Gloucestershire’s outgoing police and crime commissioner (PCC) Martin Surl says he leaves the post on a high but will not stand again for the position.

Mr Surl, who has been in post since it was created in November 2012, finished third in the PCC elections that took place last week.

He is proud of the progress the force has made in helping reduce crime during his tenure and is confident that the county is in a much better place than when he started.

But he feels the tide has turned for independent candidates and is concerned that the position has become highly political.

“I leave on a high. It’s obviously emotional. I had a fantastic eight and a half years,” he said. 

“It was clear to me fairly early on that the tide had gone out for independents. 

“The role was now becoming highly political and that’s just the way it worked out. 

“I leave with no hard feelings, it was a tremendous journey and I’m confident I’ve left the constabulary and the county in a much better place than I found it. 

“There have been many highlights, much commentary on the building, officers and cars. 

“But to me the most important thing is the people. The people within the constabulary, the people within the county, and the ability to change people’s lives. 

“I believe we’ve done that for the better for some individuals. Crime is much lower than when I first took office.” 

He says the position of PCC is all about being a force for good and making changes to improve people’s lives. 

“It’s all about people and in particular young people, making sure they have the best start in life. Having a criminal record is no good start in life,” he said. 

“It is influencing and hopefully being a force for good. I did this with the support of hundreds of other people.” 

He puts his success in reducing crime down to a combination of factors. 

“Bringing the force through austerity and the reintroduction of neighbourhood was a good start,” he said. 

“I was very much about diverting people away from crime and not demonising young people. 

“We’ve heard a lot about antisocial behaviour but young people are not that.  

“The approach we took was to support them and make sure the policing worked for them and not against them to bring them through that.” 

Mr Surl says he has had a good career and will not run for election. 

“Not because I wouldn’t like to but we have to accept that Gloucestershire Constabulary is now under the control of a political party,” he said. 

“Something that I always adverted to. That is the situation and now they need to step up and prove that it is not a bad outcome.” 

Conservative Party candidate Chris Nelson is the county’s new police and crime commissioner.