New Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire

It follows the resignation of Philip Allott last month (October)

Author: May NormanPublished 26th Nov 2021

The new North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner's been announced.

Conservative Zoe Metcalfe won the by-election with 41,760 votes, beating competition from four other candidates.

They will now oversee police and fire services here in North Yorkshire.

It's the second time in six months the county voted for a new commissioner following the resignation of Philip Allott.

He stood down from the role in October after comments he made following murder of North Yorkshire woman Sarah Everard.

He apologised - but it led to public complaints and a vote of no confidence by the county's crime panel.

Turnout low

Turnout for the by-election was exceptionally low - with only 89,973 votes cast.

That is only 13.94% of those eligible to vote.

For the May 2021 elections, the turnout was 25.33%.

What is a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner?

North Yorkshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner is responsible for overseeing how crime and community safety are tackled in the county, and for providing services for victims of crime.

In addition, they are also there to hold the Chief Constable to account, to decide the police budget and how much council tax is charged for policing.

Their role also overseas monitoring the police budget and ensuring it is spent efficiently.

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