Welcome to David Jamieson, our new Police and Crime Commissioner.
A quick post this one to congratulate Labour’s David Jamieson on his success in the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner election and to welcome him to the new role.
David fills the vacancy left by the late Bob Jones and will work alongside our Chief Constable, Chris Sims, acting to oversee how the force is run.
As you may have noticed from the press coverage following the announcement of the results, voter turnout was somewhat lower than many people had been hoping.
In fact, if you happen to be reading this blog in the company of nine friends or family (hello everyone – gather closer!), statistically only one of you likely cast a vote.
Read into this statistic what you will but I think more than anything else, it suggests people are not yet familiar with what the Police and Crime Commissioner’s role is.
They’re not ‘in charge’ of their police force as such, rather it’s their role to hold the force to account, to set budgets and outline the force’s priorities.
The Police and Crime Commissioner is there to scrutinise the performance of the Chief Constable and his or her force, he or she also has the power to dismiss a Chief Constable if necessary.
You can find out more about our new Police and Crime Commissioner on his website where you can also find out more about the role itself too.
Furthermore, you can contact David by a variety of ways here and can meet him in person by attending one of the regular surgeries held around the West Midlands.
DC Richard Stanley 