The election of the next Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire takes place on 6 May. There are four candidates: read about them all here
The residents of North Yorkshire deserve both honesty from their commissioner and someone who will fight for a fair share of government funding, former police officer and bank fraud investigator Keith Tordoff says.
He says resources for both the police and fire services are spread too thinly across the county and highlighted that currently 13 road traffic patrols are expected to police more than 6,000 miles of roads.
Mr Tordoff said: “A lot of areas will not be being covered by the police. We have to be honest about it.”
He said upon being elected as commissioner, he would use his business and community experience to immediately hold a series of meetings with a range of bodies and the public to examine how the county could be made a safer place to live, work or visit.
When asked if he viewed North Yorkshire as a safe place, he said: “I think a lot of people don’t feel safe because they hear about County Lines drugs coming across the borders into North Yorkshire.
“Up until restrictions were brought in last year rural crime had vastly increased, which affects large swathes of North Yorkshire with its isolated communities and properties.
“Those people certainly don’t feel safe and to some degree feel let down because the rural taskforce is not sufficient to cover the vast area.”
He said as an Independent commissioner, he would be free to work with anybody and would not have to tow any political party’s line.
Mr Tordoff, who has pledged to donate £20,000 of his salary a year to charities, said: “Keep politics out of policing.
“The chief constable and chief fire officer should be allowed to get on with their operational duties without looking over their shoulder and worrying about political interference.”