THE nominations for election as the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner will see four candidates in the running.

Labour's Tony Bunday, Hampshire Independent Steve James-Bailey, Conservative Donna Jones and Richard Murphy of the Liberal Democrats will contest the post on May 6, with polling stations open from 7am to 10pm.

Mr Murphy and Mr Bunday spoke to the County Press earlier this month to share their vision for the post, which can be read in full online.

Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates want to be Police and Crime Commissioner

Donna Jones is the latest to grant an exclusive interview to the CP after she visited the Isladn on Wednesday.

What changes are you planning to bring to the Isle of Wight?

My number one priority is to increase the number of police across the whole constabulary area. I don't believe policing is rocket science, it's a numbers game.

My second priority is to increase the visibility of the police. By investing in new technology such as personal data devices, we can free more of their shift time to be on patrol and reassure the public.

The third thing is to tackle anti-social behaviour. This is particularly prevalent to areas like Ryde seafront where there are issues all year round."

How do you intend to make the Island safer specifically?

Generally the Isle of Wight is a safe place to live and rates very well in the crime league tables, although there are areas where it could be safer.

For example, Ryde and Shanklin sometimes have a build-up of people drinking or taking drugs – one cafe in Ryde recently had its windows smashed in.

It is important the IW police are listening and responsive, and when they need support they can come to me as Police Commissioner.

Where things get really bad we will look to put a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in place to manage.

Are you planning to raise the Policing Precept again bearing in mind it went up 7.1% in April?

I'm hoping to keep the Policing Precept low, there have been increases in recent years as we come to the end of the austerity programme and have a Prime Minister who is increasing public spending.

There are 600 more police officers due to be recruited across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight by the end of 2023.

One of the things I want to bid for is money from the National Safer Street fund, which will pay for things such as mobile CCTV cameras.

I want to get money from the government rather than taxing people on the Island and have a strong track record of being successful in these bids during my time as the leader of Portsmouth City Council.

Will you be reviewing 999 and 101 services?

Yes, a lot of people have shared their frustration at not getting feedback after reporting a crime. It's not good enough and I share their frustration.

I'm going to make these services feed into a bigger picture of what the police are doing.

What do you say to those who think Hampshire sees a disproportionate amount of police funding in comparison to the Island?

Hampshire, as a county, is much larger than the Island and the vast majority of serious crimes occur there.

Having said that, it's about getting the balance right. I know the Isle of Wight very well and have worked with the local council for the past 13 or 14 years on a number of joint projects.

What are the first things you would look to change, implement or add to policing on the Island if elected?

I have spoken to Dave Stewart and some of the senior councillors on the IW about working on a redevelopment plan for Newport town centre as part of a wider 'one public estate' development.

This will allow people to report crime issues or intelligence around crimes they believe are being committed.

Do you have any community specific plans for the Island?

More than anything I'd like to work with local schools, which are a key part in preventing young people getting into crime. I don't think there is enough done (to educate) young people.

The best way to bring crime levels down is to stop people becoming criminals in the first place – we need to do everything we can to help before they get a criminal record.

Often this begins when people are in their late teens, and if they are still committing crimes in their mid-20s they tend to escalate and get more serious.