Lawyer named as Lib Dem candidate for Durham Police and Crime Commissioner – and calls for radical change.
A north east solicitor, with more than 50 years of criminal justice experience, has joined the race to become Durham’s next Police & Crime Commissioner.
Nigel Boddy, who was born and lives in Darlington, has announced he will run on a platform of sensible spending, a return to best policing practices, and making the wellbeing of police officers a priority.
The son of a Darlington railway engineer, Mr Boddy said: “It’s been my enormous privilege to work alongside the police throughout my professional life, I have seen our criminal justice system from all angles, and I know how it all fits together. I also know that the public and our police officers deserve better in Durham. I have been around the police and the criminal justice system my entire life. I was the youngest of six children, three of us became criminal defence lawyers, and one of my brothers became a police officer, so I have seen just what a tough job our police officers have.
“I know what we need to do to get this broken system working again. Handing down stronger sentences in a vacuum isn’t the magic solution. For a start, the prisons are full! We have to find new ways of approaching criminality.”
A life-long advocate for change and justice, Mr Boddy began campaigning in his teenage years, successfully protesting against the closure of his school. This passion for speaking out has stood him in good stead, both in his professional career and in his extensive involvement in the north-east political scene.
“At present, there is an immense amount of money being wasted,” he declared. “I sometimes feel like I’ve spent the last 50 years watching the greatest criminal justice system in the world fall apart from poor management and inefficiency. Look at our local system. We have a custody suite in Spennymoor and a courthouse in Newton Aycliffe. That means our taxes are paying private companies to ferry prisoners between them – that just doesn’t make sense. Spending our money more wisely means we can afford to put more police officers into our communities with better resources to do their jobs.
“We need to take a close look at the best working practices for our officers and perhaps bring back some older ways of working that have fallen by the wayside. We now have officers sometimes doing 12-hour shifts – is anyone really effective in their job after working that long?
“Looking after police officers and making sure they have the support they need means better morale, better policing and better results for the public. I’m keen to work closely with the Police Federation to make sure we’re doing right by our officers.”
Mr Boddy has also ruled out a forceful takeover of the Fire and Rescue Service. He said: “My understanding is that the Fire Brigades Union doesn’t want to fall under the control of the Police & Crime Commissioner in Durham, the way it’s been done in other parts of the country. They know their service best so, if they’re against it, I’m against it. But, I would be keen to work closely with all our emergency services to ensure the best provision possible for the public.”