Face the music (bristol):Layout 1
17/6/13
12:49
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FACEtheMUSIC
A sense of fair play Sue Mountstevens, the first elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset Constabulary talks to Mick Ringham about her challenging new role, her change of career and her pride in her supportive family
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or someone who grew up most mornings with the aroma of fresh bread and the sight of trays of jam filled doughnuts in the familyrun bakery, being elected as Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s first independent police commissioner is, by any stretch of the imagination, a heck of a career change. But Sue Mountstevens seems to be the type of person who takes this kind of transformation in her stride. Sue was the fifth generation to join the family business, the Mountstevens bakery chain, after attending Bristol polytechnic. She started in the bakery, as she says: “From the bottom, putting the cherries on the Danish pastries.” She rose to become director of the business and 20 years later, after the company was sold, she dedicated herself to family life as well as becoming involved in the criminal justice system. She was appointed as a local magistrate, a position she held for 15 years before becoming a member of the police authority. 54 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
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JULY 2013
When, last year, the government decided to hold elections to appoint police and crime commissioners throughout the UK, Sue decided to stand – she was the only woman candidate in the election and the only independent one, not affiliated to a political party. She was elected by a convincing majority and became the area’s first independent commissioner, liaising between the general public and the police covering the entire Avon and Somerset area. She said: “It is such an incredibly worthwhile job, which takes in all aspects from anti-social behaviour to major crime and also making sure that victims get satisfaction from the justice system. As well as protecting the vulnerable in society, there is also the issue of helping to reduce reoffending.” She talks with genuine passion about her new post, where she freely admits the greatest challenge facing her today is police services being cut and here she has promised to ‘harangue’ government ministers over the force’s budget.