Ben Adams has been elected as the new Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire and Rescue and Crime after beating four other candidates.
The result has just been announced at the count in Burton-on-Trent, with Mr Adams getting 136,024 votes, with an overall turnout of 28.90%.
Mr Adams has served previously as a district and county councillor and has stood as a parliamentary candidate in Stoke-on-Trent.
He said:
‘I am honoured the people of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have put their faith in me to help our police and fire and rescue services keep them safe.
‘I can’t wait to get started and ensure that local people’s concerns and priorities are heard and acted upon. I know that local taxpayers want their hard-earned money used to support the frontline police and fire and rescue effort, and that this is felt directly by communities.
‘I will be looking for more opportunities to share resources between police and fire, building on recent successes at Hanley and Tamworth, where the two services now work well and efficiently alongside each other.
‘I’d like to thank everyone who has helped and supported me and look forward to delivering on the trust that has been placed in me.’
Mr Adams will officially take up the role next week when he signs an oath to both services on Friday, May 14. This will be live streamed from Fire and Police Hanley on the Commissioner’s website.
The role of the Staffordshire Commissioner is to be the voice of the people and hold our police and fire and rescue services to account. They are responsible for commissioning effective support services for victims of crime and working with councils, health services, criminal justice and other authorities to help prevent crime, fires and accidents.
There are 39 Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales, only four of which, including the Staffordshire Commissioner, are also Fire Commissioners.
Key functions and responsibilities include:
- engaging with the public and victims of crime to help set the policing priorities for the area and consulting on the local Police and Crime Plan;
- setting the fire and rescue objectives for their area through a local Fire and Rescue Plan;
- ensuring the police force and fire and rescue service budgets are spent where it matters most;
- appointing the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer, holding them to account for delivery of their objectives and if necessary, dismissing them.
The Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer are responsible for the day-to-day operations, but are accountable to the public via the Commissioner.
