Police and Crime Commissioner Elections
The election of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Cambridgeshire took place on Thursday 2 May 2024.
Darryl Preston was re-elected as Police and Crime Commissioner on Friday 3rd May, 2024.
This page contains details of the election, relevant key documents and information which may be of use to members of the public.
Information about the Election Process
The Cabinet Office organised the election. The Chief Executive of East Cambridgeshire District Council, John Hill, was appointed as the Police Area Returning Officer (PARO) for Cambridgeshire for the 2024 PCC elections.
You need to be a registered voter in order to take part in this election. Visit here for more information.
We also use this page to publish questions, responses and requests made for information by prospective candidates. This has been anonymised.
The role of Police and Crime Commissioners
PCCs are elected by the public to hold the Chief Constable and the force to account, effectively making the police answerable to the communities they serve.
PCCs work in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level to ensure there is a co-ordinated approach to preventing and reducing crime.
Under the terms of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, PCCs must:
- secure an efficient and effective police service 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.
Information about the role of a Police and Crime Commissioner
Please see below several helpful links regarding the roles and responsibilities of Police and Crime Commissioners.
Guide to PCCs' duties to run an Independent Custody Visiting Scheme.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Joint PCC Election Protocol 2024
APACCE PCC Election Guidance 2024
Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Pre-Election Guidance
Candidate questions
What measures are being put in place to address the significant delays in firearms licencing renewal applications? The process should take around 12 weeks and currently there are backlogs of up to a year. Will your force be setting up an Independent Advisory Group, where key stakeholders can give feedback to the force on its decisions and performance with respect to firearms licensing? As firearms licencing is an administrative rather than an operational function, if elected you would have a vital role in the allocation of resources and accountability for your Chief Constable’s performance?
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) acknowledges the concerns raised regarding the delays in firearms licencing renewal applications and has been actively engaging with the Chief Constable to address this matter promptly. Both the PCC and the Chief Constable are fully aware of the issue and the Chief Constable is implementing measures to improve the situation.
The delays stem from the implementation of new Statutory Guidance by the Home Office in February 2023, coupled with updated professional practice standards from the College of Policing in August 2023 following tragic cases involving firearms licence holders, including the Plymouth shootings . These changes introduced additional requirements for assessing the suitability of applicants for firearms licenses, leading to a surge in demand on licensing units across all police forces, including Cambridgeshire.
Efforts are underway to enhance the capacity of the combined Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire firearms licencing unit to meet these new demands, including additional recruitment, and the allocation of additional budgetary resources, which have now been made permanent in the 2024/25 budget. Furthermore, the introduction of a new case management system and the establishment of an Independent Advisory Group are planned, aimed at streamlining processes and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
The PCC allocates the entirety of funding to the Chief Constable, the allocation of resources between both operational and non-operational functions is a matter for the Chief Constable and not for the PCC.
We understand the importance of timely processing of applications and give assurance that every effort is being made to address the situation. Please be assured that this matter remains a priority, and we are committed to achieving a satisfactory resolution.
- A FOI has shown that a policy is in place that allows male officers to strip search women. What is the current policy regarding an officer strip searching someone who is a different sex?
- Is all crime data recorded by sex, the Protected Characteristic in the Equality Act, not ‘gender’? If not, why not?
- Does policy and practice currently refer to sex or gender?
All of the matters raised fall within the sole remit of the Chief Constable. However, it is one of the roles of the PCC to raise concerns from the public with the Chief Constable about any policing policy and practices.
As we understand it, the position of Cambridgeshire Constabulary regarding the matters raised is as follows:
- Cambridgeshire Constabulary abides by the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act that clearly states in paragraph 3.6 that any search involving more than searching outer coat, jacket, gloves, headwear, or footwear (regardless of whether they are removed or not) must be conducted by officers of the same sex. If an officer were to identify as the opposite gender to the sex they were born as Cambridgeshire Constabulary follows guidance given in the BCH (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire) Trans and Non-Binary Policy, which adopted the principles within the NPCC guidance that a trans officer would search a person of the same lived gender. Our position continues to be subject to on-going internal review and discussion within Cambridgeshire Constabulary and across the in the Tri-Force (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire) collaboration whilst we await further guidance from the NPCC.
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Cambridgeshire Constabulary state they use the self-defined ethnicity and gender when recording. As with any analysis, there is context behind any numbers therefore no conclusions would be established based on numbers alone.
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Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s searching policies refer to gender.