21/10/2012 Sunday Politics Wales


21/10/2012

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Later in the programme.you're being asked to vote for police

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commissioners, they'll set police force priorities and control

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2285 seconds

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policing budgets, we'll hear from Hello and on the Sunday Politics

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Wales we're keeping with Police Commissioners and I'm joined in

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studio by four people one of whom will become the Police and Crime

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Commissioner for Gwent next month. We'll hear from them in a minute.

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As you've already heard, Police and Crime Commissioners will be

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responsible for appointing chief constables, setting out local

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policing priorities, reporting annually on progress and setting

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out budgets. The UK government says commissioners are not there to run

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local police forces but to hold them to account. We'll be reporting

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on the elections in all four Welsh police forces in the run up to

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voting on November the 15th, we're starting today with a discussion

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between the four Gwent candidates and here they are good morning to

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you -- before we begin, each candidate has 30 seconds to

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introduce themselves and set out their pitch. In the interests of

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fairness, we drew lots before we came on air. The first out of the

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hat was Chris Wright. You're 32nd starts now. I am independent

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candidate. I was raised in Caerphilly. I'm standing as

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independent candidate because I have experience of policing and

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communities between London and Gwent. It means I am the candidate

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with will relevant experience. I want to give people the opportunity

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to vote for a non-political candidate, and to keep control of

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their local police. My name is Nick Webb, iron the Conservative

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candidate. I put myself forward for this job because I think it is a

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fantastic opportunity to connect local grassroots communities with

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the decision-making end of the police force. IM Hamish Sanderson,

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I have been a practising lawyer for more than 35 years, living in

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Monmouthshire for 25 years. As the Labour candidate, I am campaigning

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against Tory cuts taking bobbies of the beats. -- off the beat. I'm not

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a former policeman, I am independent of the police, and I

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intend to hold them to account. If I am elected, my priority will be

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to protect our public services, of which I believed the police are one

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of the most important. IM Ian Johnston, I'm an independent

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candidate. -- I am. I was in the police, retiring after 35 years. I

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think I have the skills and experience to carry out this job,

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and I am passionate about policing in Gwent, that is why I'm standing

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as independents. -- as an independent candidate. That is the

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candidates, what about the voters? We went to see if election fever

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have caught on. Does the date, November 15th, mean

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anything to you? The not really. And though. Not really. Yes, it is

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Guy Fawkes night. The crime council, sorting out to the budget goes to?

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You know of any elections coming up? Nose. Non really. I had a

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letter through about the election. One election is it? And no idea.

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it is the adverts on the television about community policing. They

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tease to do with the police governing. Police and Crime

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Commissioner is, does that mean anything? No. The chances are you

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voting are perhaps Len? Afraid so. The polls show that around 23% of

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people are aware of the election. That is about right. It is

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difficult, particularly for independent candidates. In the next

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couple of weeks, with be TV adverts and the leaflets, we will get the

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public interested. -- we did the TV adverts. Is the 23%, below 20 some

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people say, are those figures making sense to? I have been out on

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the streets knocking on doors all over Gwent. I think at the

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beginning nobody knew that there was an election, I am hearing that

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people know they have raised an election. They have notices from

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their council. What they don't know is what the election is about. They

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think they are letting the chief a police. What is really important,

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and I hope this show can help, is to make clear we are not selecting

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a policeman, but somebody to hold the police to account. To decide

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how our money is spent. That is a political job, not their policing

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job. Nick Webb, what is the most important thing you are telling

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people when you're knocking on the door? I think when you start

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knocking on the doors, and people understand, there is a lot of

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interest. It is something you, it'll take a little while, we

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haven't got much time, we are doing our best. When you start discussing

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the role, they do take an interest. They see that it is a chance to

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have a more direct say on how policing is done in the region.

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address a point that has come up, to review, Hamish and Nick, you are

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political. Should this be a political role? The fact is, he is

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a solicitor, he has a law degree, was the turn around and except

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somebody in a high-profile case, who has been doing the job for a

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week, standing and fighting his corner? I don't think he would. To

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hold the police to account, you need to know what happens at the

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bottom. A response. I am a lawyer, nobody's perfect it! This job is

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not just about policing, we are agreement, we don't want to have

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politics in operational matters. We have signed a pledge to protect the

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operational procedures of the police. We have seen a change in

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this country, after phone hacking, with a one per to a journalist in

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charge of holding the press to account? Would anyone put a

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politician in charge of expenses? Do you want to put a former police

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officer in charge of holding police -- the police to account? I was

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looking at a website, you said you were amused that people with no

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policing experience could carry out his job. You think it is insulting

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to police officers. It is nothing personal. If you look at the job

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description, in the first 100 days, the commissioner will be expected

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to set the budget and policing plan. I am amazed that people think

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policing is so simple. It is complex. That is why I don't think

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the public want politicians in this place. A recent poll showed that

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65% said people standing on a political ticket should not get the

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job. The public have had enough of politicians. I think the idea of

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politicising the police is a sound bite the that does not stand up. --

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that does not stand up. This is about accountability. If the

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community feels there not been well served by the police the

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authorities, they have caused fraction. Once they have a PCC,

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they will be able to kick somebody out. We have covered the basics

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about what the election is about. The four of you are standing in

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Gwent. Let's look at the issues facing the Gwent force. They are in

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quite good shape, they are on target to make the cuts that they

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have to. They have a lower crime rate and some are. One of you will

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be inheriting it a force that is in relatively good shape. What can you

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do to make a better? The crime reduction news is to be welcomed.

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It had the biggest reduction in England and Wales. We had 20% cuts

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by the current government, those 20% cuts mean that across Wales we

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will have 1,600 fewer police officers. That is difficult. The

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morale within the force in terms of pay and conditions and pensions is

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very low. That needs to be addressed. The cuts will only get

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worse. Hamish Sanderson, I know you are fighting on an anti-

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Conservative government agenda. Put into perspective how you see the

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cuts on the force? As I have said, I am concerned about the impact of

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the 20% cuts. It will mean police station closures, taking bobbies

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off the beat. The commissionaire won't have the power to increase

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the budget from Westminster, but we will have the power to set

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priorities. I would be concerned about prioritising anti-social

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behaviour, it is still an issue. All credit to Gwent Police, they

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have had the biggest reduction, but it is a big issue, along with

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domestic violence. I want a crackdown on domestic violence and

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hate crime. Those are issues that would go away. We still have after

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work to do. Nick Webb, you should have the opportunity to respond to

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what Hamish is saying, it is a direct act on your party -- a

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direct attack on your party? Those figures should be welcomed. We are

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looking at a PCC that it will make incremental changes building on

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that success. In terms of budgetary matters, as the colleges, the PCC

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will not have a great say on what the Budget is. It has to be decided

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on a realistic basis. We are getting rid of a deficit of over

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�100 billion. These are not cuts that are targeted at the police

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force, we have to make savings across the public sector. People

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are starting to realise that that is credible budget making. On your

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website, you retired from the police force one year ago. You have

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quite recent experience of the force? We are talking about cuts,

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what is your assessment of any impact that the cuts might have on

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a force that you will be commissioner rather? They are too

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wide ranging. This is a reason why you should not have politicisation

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of the force. They is cuts will happen. We have bubbled into a

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position where everybody is looking to appoint that when there is

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nobody else we will call the police. The police have to turn around and

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say the biggest word in the force, they have to say, no. This is not

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our job, our job is crime- prevention, attacking domestic

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violence, attacking a crime. That is what an independent PCC has to

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do. You have to make difficult decisions, and some of those are to

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say the police are not doing that any more. A question to make, that

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the support the cuts? -- a question to Nick Webb, does he support the

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cuts? We all would come up with different ways of saving money, but

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I do support these savings. I'm also very proud to be representing

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a party who have extended the definition on domestic violence

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which is more up-to-date, that has got Abu Hamza deported, and has

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made a right decision on the Gary McKinnon case. Let's look at the

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point of politicisation. You think that people who do not have a

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background in policing should not be doing the job. There is a view

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that someone in the police force, who has been in the police force,

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should not do the job. Answer that? The you have just seen an example

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about politicians arguing. -- you have just seen an example off

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politicians arguing. You need a police officer, one who has worked

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at a local level. The way that this is set up, we saw it early on the

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programme, the way it has been written, there will be conflict

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between the PCC and the Chief Constable. That is going to happen.

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My fear, if we have politicians and the role, is that they will be

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answerable not to the people, but to Cardiff, and to Westminster.

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would like to pick up on the fact we should be looking at a much more

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local level. It is quite a small force, all we need at the PCC to do

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is what the people once. That is what the PCC should be doing.

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are going to end now, I will ask the four argued, let's -- be four

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of you, let's hear one thing from you. Identified Fry better budget.

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-- I am going to fight for a better budget. You're absolutely right to

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say that there are a lot of similarities, the difference

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between me, I am going to get people see the raw data. In terms

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of supporting victims, I want to put together a panel in which

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charities will be involved, so we provide a good service. I think

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that I should fill the job, because I had the experience, the skills, I

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understand policing, and I care passionately about the people of

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Gwent. a lot of other people think they have the skills, to? A it is

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the experience of policing. Nobody wants crime to increase, 24% of

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domestic violence is reported, the police are not doing a good job,

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they need to get further into domestic violence, and if we have

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an increasing crime, all recorded crime, to show that we are doing

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the job properly, the PCC needs to have the strength to say that is

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why it is done. I'm the right person, because that is what I will

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do. We have to end the discussion there, you can find out more about

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the police and crime commissioner elections by going to our online

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pages, the address is on the screen. I hope you've enjoyed today's Gwent

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debate, we'll be having reports from the other three Welsh force

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areas in the run up to election day on the 15th of November. We will

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have reports from the other three areas on election day. That's

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nearly all from us this week but before we go back to Andrew, here's

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a quick spin through some of the political stories of the week in 60

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seconds. Implied Krumrey's Bethan Jenkins

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said she regretted the rat -- and actions after being arrested for

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drink-driving. David Jones said he was not hostile to new laws passed.

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The assembly's Public Accounts Committee will investigate the use

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of public money given to a charity. The Audit Office said that

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ministers failed to act on numerous warnings about the organisation

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before it was brought down by funding scandal. The skills

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Minister is hoping to meet Neville Southall, after he told people on

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the programme that he wanted to help jobless youngsters get a into

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That was the week in Sixty Seconds. When will he be out campaigning?

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mat tomorrow. Our iron out all around the area. A I'm out tomorrow,

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I think people deserve a rest on a Sunday. I'll be asking people what

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priorities should be. IM out tomorrow, a number of meetings,

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including a press conference and a public meeting. If you want some

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more politics then tune in to Radio Wales: Betsan Powys is chairing a

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discussion on the impact on Wales of the Scottish independence

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referendum, that's on Radio Wales very shortly. And don't forget to

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watch the Wales Report with Huw Edwards after the Ten O'Clock News

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