The Labour and Co-operative Party candidate aiming to be the Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has said that “every single vote" will count at the upcoming election on May 2.

Stanka Adamcova grew up on a farm in Slovakia and came to England in 2009 for university.

Her mother was a local councillor, and her father was a victim of rural fraud, which inspired her to get involved in policing and fighting crime.

She said: “For me to be involved in local politics, it’s very much about that sense of public duty and giving something back to our community, and the best way to do it is to serve them.”

Having worked in the Office of the PCC for Wiltshire and Swindon and being the Vice-Chair of Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel, Ms Adamcova says she “clearly understands” the requirements of being a PCC.

She noted: “I strongly believe I have the right set of skills, experience, and also, importantly, the right moral compass for the role.”

She added that this moral compass was built on the values of “hard work, humility and honesty.”

As Swindon Councillor for the Haydon Wick area, she wanted to reassure residents that she would not be leaving the role should she be elected, seeing the two positions as “complimentary.”

She said: “Public engagement is part of my role as a councillor and I love being there and speaking to residents, understanding concerns.”

“Very often I think politicians get detached from what is actually happening in their communities.”

According to Ms Adamcova, the feedback she has had from locals suggests that Wiltshire Police needs to “improve its standards.”

She said: “There is a number of areas that people are worried about, and it depends on location, but they all come back to a lack of effective neighbourhood policing and that’s what we really need to restore.”

She added: “Effective neighbourhood policing means that police officers are visible on our streets, that they are trusted by our communities, that they are engaged.”

The candidate listed tackling knife crime as one of her priorities, with a more “educational and partnership” approach.

Regarding sexual crime, she noted: “I want to make sure that Wiltshire and Swindon women and girls feel safe, and I think they have been let down.

“It takes courage and strength for women to come forward and report these crimes and they need to feel that they have a strong leader at the helm.”

Ms Adamcova suggested she would push for setting up independent advisory groups where those with lived experience could become involved, as well as allowing farmers to speak on rural crime.

She said: “One of the big important roles for the PCC is to hold the Chief Constable to account on the delivery of a Police and Crime Plan.

“It is usually done through quantitative metrics, but I would be really keen to change this and properly do a deep dive into performance with more qualitative metrics.

“It's not only about how many crimes they are resolving but how people feel when they see the police, when they are engaged with the police.

“It’s really important that victims have appropriate services, and they know that they can access them.”

Ms Adamcova claimed that “disastrous decisions” made under Conservative policies are the reason that Wiltshire Police are currently in special measures.

She said: “These elections will be very tight; they will be very close and it will be a few votes that will decide the outcome.

“Every single vote counts, and we need voters to turn up and vote on the day.”

She concluded: “My vision for Wiltshire Police is to have a policing service that is visible, trusted and accessible for communities.

“My number one priority, my mission, would be to rebuild the confidence and trust that has been lost.”