understand that Falmouth doesn't have a PCSO at this time, so one thing I would strive for is to get fairer Central funding for Devon and Cornwall to help us police the summer influx of tourists.

"With that money, I would ask our Chief Constable to prioritise places like Helston and Falmouth, which experience alcohol-related disorder and other problems brought by tourists."

The Green Party is opposed to aspects of the Police Crime & Sentencing Bill currently being pushed through Parliament by the Conservatives.

In particular, Stuart opposes restricting the British tradition of peaceful protest, so cherished by people across Cornwall, as demonstrated in the recent local school strikes.

If this bill becomes Law whilst Stuart is PCC, he would collaborate with the Chief Constable, encouraging the following approach to enforcing the new law.

He would encourage the Force to implement the law with discretion and sensitivity, using similar attitudes as officers currently use when confronted with people smoking cannabis on the streets of Helston and Falmouth.

Recent "Kill the Bill" marches in Plymouth were policed in this way, avoiding confrontation or rioting, as occurred in Bristol. Stuart would wish to see this sensitive pattern of policing continue with all future public protests, once COVID restrictions have ended.

One of the major issues in Helston and Falmouth in recent months has been graffiti with regular reports of shops, bus stops, and parks being vandalised.

Stuart commented:

"Graffiti is clearly one of the big issues in Helston and Falmouth. If I was elected I would support your towns in becoming bigger partners in Cornwall's Community Safety Partnership, and encourage residents of Falmouth to discuss local solutions to these problems.

"The Green Party believes in crime prevention and knows that the police can't do it all themselves. There aren't enough police and there probably never will be. Therefore as citizens, we need to keep our eyes on the street and share the responsibility of keeping our communities safe, in whatever ways it's safe to do.

"I would work collaboratively with Youth Services to try and engage taggers. Graffiti artists are often creative people, and what I would love to do for Helston and Falmouth is to find ways to work with Council staff, tattoo parlour managers, and schools and Colleges to identify who is tagging so we can channel their creativity to give them opportunities. For example, they might pledge to stop tagging in return for an opportunity to learn graphic design, or to be given a taster work-experience week in a tattoo parlour."

Stuart would encourage our Force to expand existing use of "Restorative Justice", bringing together perpetrators and victims. For example, specialist Police staff could bring together shop managers and the people who are doing the graffiti/vandalism. Restorative Justice works by creating a structured discussion, so that perpetrators hear how what they are doing has a huge impact on others. This approach could be offered to perpetrators as an initial alternative to curfews or other punishments.

Stuart added:

"Yes, I would look at getting more funding for Devon and Cornwall, yes, I would try and focus the funding on areas such as Helston and Falmouth that do have an influx of tourists. I would encourage our Chief Constable to consider first restoring staffing to areas that have lost PCSOs.

"However, the Police are only people who are paid to carry out a duty we all have as Cornish citizens - to work together to stop behaviour which is unfair to others. If citizens of Falmouth think creatively, they can help our Police find tailored local solutions to these problems. Greens know that partnership between people and Police is the most effective long-term solution for crime prevention.

"Funding a full-time PCSO might be impossible but I'd encourage the Chief Constable to look at other solutions, including Falmouth sharing a PCSO with a neighbouring town."

For further details about Stuart's aims to improve Policing, click here.

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