A guide to the Police and Crime Commissioner elections

  • police
Police and Crime Commissioner elections will be held tomorrow in 41 police force areas across England and Wales. Credit: PA

Elections for the 41 new Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) in England and Wales will take place (excluding London) tomorrow.

The PCCs will oversee how crime is tackled in their area and aim to ensure the police are providing a good service.

They will not run the local force, but they will be responsible for holding the Chief Constable and police to account on the public's behalf.

Those who are successfully elected will take office on the 22 November and will serve for three and a half-years.

What will the role of Police and Crime Commissioner involve?

  • Appointing Chief Constables andwhere necessary dismissing them.

  • Setting out local policing priorities.

  • Deciding how the forcebudget should be spent.

  • Regularly meeting with the public to hear their views on policing.

The candidates: who is standing in your area?

Nearly 200 candidates have put themselves forward to be the first ever directly elected PCCs.

To find out who is standing in your area, and to read their election statements and pledges visit: www.choosemypcc.org.uk

Who can vote?

You can vote in this election if you are registered to vote in England or Wales, are 18 or over on15 November 2012 and are:

  • A British citizen.

  • A qualifying Commonwealth citizen.

  • A European citizen.

The voting system

In this election you can vote for a first and second choice.

If no candidate gets a majority of first preference votes, the top two candidates go on to a second round when second preference votes are allocated to them to produce a winner.

Here is a quick video guide:

Why is London not included?

London is not taking part as Boris Johnson is a directly-elected mayor, who acts as the police and crime commissioner for the Metropolitan Police area.

Other useful links: