National Spotlight on ‘Would Be’ Police Chiefs Welcomed

A new national website aimed at shining a light on the backgrounds and policies of candidates standing for November’s Police & Crime Commissioner election has been welcomed by Staffordshire’s Conservative hopeful.

Matthew Ellis says the new website, launched by national think-tank Policy Exchange, will help to raise awareness of the new position and inform electors about the candidates standing.  He said, “The new PCC is a major change to the way policing in Staffordshire will be governed meaning the majority of people are unclear how it will affect them or even that it’s happening.”

The election for the new post, which will cover the whole of Staffordshire, including Stoke, will be on November 15th and is the largest election ever held in the county with over a million people eligible to vote.  As a Crown Servant’s position, the successful candidate will swear an Oath of Office to be impartial and fair and will have power over strategic policing policy, the budget, and setting the amount people pay towards Staffordshire’s police service through council tax.

The PCC will also be responsible for improving the way victims are supported and making the whole system around policing and the prevention of crime work more effectively.  The Commissioner will set the priorities for policing across Staffordshire and have the power to replace the Chief Constable if needed.  They will be accountable to a statutory committee, which will include local, City and County Councillors as well as lay members of the public.

Mr Ellis believes that the new democratic accountability will result in the public having a louder voice in how the police operate in their area,

“During the last three weeks I’ve talked to hundreds of people about the November election across all parts of Staffordshire and it’s been encouraging that once clear about what it means they are broadly supportive of the new role.  It’s not about the PCC running the police, that’s the Chief Constable’s job, but it is about ensuring local policy set by the PCC better reflects the public’s view in local areas.  It means for the first time ever that local people will have the power to support or vote out of office the person elected every 4 years depending on how the police service is performing.”

The new website www.PoliceElections.com 30,000 people visit it during its first day and provides information on the elections and those standing in every area across the UK.  You can also make your views known on policing in Staffordshire at www.tellmatthew.org.