Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are the voice for the people, someone to lead the fight against crime, and someone to hold to account if they don’t deliver.

Their role is to represent you and your concerns, ensuring the policing needs of your community are met.

PCCs set the direction and the budget for policing. This involves:

Setting the strategic direction and accountability for policing

  • being accountable to the electorate
  • setting strategic policing priorities
  • holding the force to account through the Chief Constable
  • consulting and involving the public

Working with partners to prevent and tackle crime and re-offending

  • ensuring that the police respond effectively to public concerns and threats to public safety
  • promoting and enabling joined up working on community safety and criminal justice
  • increasing public confidence in how crime is cut and policing delivered

Invoking the voice of the public, the vulnerable and victims 

  • ensuring that public priorities are acted upon, victims are consulted and that the most vulnerable individuals are not overlooked
  • complying with the General Equality Duty under the Equality Act

Contributing to resourcing of policing response to regional and national threats

  • ensuring an effective policing contribution alongside other partners to national arrangements to protect the public from other cross-boundary threats in line with the strategic policing requirement

Ensuring value for money

  • responsible for the distribution of policing grants from central government and setting the precept raised through council tax
  • responsible for setting the budget, including the police precept component of council tax, and deciding how it should be spent
  • commissioning services from partners that will contribute to cutting crime

The Police & Crime Panel

The PCC is challenged and supported by a Police and Crime Panel, comprising 11 representatives of Suffolk’s local authorities and two co-opted members. The Panel has the role of scrutinising the performance of the PCC, and challenge and support the PCC’s activities over a range of policy areas, including the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan.