Bus iness and leadership consultant Julia Searle, a member of UKIP, has thrown her hat into the ring to be elected the next Surrey police and crime commissioner (PCC)in May.

She is one of three candidates hoping to unseat the current independent PCC Kevin Hurley.

Mrs Searle is standing against Tory county councillor David Munro and former barrister Paul Kennedy, for the Liberal Democrats.

Her 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.

She said this week: “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.

“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 residents to ensure policing meets their priorities, increase spending on neighbourhood policing, increase the percentage of 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.