Former police chief is in running for new role

A retired chief superintendent from Shropshire has entered the race to become the region's first elected police commissioner.

Des Parkinson, 64, the former national secretary of the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales, wants to stand for the job as a Conservative candidate.The £85,000 a year top job of Police and Crime Commissioner is seen as an important way of reconnecting the police with the public and will cover the entire West Mercia region.

Mr Parkinson, from Priorslee in Telford, is the first to officially declare that he will run for election later this year.

The top ex-cop had a glittering 29-year-career with Dyfed-Powys Police.

Through his work he was responsible for the creation of the Sex Offenders Register and he also championed a successful campaign to ban handguns following the Dunblane tragedy in 1996.

And Mr Parkinson hit the headlines recently when it was revealed his fight to overturn the double jeopardy law had enabled the convictions of Gary Dobson and David Norris for the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

Mr Parkinson said: "This is a very important role. Whoever gets this job is going to be the interface between the police and the public.

"It's going to be up to them to find out what the electorate want from their police force and to implement the policies that will enable these practices to happen.

"Because of my experience and my strong personality I think I would be a good candidate. I was one of the people who pushed Michael Howard to introduce a paedophile register. The government had been dead against it but they eventually agreed.

Mr Parkinson pledged to increase the police presence across West Mercia, if elected. He said: "I want a visible police presence that quickly deals with crime."