Race to be Norfolk's next police and crime commissioner begins

The race to become Norfolk's next police and crime commissioner is under way.

The deadline for candidates to put their names forward to be included in the vote has now passed.

Voters across Norfolk will be able to take part in the poll on Thursday, 2 May with the results expected to be announced on Friday, 3 May.

There are four candidates representing the Conservative, Green, Liberal Democrat and Labour parties.

The police and crime commissioner role was created in 2011, and the responsibilities of those elected include appointing and dismissing chief constables, setting force budgets, and supporting the needs of victims of crime.

The last election was held in 2021. It should have been in 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In previous years, if one candidate did not win more than 50% of the vote, the count would go to another round in which voters' second choices were counted.

This year there will be a first-past-the-post system, in which the candidate with the most votes will be elected.

John Crofts spent his working life in education, retiring after 13 years as a headmaster in Hunstanton.

Mr Crofts, who lives in Ringstead, near Hunstanton, is currently the Norfolk county councillor for the Freebridge Lynn division.

He stood for the Liberal Democrats in the PCC election in 2021, coming third with 31,666 votes.

His priorities for policing in the county include restoring what he calls "proper community policing".

He is also calling for a guarantee that all burglaries will be attended by police and properly investigated, as well as increased support for victims of violence against women and girls.

Giles Orpen-Smellie is Norfolk's current PCC, having been elected in 2021 with a total of 119,994 votes when first and second-choice votes were added together.

He is standing for re-election for a second term.

Mr Orpen-Smellie is a former army officer who served with the Parachute Regiment for 34 years.

If elected for a second term, Mr Orpen-Smellie plans to increase visible policing to make streets safer, especially for women and girls walking alone.

He said: "I served 34 years in the army so I understand the vocational, non-political, nature of serving the public.

"The police and public should go forward together."

Martin Schmierer has been a Green city councillor in Norwich for eight years, serving as Lord Mayor of Norwich in 2018-19.

He stood as the Green candidate in the Norfolk PCC elections in both 2016 and 2021.

In 2016, he came in sixth place with 776 votes. In 2021, he came fourth with 23,469 votes.

He believes police cannot "arrest their way out of the problems they are facing" and is calling for the immediate introduction of safe consumption rooms to tackle the number of drug-related deaths in the county.

He said: "I would be a strong advocate for changing our nation's drug policy to meet the realities of the age we live in."

Sarah Taylor lives in Dereham and currently represents the Dereham Toftwood ward on Breckland District Council.

Ms Taylor is a director at a global engineering consultancy and is described by her team as a national expert in road safety.

Her priorities for policing in Norfolk include making roads and streets safer for everyone, as well as tackling violence against women and girls.

She said: "While most of us understand that resources are stretched, we must have a PCC who strongly advocates for our communities' needs, and works hard to make sure that those needs are met."

To vote in the election, people must be registered by midnight on Tuesday, 16 April.

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