A Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is responsible for policing across the county (covering both the Dorset Council and BCP Council areas). Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are elected every four years. The last election was in May 2016, with the elections that were due to be held in May 2020 being postponed by 12 months to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the next PCC term will be three years.
The incumbent PCC, Martyn Underhill, has announced his retirement and is not seeking re-election.
Elections for PCCs are taking place on Thursday, 6th May 2021 in England. You have one week left to apply to vote via proxy (allocating someone you trust to vote on your behalf), Click HERE.
If voting in person, the three polling districts in the Broadwindsor Parish Council area will be :
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MAR2 – Comrades Hall, Broadwindsor
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MAR3 – Village Hall, Drimpton
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MAR4 – Village Hall, Blackdown
The role of the Police and Crime Commissioner is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account. They are responsible for the totality of policing.
The PCC aims to cut crime and deliver an effective and efficient police service within their force area.
The PCC has been elected by the public to hold Chief Constables and the force to account, effectively making the police answerable to the communities they serve.
The PCC ensures community needs are met as effectively as possible, and are improving local relationships through building confidence and restoring trust. They work in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level to ensure there is a unified approach to preventing and reducing crime.
Under the terms of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, the PCC must:
- secure an efficient and effective police for their area;
- appoint the Chief Constable, hold them to account for running the force, and if necessary dismiss them;
- set the police and crime objectives for their area through a police and crime plan;
- set the force budget and determine the precept;
- contribute to the national and international policing capabilities set out by the Home Secretary; and
- bring together community safety and criminal justice partners, to make sure local priorities are joined up.
The Candidates:
- Patrick Canavan – Labour and Co-operative Party.
- Dan Hardy – Independent.
- Mark Andrew Robson – Liberal Democrats.
- Claire Seymour – Green Party.
- David Sidwick – The Conservative Party Candidate
Download the Pdf document containing all the candidates’ election statements & contact details HERE.
- Thursday, 6 May 2021: Election day
- Friday, 7 May 2021: Count and declaration of result
- Wednesday, 12 May 2021: Term of incumbent PCC ceases
- Thursday, 13 May 2021: Newly elected PCC takes office
Graham Farrant is the Police Area Returning Officer responsible for coordinating the election and announcing the result in Dorset. He can be contacted at: Elections Office, BCP Council, Town Hall, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6DY. Email: candidates.agents@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) is a company limited by guarantee providing a range of services to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including:
- information on national policing policy and legislation;
- support on the development of PCC policy, and to influence national policy decisions;
- facilitation of PCC’s membership of national governance structures, including the College of Policing, the National Crime Agency, the Police ICT Company and other national police bodies;
- assistance in helping PCCs collaborate to share practice, procure services and identify ways to achieve efficiencies by working together.
All 41 PCCs are members of the APCC, as are the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (overseeing the Metropolitan Police), and the governing bodies that oversee:
- the British Transport Police;
- the Civil Nuclear Constabulary;
- the Ministry of Defence Police;
- the City of London Police.
PCCs are expected to adhere to the Seven Principles of Public Life, as determined and published by the Nolan Committee – the ‘Nolan Principles‘ (Click HERE). Each PCC publishes their own Code of Conduct but the APCC has drawn up an ethical framework (Click HERE), which was led and developed by Police and Crime Commissioners themselves and which includes a template Code for PCCs to adopt if they wish.
Are you registered to vote?
If you need to register to vote (this might be because you have recently moved to a new address) you can register to vote online – Click HERE. (Note: to vote in this PCC election, you would need to have done this before midnight on Monday 19 April. You can still register for future elections.)
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