A FEMALE contender has thrown her hat into the ring to be elected the next Surrey police and crime commissioner (PCC)in May.

Business and leadership consultant Julia Searle, who lives in Dormansland, is one of three local candidates hoping to unseat current independent Surrey PCC Kevin Hurley, who is a former police officer. She is standing for UKIP.

Other hopefuls are Conservative county councillor David Munro and Liberal Democrat former barrister Paul Kennedy.

Mrs Searle’s campaign message is ‘Standing for justice in Surrey’ and she believes the force should be held to account by someone who has not been part of the police establishment.

“I will use my experience creating and running two successful businesses to be a strong voice for the people of Surrey, so they get the better policing they deserve,” she said.

“My core business is concerned with leadership, business strategy, team communication and accountability. My clients would say that I am a ‘tough cookie’ but when difficult questions need to be asked I ask them, a key quality for a PCC.

“Unfortunately, Surrey Police is failing some victims of crime and not doing enough to protect the most vulnerable in our society. I have first-hand experience of this, having seen an elderly aunt who was the victim of fraud let down when the fraudster was not charged.

“Worryingly Surrey Police was less efficient in 2015 than it was in 2014 and has been told to take urgent action to improve its effectiveness. This calls into question the suitability of the current PCC to serve for another four years and underlines the need for change.”

Mrs Searle has pledged to consult widely with Surrey residents to ensure policing meets their priorities, increase spending on neighbourhood policing to the national average, increase the percentage of Surrey Police’s budget spent on frontline policing, seek higher government funding to meet the cost of policing illegal immigration and improve the quality and consistency of child protection investigations.