Your Commissioner is elected by the public and acts as your voice, holding the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer, and their services, to account and making them answerable to the communities they serve.
Commissioners work to deliver an effective and efficient Police and Fire & Rescue service while ensuring community needs are met as effectively as possible by working closely with local partners. The office works in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level to ensure there is a unified approach across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Commissioners do not run the Police and Fire & Rescue services at an operational level, but they ensure that those who are in charge are doing a good job. They decide priorities for each service, detailing them in the Police & Crime Plan and Fire & Rescue Plan, and set their budgets.
Your Commissioner
Holds the Police and Fire & Rescue services to account on your behalf
Sets local Police and Fire & Rescue priorities and their budgets
Works with local partners to join up priorities and keep communities safe
Provides a voice for local communities around their concerns
Puts in place arrangements to deliver efficient services
Funds victim support services and crime prevention services
Appoints and dismisses the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer
Contributes to national and international capabilities
Ben Adams
Staffordshire Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime Commissioner
Since 2007 he has been working for communities across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent as a district councillor in Lichfield, a county councillor in Tamworth and as a parliamentary candidate for Stoke-on-Trent North & Kidsgrove in the 2015 and 2017 general elections.
The senior council positions he held allowed him to help increase jobs, raise educational standards and improve our public services, testing policy through public consultation to ensure it meets our communities’ needs.
He knows that keeping the people of Staffordshire safe will mean working closely with many partners including social workers, schools and health professionals who can directly assist with prevention, detection, prosecution, rehabilitation and reassurance.
He is accountable to you for the performance of our Police and Fire & Rescue services. He is also responsible for developing local plans that put Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent’s safety priorities first, while ensuring the budget is spent wisely on the tools, training and support that the professionals need to keep us safe.
Louise Clayton
Chief Executive
As Chief Executive, Louise is responsible for the strategic, operational and day-to-day management needed to deliver the priorities in the Commissioner’s Police & Crime and Fire & Rescue Plans.
Louise is a Staffordshire resident, bringing to the role over 25 years’ leadership experience from both the private and public sector. Her last role with Staffordshire County
Council was as Head of Transport Operations and Future Connectivity, driving change and innovation in response to emerging national agendas.
Louise is passionate about the people and partners she works with, and creating a healthy work environment and culture that empowers individuals and high-performing teams to deliver excellent outcomes for the people and communities of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Dave Evans
Deputy Staffordshire Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime Commissioner
Dave is from Stoke-on-Trent and has lived there all his life. He has been a Stoke-on-Trent city councillor since 2015, holding positions including Chairman of Planning and the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services between 2019 and 2023.
He has also worked in the charity sector supporting young people. He believes that people deserve a chance in life, including making sure they have a safe place to live and thrive.