I'll cut my own salary, vows crime commissioner hopeful
ONE of the county's most senior politicians has set his sights on becoming Kent's first police and crime commissioner.
Kent county councillor Bryan Sweetland is hoping to secure the Conservative Party nomination for the role in November's election.
If successfully elected, the 55-year-old has vowed to slash his own salary from the outset.
Councillor Sweetland said: "My first action will be to cut the police commissioner's salary, £85,000.
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"It is far too excessive in the current period of austerity and out of proportion with other elected positions in Kent."
He promised to bring a "completely fresh approach" to policing during his four-year tenure and to cut red tape.
And he pledged to work with commissioners representing other police forces to claw back more cash from those who commit serious crime.
Cllr Sweetland, who lives in Gravesend, says his background in the telecoms industry will help to foster a more "businesslike" approach to policing.
The cabinet member for transport added: "If I am elected there will be no compulsory redundancies of frontline police officers in Kent and I will ensure that the budget exists to double the number of special constables."
Comments
by Caramon1963
Thursday, May 17 2012, 4:30PM
“Police Officers can't be made redundant now, it's civilian staff who are being made redundant. The Winsor review has proposed Police Officers should be at risk of redundancy, so Cllr Sweetland is already at odds with the Conservative Government.”