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41 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 15.1% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 The 41 police force areas within England and Wales where elections were held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2012 police and crime commissioner elections were polls held in most police areas in England and Wales on Thursday 15 November.[1][2] The direct election of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) was originally scheduled for May 2012[3] but was postponed in order to secure the passage of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 through the House of Lords.[4] The government considers the elected commissioners to have a stronger mandate than the "unelected and invisible police authorities that they replace".[5] The elections took place alongside by-elections for the House of Commons in Cardiff South and Penarth, Corby and Manchester Central, and a mayoral election in Bristol.
Police and crime commissioner elections were for 41 of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales;[6] only the City of London Police and Metropolitan Police were not involved (the elected Mayor of London is classed as the police and crime commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Area, while the Court of Common Council fulfils the role for the City Police).[7] Elections for police and crime commissioners did not take place in Scotland or Northern Ireland as policing and justice powers are devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
The elections were marked by very low turnouts, between 10 and 20%, and numbers of spoilt votes (somewhat higher than other elections under the same voting system),[8][9] sparking a debate about their legitimacy and organisation.[10] The day after the election, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke suggested that, because of the low turnout and high number of spoilt ballot papers, there was no popular mandate for the new commissioners. The Electoral Commission said that it would be reviewing the results.[11]
- ^ "New Act puts public at the heart of policing". Home Office Service. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ "Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, Chapter 6, Holding of elections". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "First elections for Police Commissioners set to take place in May 2012". ConservativeHome. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ Stratton, Allegra (6 September 2011). "Lib Dem peers allow elected police commissioners scheme to go ahead". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ Written answers HANSARD Theyworkforyou.com
- ^ "Section 156, Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill". Parliament.uk. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
- ^ "London". Police and Crime Commissioners. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ Renwick, Alan (18 November 2012). "Spoilt Ballots in the PCC Elections: What Do the Numbers Tell Us?". Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Reading. Archived from the original on 14 February 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ^ Travis, Alan (19 November 2012). "Spoilt ballots point to protest in PCC elections, study suggests". The Guardian.
- ^ "As it happened: Police election results". BBC News. 17 November 2012.
- ^ Kinder, Lucy (16 November 2012). "Police and crime commissioner elections and parliamentary by-elections: Live". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
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