Labour Commissioner candidates revealed

Deputy Leaderof the Labour Party, Harriet Harman, has launched Labour's Police and Crime Commissioner (P&CC) candidates for the East of England.

On November 15, 2012, members of the public will be able to vote for who they would like to fill the position, with the successful candidate taking up office on November 22, 2012.

The idea of the P&CC is to scrutinise,support and challenge the force’s performance and hold the chief constable to account.

During their four-year term the P&CC will work with partners including local authorities, health services and the criminal justice system to tackle crime and disorder and create a Police and Crime Plan.

Here is a list of the Labour candidates.

BEDFORDSHIRE: Olly Martins

Olly Martins worked for Victim Support for eight years, giving him extensive experience of working with the victims of crime. Previously he served on the management committee of a Citizens Advice Bureau and ran his own business. Olly serves as a reservist in the Territorial Army and previously served as a councillor.

*CAMBRIDGESHIRE: Ed Murphy *

Ed Murphy is a Peterborough City Councillor and former chair of the Joint Cambridgeshire District and County Crime Reduction Panel. When a Cambridgeshire County Councillor he was the Labour and Co-operative Group spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Constabulary, responsible for setting budgets and recruiting a Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constables. He was Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Peterborough at the 2010 General Election and is currently a Governor of the Cambridgeshireand Peterborough Foundation Trust.

*ESSEX: Val Morris-Cook *

Val Morris-Cook is the Deputy Leader of Thurrock Council, where she has worked to tackle anti-social behaviour and on improving the council's engagement with the public. As a senior manager for a multi-national company she has extensive experience of financial and human resources management. She previously ran her own company and launched a local charity.

*HERTFORDSHIRE: Sherma Baston *

Sherma Batson was a member of Hertfordshire Police Authority from 2005 to 2009. While there she helped establish the Authority's Diversity Engagement Forum. After leaving the post she was elected elected chair of the forum by authority members. In this role she contributed to shaping policing priorities through a dialogue between the authority and the constabulary. Sherma previously served as a Hertfordshire County Councillor and is now a Stevenage Borough.

NORFOLK: Steve Morphew

Steve Morphew is former Leader of Norwich City Council. He has worked for a number of years as a consultant on human resources to charities and not for profit organisations. He spent eight years as a Non-Executive Director of Norfolk and Norwich University NHS Trust, including chairing the audit committee and has served as a board member of a number of charities and strategic planning partnerships.

SUFFOLK: Jane Basham

Jane Basham worked for several years as a Personnel Manager at Suffolk Police. More recently she was the Chief Executive of the Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality. In this role she developed the nationally recognised community led 'Stop and Search' reference group.