In 2012 Bill decided that he would stand as an independent candidate to become the first Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for West Mercia Police. There were three candidates, one from the Conservative party and the other from the Labour party. Bill stood on the mantra of keeping politics out of policing, and with his business acumen, his proven track record of community work and his many achievements in promoting sport, he won the election quite comfortably on 12th November 2012.

The role of the PCC is to hold the Chief Constable to account on behalf of the people, and one of his first tasks was to produce a police and crime plan setting the direction of policing for his term of office which he completed in April 2016.

High on the agenda was the reduction of crime, the rehabilitation of offenders, and making communities a safe place to live. Bill knew from his previous experience that part of the solution was providing opportunities for young people through sport to discourage offending, divert those on the cusp of offending, and provide new opportunities and direction to those involved in certain criminal activity with a willingness to reform. During Bill’s tenure some excellent results were achieved through the provision of sport, and considerable funding was made available to a variety of sporting organisations.

The foundation in part is a legacy of Bill’s vision of how sport plays a key and important role within communities, and his leadership as a PCC, provided valuable and worthwhile opportunities for many, turning peoples’ lives around, and making a large contribution to community safety.

The photographs above show a variety of different sporting organisations that Bill worked with and supported during his time as PCC.