Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset

Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset
Post	Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset
Body	Avon and Somerset
Formation	2012

Contents

Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset is an elected official responsible for setting strategic priorities for policing in the Avon and Somerset Constabulary area, collaborating with institutions such as Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Panel, Home Office (United Kingdom), West of England Combined Authority and regional partners including Bristol City Council, North Somerset Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council. The post interfaces with national frameworks like the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, engages with civil society organisations such as Victim Support and Citizens Advice, and coordinates with emergency services including Ambulance Service (England) and South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

Role and responsibilities

The role encompasses setting the strategic police and crime plan in consultation with stakeholders including Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency, Devon and Cornwall Police and Wiltshire Police; appointing and, if necessary, dismissing the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary; and allocating resources alongside bodies such as the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Panel and local authorities like Bristol City Council. The commissioner commissions victim services from organisations including Victim Support, oversees performance metrics used by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, and represents the police area at national fora such as meetings with the Home Secretary (UK), Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs' Council.

The office was created under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, part of reforms pursued by the Conservative Party (UK) and Liberal Democrats (UK) coalition government led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg. The inaugural elections in 2012 followed pilot schemes and debates involving organisations such as Association of Chief Police Officers and Local Government Association. The establishment replaced police authorities composed of councillors from bodies like Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council, shifting accountability toward a single directly elected figure, a change contested by groups including Trades Union Congress and civil liberty advocates such as Liberty (UK civil liberties organisation).

Elections follow rules set by the Representation of the People Act 1983 and subsequent electoral regulations overseen by the Electoral Commission (United Kingdom). Prominent officeholders have engaged with political parties including the Conservative Party (UK), Labour Party (UK), Liberal Democrats (UK), and independent candidates backed by local campaigns such as those linked to Green Party of England and Wales activists. Commissioners have campaigned on platforms addressing issues raised in reports by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and inquiries like those conducted by Independent Office for Police Conduct, with turnout and mandate debated in the context of national contests such as United Kingdom general election cycles.

Statutory powers derive from the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and oversight is provided by the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Panel, panels constituted under guidance from the Home Office (United Kingdom). The commissioner holds the power to set precepts consistent with the Local Government Finance Act 1992 framework and to hold the Chief Constable to account via performance frameworks aligned with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services inspections and recommendations from bodies like the Crown Prosecution Service. Accountability mechanisms include scrutiny by elected members from Bristol City Council, North Somerset Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council, judicial review through the High Court of Justice and complaints lodged with the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The commissioner sets budgets funded through the policing precept component of Council Tax (England and Wales) and grants from the Home Office (United Kingdom), with allocations to the Avon and Somerset Constabulary for frontline policing, specialist units that may collaborate with National Crime Agency, and commissioned services such as victim support providers including Victim Support. Financial oversight is subject to audit by the National Audit Office frameworks and local audit bodies that interface with statutory instruments including the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Capital and revenue decisions affect assets like police estates in Bristol, Bath, Taunton and training arrangements linked to institutions such as College of Policing.

Commissioners often launch initiatives addressing priorities from counterterrorism liaison with MI5 and Counter Terrorism Policing to community safety projects in partnership with local authorities and charities such as Churches Together in England and St John Ambulance. Policy areas include responses to organized crime where collaboration with National Crime Agency and neighbouring forces such as Gloucestershire Constabulary is common, specialist approaches to domestic abuse in line with guidance from Crown Prosecution Service and public health partnerships with NHS England. Commissioners commission innovation through programmes involving the College of Policing, adoption of digital policing tools promoted by Home Office (United Kingdom) initiatives, and victim services shaped by evidence from organisations such as Victim Support and academic partners including University of Bristol.

The office has faced scrutiny over matters including decisions on chief officer appointments and dismissals, budgetary priorities contested by councils like Bristol City Council, and handling of complaints referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Critics such as Liberty (UK civil liberties organisation) and trade unions including the Police Federation of England and Wales have debated the democratic legitimacy and politicisation of policing introduced by the role, echoing wider controversies seen in national debates involving the Home Office (United Kingdom), parliamentary committees such as the Home Affairs Select Committee, and landmark inquiries like those by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

Category:Law enforcement in England