THREE VIE FOR COMMISSIONER JOB
Elections will take place next month
VOTERS across Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire will soon get to choose who will oversee the police and fire and rescue services over the next four years.
The election for Staffordshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner will take place on Thursday, May 2, with three candidates in the running.
They are Ben Adams, of the Conservatives, Alec Sandiford, of the Liberal Democrats and Alastair Watson, of the Labour Party.
Police and crime commissioners, introduced in 2012, are responsible for ensuring local police meet the needs of the community, through setting budgets, appointing chief constables and deciding on policing objectives.
Staffordshire is one of a number of areas where the commissioner performs a similar role overseeing the fire and rescue service.
This will be the fourth time a commissioner election has taken place in Staffordshire, with Conservative candidates winning on all three previous occasions. Turnout, while initially very low, increased to 28.9 per cent in 2021, which is comparable to local elections in the area.
Whoever wins the election will assume responsibility for a police force that has been in ‘special measures’ since 2022, after inspectors raised concerns over the way it responded to the public and how it investigated crimes. But following recent improvement there are indications that this status will be removed next month.
The commissioner is responsible for setting the police and fire and rescue budgets, which includes setting council tax precepts. This year the two budgets add up to a £314.8 million. Band D households in Stoke-on-trent or Staffordshire are currently charged a policing council tax precept of £273.57 a year, and a fire precept of £86.77 a year.
The commissioner is also responsible for appointing Staffordshire’s chief constable and chief fire officer, and for holding them to account for the performance of their services. They set the policing and fire and rescue objectives, and commission services to reduce crime and support victims, but they are not permitted to interfere with operational matters.
Staffordshire Police had 1,964 officers in March 2023, up from 1,832 the previous year, but still down on the 2,315 officers the force had in 2007. Figures for 2023 show that crime overall was up 11 per cent on 2019/20, while anti-social behaviour was 47 per cent down.