The election of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham will take place on Thursday 2 May 2024.

This area of our website contains detail of the forthcoming election and information which may be useful to prospective candidates.  This page will be updated with relevant information as it becomes available.

A familiarisation session for prospective candidates will be delivered and details of the session will be published in due course.

‍INFORMATION ABOUT THE ELECTION PROCESS

John Hewitt, the Chief Executive of Durham County Council, has been appointed as the County Durham and Darlington Police Area Returning Officer (PARO) for the PCC election on Thursday, 2 May 2024.

He will have overall responsibility for co-ordinating and running the election across the whole of the county, although local Returning Officers at District/Borough level will have responsibility for overseeing arrangements in their areas.

Detail of the election process and the prospective candidates will be available on the PARO website:
-For general enquiries relating to PCC elections, please email  electoralservices@durham.gov.uk

Information on voting is available from the Electoral Commission.

The safety of candidates is paramount. During an election period, as candidates you are subject to heightened public exposure, this can bring with it a number of pressures both on themselves and those close to them.

HMG has issued a joint video regarding the safety and security of candidates for forthcoming elections, which is available to view here.

It highlights where you can access relevant security advice and guidance that may be helpful to you during an election period and beyond, and promotes three key security messages, “be alert, plan ahead, and know what to do”.

USEFUL DOCUMENTS FOR CANDIDATES
In the interests of openness and transparency the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) will publish all questions and requests for information made by prospective candidates in anonymised format. The Q&A document will continue to be populated until the date of the election.

Andrea Petty, Chief of Staff and Monitoring Officer is the single point of contact for candidates who wish to access Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner/Durham Constabulary information. She can be contacted on andrea.petty@durham-pcc.gov.uk  

In her absence the Deputy Monitoring Officer, Sweety Sahani can be contacted on sweety.sahani@durham.gov.uk

Guidance for Candidates 
Guidance for Police Officers and Police Staff 

A PCC Candidate Briefing pack is being developed in conjunction with the Force. A list of questions asked by candidates and the answers is provided below and will be updated as questions are submitted.

Contact Log

The Independent Custody Visiting Association has produced the following briefing note for PCC candidates.
They will also host an online engagement event for candidates prior to the election, which can be found at https://icva.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ICVA-PCC-briefing-2024.pdf