The first ever elections for Police and Crime
Commissioners will be held on 15 November 2012.
Each of the 41 police force areas in England and Wales, outside of
London, will directly-elect a Commissioner.
Commissioners are at the heart of the Government's programme of
decentralisation, where power is returned to people and communities.
Instead of bureaucratic, Whitehall-led control of the police we will see
democratic accountability with the public having a real say over how
their area is policed.
What will Police and Crime Commissioners do?
Commissioners will be local figures with powerful mandates from
the public to drive the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour.
Commissioners will decide policing strategy and the force budget.
They will set the local council tax precept and appoint - and if
necessary dismiss - the chief constable. And all of this will be done
on behalf of the public who elect them.
Police and Crime Commissioners will replace the existing police
authorities and have a much larger role.
As their title - Police and Crime Commissioners - suggests they will
have a broad remit to ensure community safety, with their own
budgets to prevent crime and tackle drugs.
Working with local authorities, community safety partnerships
and local criminal justice boards, Commissioners will help bring a
strategic coherence to the actions of these organisations across
each police force.
The Commissioners will also have responsibility for strategic
policing - they will have to address national issues as well as local
concerns.
A single and accountable individual
Commissioners will be a single elected individual who will take
executive decisions, supported by a highly qualified team.
The principle of one accountable individual, directly responsible
for the totality of police force activity is central to the Government's
vision of the new policing landscape.
The buck will stop with commissioners, and the public will cast
judgement at the ballot box, voting out commissioners who don't
cut crime or address local concerns.
But Police and Crime Commissioners won't have day-to-day control
over operational policing - they won't be able to tell a sworn officer
of the crown who to arrest.
The candidate
We're looking for very high calibre candidates for what will be high
profile and public roles.
Police and Crime Commissioners will have to be leaders.
Commissioners will need to work with the police as well as with
other local agencies while engaging with the public and the media.
We will be casting the net widely and certainly will look beyond
those who have previously worked on police authorities.
Commissioners could come with experience as business leaders,
from military or policing backgrounds, from national as well as
local politics, or from other fields.
To be eligible to stand as a Police and Crime Commissioner one
must be registered as an elector in the relevant force area.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ?
If you feel you meet the candidate requirements and would like to find
out more about becoming a Police Commissioner, please contact us:
Email [email protected]
or visit www.conservatives.com/policecommissioners