EX- DETECTIVE Chief Inspector Martyn Underhill said he wanted to see ‘Dorset solutions for Dorset people’ and wanted to ‘join up the dots’ between police, community and the Criminal Justice System.

Mr Underhill, 54, retired from Sussex Police in 2009 and moved to Dorset.

He said that if he were to be successfully elected to the new PCC role for Dorset, within his first 100 days he would hire a new Chief Constable who shares ‘my vision for policing in Dorset and to set up mechanisms to ensure that the public voice of Dorset is heard’.

He added: “My third and fourth priorities relate to setting the police budget for the next financial year and to issuing a policing plan in conjunction with the chief constable. This will be a very busy 100 days.”

The Poole resident is standing as an independent candidate.

He said: “I do not believe that party politics and Westminster should have any undue influence on the way Dorset is policed. “I believe in Dorset solutions for Dorset people and I believe it is possible to achieve that without interference from the political parties.”

He added: “Dorset is a unique and beautiful county and I therefore believe we need unique solutions which will not feature on the national landscape.”

Mr Underhill said his experience in the police force made him well placed to understand the ‘business and the challenges of working inside a police force.’ He said: “In addition, working in the police force has enabled me to learn how to bridge gaps with other agencies in the Criminal Justice System and equally to identify the blockages within them.

“I see this role as a massive opportunity to join up the dots between the police and the community and within the Criminal Justice System.”

If elected, Mr Underhill promises to set up eight PCC forums in the county as well as PCC surgeries in the same areas and victim forums.

Mr Underhill said these would make him accountable and able to receive the public’s feedback.

It will also allow people to share their ‘views, comments or representations’ and give crime victims a ‘direct avenue to share their experiences’.

Mr Underhill said he envisaged that the PCC position would be an ‘incredibly busy and challenging role’.

Mr Underhill added that it would be important to have a ‘productive two-way relationship’ with the chief constable, so as to enable ‘public concerns to be reflected in policing delivery without taking away the chief constable's operational independence’.

Mr Underhill said that the main outcome he wanted was an ‘increased satisfaction in the way the people of Dorset feel they are policed.’