Matt Storey sets out aims as new PCC for Cleveland
Matt Storey begun his office as Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Cleveland on Thursday 9 May.
Last updated 12th May 2024
Labour candidate Matt Storey beat former Conservative PCC Steve Turner to take over the role in the recent local elections.
Storey received 65,418 votes, while Turner picked up 58,977 votes.
Matt told us he wants to make community policing a priority, as the force have lost 500 officers since 2010.
He says he wants to “get back to real neighbourhood policing and make sure people know who their officers are.
Then, we can tackle crimes in peoples communities more effectively.”
Matt wants the force to be outstanding, and not “set the bar as low as being out of special measures.
We can do better than that and I want to aspire to more.”
Cleveland Police were taken out of special measures in September 2023, after they had been under the oversight of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) since April 2019.
Cleveland Police says Matt Storey’s new role means “he is responsible for holding the Chief Constable to account for how he discharges his functions.
The aim of all PCCs is to ensure the delivery of an effective and efficient police service in their force area.
PCCs are responsible for ‘the totality of policing’ – i.e. all policing and not just parts of it).
However, they “must not fetter the operational independence of the police force and the Chief Constable who leads it.”