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Devon and Cornwall police and crime commissioner candidates

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PCC Elections: Devon and Cornwall

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Elections will be held in November to choose police and crime commissioners who will replace police authorities currently in charge of 41 forces in England and Wales.

PCCs, as they will be known, will be responsible for setting priorities for their police force, overseeing its budget and hiring the chief constable.

Those in the biggest force areas will get salaries of more than £100,000 and no prior police force experience is needed.

Ahead of the elections, BBC News has taken a look at the issues facing Devon and Cornwall Police.

While the final list of candidates will be announced on 19 October, those who have announced their candidacy so far are:

BRIAN BLAKE - Liberal Democrats

Brian Blake served with the Devon and Cornwall force for 30 years

Brian Blake is a former Devon and Cornwall Police officer who served with the force for 30 years before moving on to work at the Ministry of Defence for 13 years.

He said he would put public safety first, but also wanted to show how community policing and restorative justice could be used to benefit everyone.

He added the Liberal Democrats' values on crime, justice and civil liberties would also be at the forefront of his campaign.

GRAHAM CALDERWOOD - Independent

Graham Calderwood has defended and prosecuted criminal cases

Graham Calderwood is a solicitor who has worked in the area of criminal law for more than 40 years.

He has been a duty solicitor for people arrested by police, and has also been involved in prosecuting cases for the Crown Prosecution Service.

He said he knew the procedures and problems for both defence and prosecution sides of the law, and said his experience meant he knew how they could be improved.

He added that he also wanted to reduce paperwork for officers for a more efficient police service.

BRIAN GREENSLADE - Independent

Brian Greenslade said the commissioner should not be a political post

Brian Greenslade is the former Liberal Democrat leader of Devon County Council.

The accountant is also a former chairman and a current member of the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority and has also served as chairman of the Association of Police Authorities.

He said he was standing because he felt he could bring much relevant experience to the role and that he was standing as an independent candidate because he did not believe the post should be political.

TONY HOGG - Conservative

Tony Hogg said he wanted to deliver clear leadership

Tony Hogg is a retired sailor who spent more than 30 years in the Royal Navy.

He served in the Falklands War and in the Gulf and was commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, reaching the rank of commodore.

He said his main pledges included wanting to deliver clear leadership, to lift police morale, to increase visible policing with the public playing their part too and encouraging early intervention to turn around the lives of young people.

WILLIAM MORRIS - Independent

William Morris said tackling social deprivation was a method of reducing crime

William Morris is a former farmer from Cornwall and head of the Next Century Foundation - a charity which works in conflict resolution in the Middle East.

He said he believed it was best if the post was independent of any political party "because policing is too important an issue to be consumed by party politics".

He said more action was needed to tackle social deprivation as a method of reducing crime and added his action points would also include work to cut police bureaucracy.

JOHN SMITH - Independent

John Smith said he was standing "truly independent of all politics"

John Smith is a former member of the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority and a former Liberal Democrat county councillor.

He was a member of the police authority from 2001 to 2009, serving as chairman and vice chairman and said he was standing as commissioner "truly independent of all politics" because "of all the things that we should not politicise, this is one".

He said his priorities included campaigning to have the force's budget increased, increasing regional inter-force co-operation to control expenditure and emphasising that, as police officers were also members of the community, the community should do more to help policing.

NICKY WILLIAMS - Labour

Nicky Williams said her top priority was protecting front-line policing

Nicky Williams is a Plymouth councillor for the city's Honicknowle ward and the city council's cabinet member for children's services.

She has also worked for 13 years as a political adviser to several MPs and local councillors and said her top priority was protecting front- line policing and that she would listen to and work with local communities to identify local solutions to local problems.

She said every community had different needs and the commissioner's role was to ensure such needs were recognised and acted upon "amidst a landscape of competing priorities and budget cuts".

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PCC Elections: Devon and Cornwall

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• PCC elections: Devon and Cornwall