Labour's David Allen elected as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria

Credit Cumbria Police, Fire and crime Commissioner
David Allen, of the Labour Party, will take up the role for the next four years. Credit: Credit Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

Cumbria has a new Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner following local elections.

David Allen, of the Labour Party, will take up the role for the next four years.

He gained a majority of 13,845 votes, beating the Conservative candidate into second place.

The Conservatives have held the role since it was created in 2012.

As PFCC, David Allen will have the responsibilities of setting the Policing and Fire priorities, holding the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer to account, commissioning support services for victims of crime and also engaging with local communities to hear their views on Cumbria’s Police and Fire services.

Following the declaration, David Allen said: “I believe my background within Policing has provided me with the knowledge of what is needed in our local communities from the Police and Fire and Rescue Service, and I look forward to working with both Chiefs in developing better services for the future.

“As I have campaigned it has been clear that you want to see more visible police officers in your communities, and this will be my first priority to deliver. I will be working with the Chief Constable to ensure that this happens as quickly as possible. I will keep you informed over the next few weeks.

“I’m looking forward to starting my work to implement my other campaign priorities including: tackling anti-social behaviour through prevention with young people; working with partners to fight rural crime; properly fund the Fire and Rescue Service including providing them with the resources to tackle flooding in the county; tackling domestic abuse and sexual violence.”

Voter turnout was just under 21%.

Mr Allen worked in policing and law enforcement for over thirty years, working in Carlisle, Barrow, and Workington. He later worked for Interpol in Brussels and ended his career as Head of the UK's International Crime Bureau. He currently works for the NHS.

In to his manifesto, Mr Allen said he wants to tackle anti-social behaviour by returning named officers to every community in Cumbria, as well as fighting rural crime.

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