Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were introduced in 2012 to give local people a stronger voice in policing.
A PCC does not run the police day to day. That is the job of the Chief Constable. Instead, the PCC sets the overall policing priorities for the county, agrees the police budget and council tax precept, commissions services for victims of crime, and holds the Chief Constable to account on behalf of the public. They are also expected to work with councils, health services, schools and community organisations to help reduce crime and improve community safety.
Police and Crime Commissioners are elected by the public every four years using the first-past-the-post voting system, but because the previous PCC resigned we are having a by-election in July. At that election, everyone registered to vote in Norfolk has the opportunity to choose who will represent them in overseeing policing across the county.
The Green Party’s position
The Green Party believes policing should be independent, impartial and free from unnecessary political influence.
While the current system of directly elected PCCs is the law, we do not believe it is the best way to provide democratic oversight of policing and we would have preferred this election not to have taken place, which is set to cost Norfolk taxpayers c.£2million.
Our preference instead is for the role to be replaced by a strengthened, genuinely cross-party Police and Crime Panel made up of councillors from across the political spectrum, alongside independent members. Such panels already exist to scrutinise the work of PCCs, and we believe they could provide transparent, collaborative oversight without concentrating so much responsibility in a single elected politician.
However, as long as the role exists, it matters who holds it.
What’s at stake at this election?
The choice isn’t between having a PCC or not. That decision rests with Parliament and this role will be abolished by 2028. However, the choice facing Norfolk voters today is who will exercise those powers.
If elected, I would use the office differently. Rather than seeking to treat it as a narrow party-political platform, I would see myself as a public servant: working constructively with every council, parties across the political spectrum and of course the Norfolk Constabulary, but also community organisations and residents to make our county safer. I would be open, transparent and collaborative, always putting evidence and the interests of Norfolk’s communities ahead of party politics.
I want to show that it’s possible to hold the police to account without politicising policing—and to demonstrate that a Green approach means working with communities, preventing crime before it happens, and ensuring everyone has confidence in their local police service.
Please first vote for Martin Schmierer and the Green Party on July 16th.