Three men are so far lined up to compete for the role of Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner being vacated by Kathryn Holloway.
At the election on May 7th local people will have the chance to choose between the candidates who are drawn on largely political lines.
One of them Festus Akinbusoye has been on ‘walkabout’ in Bedford town centre recently and met with various businesses and heard about different levels of street security and ‘law enforcement’. He stopped off at Gallone’s in the Edwardian Arcade, as he is an ice cream fan – his biog even mentions Ben & Jerry’s. Festus heard about a number of social groups for vulnerable people which meet at the ice cream parlour with the support of PCSOs from Beds Police.
Festus is an active member of the MK YMCA and also met with Paul Hunt CEO of Bedfordshire YMCA to hear about their innovative approach to helping people off the streets and into new lives.
The three so far supported by mainstream political parties are:
Festus Akinbusoye, from Shefford, Conservative
Jas Parmar, from Clifton, LibDem (well known as Post Master at Kempston)
Tahir Khan, from Luton, Labour (former Mayor of Luton)