Police and crime commissioner
A police and crime commissioner (PCC; Welsh: comisiynydd yr heddlu a throseddu)[1][2] is an elected official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police services. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally overseeing both police and fire services. Commissioners replaced now-abolished police authorities. The first were elected on 15 November 2012.
Police and crime panels[edit]
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 established police and crime panels within each force area in England and Wales (excluding Greater London).[16] These panels consist of at least one representative from each local authority in that area, and at least two independent members co-opted by the panel.[17]
Panels are responsible for scrutinising PCC decisions and ensuring this information is available to the public. They must review the PCC's draft police and crime plan and draft annual report before publication, and the PCC must give their comments due consideration. A police and crime panel may require the attendance of the commissioner or a staff member at any time, and may suspend a PCC from office who is charged with a serious criminal offence.[18] Police and crime panels will be able to veto a PCC's proposed precept or proposed candidate for Chief Constable by a two-thirds majority.[19]
A National Audit Office report published in January 2014 found that there were "few checks and balances" on the 41 PCCs between elections. It said police and crime panels, which were set up to scrutinise PCCs, "lack powers" to act on the information they receive.[20]
Candidates must be 18 or over and registered to vote within the police area on the date of nomination. Members of the House of Lords are not barred from standing. Members of the House of Commons are not barred from standing but, if they win, they must resign before they can take up a PCC appointment.
Those disqualified from standing or continuing to hold office include:
Candidates must secure the signatures of 100 people registered to vote within the force area in which they wish to stand and must pay a deposit of £5,000. A person with an anonymous entry in the register of electors cannot nominate a candidate for election.[27][28] The appointed Deputy PCC is held to similar criteria as the PCC.[11] During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom the Cabinet Office reduced the number of signatures candidates required (The Mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Coronavirus, Nomination of Candidates) (Amendment) Order 2021) on nomination forms in order to reduce social interaction.[28][29][30]
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners published a candidate briefing prior to the 2021 elections, setting out "Guidance, advice and information for anyone interested in standing as a candidate in the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections."[11]
Jonathon Seed, the Conservative Party candidate for Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner in the 2021 election, did not take up his post after it was revealed that he had a conviction for an imprisonable offence. ITV News had asked Seed, his campaign team and the Conservative Party before polling day if Seed had any convictions. In footage posted online, Seed refused to answer questions put to him by news reporters prior to the election.[31] Wiltshire Police asked Thames Valley Police to investigate[32] and he was charged with making a false declaration.[33][34] He was due to stand trial in July 2022, but in June the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges after a pre-trial review on the grounds of insufficient evidence.[35] The re-run of the election was held in August 2021 and was expected to cost £1 million.[36]
Electoral system[edit]
Elections for commissioners use first-past-the-post voting.[37] Prior to the passage of the Elections Act 2022, the supplementary vote system was used: voters marked the ballot paper with their first and second choices of candidate.[38] If no candidate had a majority of first-preference votes, all but the top two candidates were eliminated, and second-preference votes (but only those cast for those two candidates) were then counted in addition, to produce a winner. However, the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 directed that first-past-the-post would be used if there were only two candidates for a specific commissioner region.[39]
Commissioners have a set four-year term of office. There is no limit on the number of terms which a PCC can serve.[40]