It is now less than one month until people in Hertfordshire will be able to vote in the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) election.

We have spoken to all candidates, and below is an interview with the Liberal Democrat candidate Chris White.

For a guide on everything you need to know about the upcoming elections, and for interviews with the other candidates, click here. 

Name: Chris White

Age: 56

Address: St Albans

Occupation: Local politician but otherwise retired

What qualifies you for the role?

I have been a county councillor for 23 years and at one point was part of a coalition which ran the county council. This gives me extensive experience of what makes Hertfordshire tick.

In addition I was a member of the police authority when that body was nominated in part by the county council. I chaired the audit committee for several years.

What do you see as the policing priorities in Watford and south west Hertfordshire

There are various issues:

• Dealing with traditional crime and disorder matters such as burglary, night time disorder and robberies

• Tackling newer crimes like fraud, credit card theft and social media crimes

• Looking at the crimes faced by women and minorities and giving them greater emphasis

• Making sure that lower level issues like speeding are not lost sight of.

How will you combat this?

It is vital to ensure that the police get the best technology – too much time is still spent filling in pieces of paper rather than policing.

The police need to work closely with licensing authorities to make sure that streets in the area feel safe on a Friday or a Saturday night.

We need to challenge the convention that financial crime is shipped off to the city of London police – financial crime is a daily occurrence and is perpetrated as much by people in Hertfordshire as multi-national criminals.

Social media crimes are again often entirely local: local abusers need to be tracked down while police work with schools to tackle cyber-bullying.

There needs to be a guarantee of effective resourcing for victims of domestic abuse and street assaults as well as for vulnerable children.

The Police and Crime Commissioner must work with ethnic minorities, LGBT+ groups and young people and devise meaningful strategies for crime prevention and detection.

This relationship needs to be permanent and annually evaluated.

The PCC must work much more closely with local councillors on speed prevention strategies, rather than initiating detached speeding schemes unrelated to highways works.

Would you pledge to keep Watford police station open?

Yes. There is talk of it potentially being moved to the town hall but that proposal, which has worked elsewhere in the county, would need to be looked at very carefully to ensure that town centre policing was not adversely affected and that the public continued to have access to police services.

Do you think enough is being done to combat child exploitation in the county?

It is vital that there is improved clarity over who has responsibility for missing children.

It is also essential that that further work is done with local authorities and others in relation to child sexual exploitation.

It is the responsibility of the Police and Crime Commissioner to make sure that recent HMIC recommendations about child protection are carried out and that there is an adequate budget.

How would you ensure there are enough police officers on the streets?

The important thing is to make sure that there are enough police staff - officers, PCSOs and civilian staff - doing things which prevent and detect crime. Not all of that will be on the streets.

We need to ensure that staff are used effectively and have the best technology and most efficient working methods.

We need to work with other forces on specialist areas and ensure that the

Police no longer do the things which best be done by others – there are still people who go to the Police with parking issues when local authorities deal with most aspects of parking.

How would you pay for this?

Tiny pre-election cuts in the police precept will do nothing to help us maintain an effective force, especially as the Government will no doubt cut policing grants year on year from now on, for ideological reasons.

The PCC needs to consult with the electorate systematically to see what they are prepared to pay through council tax.

At the moment the PCC is more or less invisible even to councillors, let alone the public.

Do you think the role of PCC is relevant given the turnout at the last election?

No. The role is ludicrous as currently constituted.

There was never a need to remove the police from its relationship with the county council in 2012.

People are in essence being expected to elect the chair of the police authority who then sits in lonely splendour in an office pretending to be able to understand the local needs of an entire county.

We need to reestablish as far as the law allows a proper scrutiny system which allows the public to see the PCC and the Police being challenged and informed in relations to their policies and actions.

Have you ever done anything illegal?

I admit to points on my driving licence. If this is the ‘did you inhale?’ question – no. University only got me into tobacco.