Police and Crime Commissioner Elections 2021

About the elections

Police and Crime Commissioners were created in England and Wales by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, with the first Police and Crime Commissioner Elections taking place on 15 November 2012, followed by elections in May 2016.

The Election was due to take place in 2020; however, due to COVID-19, these were postponed to 6 May 2021.

The PCC Elections take place in 40 police force areas in England and Wales (excluding London and Manchester). Each area has one Police and Crime Commissioner for its police area.

In Wales, there are four police areas, with each area electing a Police and Crime Commissioner. The four Welsh police areas are:

• Dyfed Powys
• Gwent
• North Wales
• South Wales

The Gwent Police Area covers 5 voting areas:

• Blaenau Gwent
• Caerphilly
• Monmouth
• Torfaen
• Newport

Michelle Morris is the Police Area Returning Officer for the Gwent Police Area for the May 2021 PCC Elections, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the PCC election including:

• liaising with Local Returning Offices in the Gwent Police Area
• giving notice of the Election
• the nomination procedure
• encouraging participation
• ensuring that the requirements as to the content of the candidates’ election addresses and the
• procedures for submitting those addresses are complied with
• the collation of local totals and calculation of the result
• the declaration of the result

The Local Returning Officer is responsible within their voting area for:

• ensuring the election is administered effectively
• the provisions of polling stations
• the printing of ballot papers
• the conduct of the poll
• appointing polling station staff
• managing the postal vote process
• the verification and count in their voting area
• transmission of the local totals to the Police Area Returning Officer

For further information about the role of a Police and Crime Commission please see: https://www.gwent.pcc.police.uk/en/home/

The Role of the Police and Crime Commissioner

The Police and Crime Commissioner is responsible for:

• Holding the Police Force to account
• Appointing Chief Constables and dismissing them (if necessary
• Setting police budgets
• Setting the amount of Council Tax people will pay towards policing
• Setting out policing priorities for the local area
• Overseeing how crime is tackled in the area and setting aims to ensure the police are providing a good service
• Meeting and consulting the public regularly, to listen to their views on policing
• Producing a police and crime plan that sets out local policing priorities
• Deciding how the budget will be spent

Electoral Services

Telephone Number:  01495 355086/88
The General Offices, Steelworks Road, Ebbw Vale NP23 6DN
Email Address:   electoralservices@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk