Explainer
Police and Crime Commissioner elections: Who is standing in Wales and how effective is the role?
On Thursday May 2, elections will take place that will shape the future of policing in Wales.
While residents across some part of the United Kingdom will take part in local council elections or mayoral elections, Wales will only have polls for the next Police and Crime Commissioners.
ITV Wales' Sharp End explains what these elections entail and why they are different this year.
What are Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)?
PCCs have been part of the Welsh landscape since 2012. They set the police budget, they employ the Chief Constable and they work closely with councils and community organisations on police plans.
Wales has four Police and Crime Commissioners - one for each policing area. North Wales, Dyfed Powys, South Wales and Gwent.
Who is standing in the May 2024 election?
Each of the four main parties in Wales - Labour, Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrats are fielding candidates in each area.
What is the turnout of Police and Crime Commissioner elections?
The last time PCC elections took place in Wales on their own (without local council elections at the same time) turnout was just 14.9%.
The last two PCC elections coincided with the Senedd elections and turnout was a lot higher.
In 2021, the highest turnout was in Dyfed-Powys (50.6%), North Wales (45.4%), South Wales (43.9%) and Gwent (41%).
ITV Wales asked members of the public what they think of the upcoming polls.
"I won't be voting, I don't think it's a valid reason to vote," one said.
Another told our reporter: "It's really hard to have an opinion, I've had no information through my front door. So I've been thinking 'will I or won't I vote?' Because I know nothing about the candidates."
A third constituent added: "When the government seems to be short of money, in various areas, it seems a lot of money to spend on the position and the election process, it's so costly. Just seems like a bit of a waste of time."
What is different this time?
Unlike previous elections in Wales, this will be the first time voter ID is required.
Jess Blair, Director of Electoral Reform Society Cymru, said it's the "biggest change for a really long time."
She added: "That presents a massive risk. A lot of people don't have access to voter ID.
"A lot of the ID that is accepted - driver's license and passport - costs money to get. So it's a bit of a discriminatory policy."
How effective are Police and Crime Commissioners?
"It's really difficult to say," according to Professor Martin Innes, Director of the Crime and Security Research Institute at Cardiff University.
He told Sharp End: "The whole system is designed to generate local plans and local solutions. So different Police and Crime Commissioners are doing different things.
"My broad assessment would be - looking across England and Wales - I think about a third of Police and Crime Commissioners have been effective, a third have been average and a third really haven't made a significant impact in terms of changing the delivery of policing on the ground."
What challenges will the elected Police and Crime Commissioners face?
Prof Innes said: "The biggest priority is trying to restore public trust and confidence, and to do that against a very challenging political and economic climate, where no doubt policing will be highly contentious.
"At the same time where everybody is grappling with the new kinds of crime that are coming through like online harms and cyber fraud."
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