Now that the dust has settled, to a degree, I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to engage directly with you in what will be a regular blog.
First of all, I would like to thank everyone who voted for me. I was proud to win a clear mandate to deliver my election manifesto with a majority of more than 31,000 and majorities in each of our 6 districts.
Your message was clear: you want to see our police take a zero-tolerance approach to Anti-Social Behaviour and you want to see more Bobbies on the beat.
I intend to do my level best to deliver that and also promise to take a cross party approach to everything I do, representing every resident, no matter who you voted for.
This is definitely the most demanding and complex job I have ever done but I feel that my long career in the public and private sector, as a military veteran and international businessman, has prepared me well for this moment.
I am relishing the challenge and have resolved to first focus on the £150m net budget requirement to identify better ways of working, find efficiencies and savings, so that we can find the resources our Constabulary needs to maximise its effectiveness and reduce crime.
Once we have identified sufficient financial headroom, I want to start the recruitment process to provide 300 more police officers and PCSOs – this is an urgent requirement, as it takes a considerable amount of time to recruit and train officers.
I am also planning an early roadshow to parish and town councils, about Empowering Local Communities to deal with the crimes that bother you the most.
Time and again, you have told me that you are fed-up with a wide range of Anti-Social Behaviours, yet it can sometimes be hard to get help from the police or your local council.
With your help, I have plans to recruit 150 more Special Constables, who will work within your own neighbourhood policing teams and deploy new technology to help deal with persistent speeders, another big complaint.
I am extremely keen to listen and learn, so that I can influence our Constabulary, who work for you so please feel free to get in touch if you have concerns over crime in your area.
I am convinced that working together, we can make Gloucestershire the safest area in the whole country.
