Devon Crime Commissioner appoints former Torbay councillor as her deputy

Devon and Cornwall Police’s chief constable is to appoint a deputy commissioner despite a committee investigating her work telling her they would not recommend it.
Alison Hernandez is keen to have Torbay councillor Mark Kingscote as her deputy, a man she had her eye on for the role in 2017 but never recruited.
She said police were facing challenges in performance and on the streets, and did not have the time to address both.
Mr Kingscote, she said, had a “unique skill set”, including working with people with complex mental health needs during a 30-year career in the NHS, to focus on the issues on the ground while helping to lead an organisation that, she admitted, is “in great need”.
The report is based on a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which found Devon and Cornwall Police to be in need of improvement and inadequate in half of the areas examined.
Ms Hernandez cited the lengthy suspension of Chief Constable Will Kerr as a source of the performance problems.
Mr Kerr has been suspended for a year and is being investigated by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) over allegations of sexual abuse, which he strongly denies.
The commissioner said she wanted a street-based campaign against anti-social behaviour, drugs and homelessness, starting in Torbay and then working across Devon and Cornwall as a blueprint. But she couldn’t do it without a deputy with the drive of Mr Kingscote.
She told the panel she had worked well with him for 15 years and they shared a ward when they were former Conservative councillors in Torbay. He was chairman of the planning committee and would play a key role in helping with planning and estate management, she said.
Although Ms. Hernandez is an elected official, her replacement can be recruited. She said half of the PCCs nationwide hold such positions.
However, members of the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel stuck to the same position as in 2017 and did not support her plans.
Panel chair Cllr Sally Haydon (Lab, Plymouth, St Budeaux) said the deputy’s salary – £59,000 – would be better spent on police officers. Others questioned whether Mr Kingscote was fit for the job.
Cllr Chris Penberthy (Lab, Plymouth, St Peter and the Waterfront) said the street-based campaign had not been examined by the panel or subject to public consultation, and that a road test should have been carried out before a case was made to appoint a deputy to lead the campaign. He said it was being done wrong.
Ms. Hernandez claimed she was “breaking new ground” and wanted to recruit quickly.
She said: “The reality is that we have a challenge in Devon and Cornwall Police, both in terms of the performance of the organisation as a whole and in terms of the streets where people live.
“One of the things I need right now is that I have the capacity to do my work at the street level, not just at the organizational level, and that’s why I’m appointing a deputy.
“This is a political role, so it is like a mayor appointing a deputy. It is an internal role and not something for the public to decide, and I believe he will do an excellent job in helping me carry out my responsibilities and duties.
“I look forward to working with him in a number of areas which will help me focus on policing performance, but I do not want to neglect concerns about anti-social behaviour and drug dealing.”
She said she did not expect the panel to support her this time, as they did not do so in 2017 either.
“We have a force that works with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, an acting Chief Constable, because I have had to suspend the one I recruited, and I am putting together a leadership team to ensure that I have the capacity and the ability to take this organisation forward.”
Councillor Martin Worth (Con, Cornwall, Saltash) supported the commissioner: “Yes, it is a lot of money but he will have to work bloody hard for it,” he said.