About the elections
Police and Crime Commissioners were created in England and Wales by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, with the first Police and Crime Commissioner Elections taking place on 15 November 2012, followed by elections in May 2016 with the next PCC Elections being held on 6 May 2020.
The PCC Elections take place in 40 police force areas in England and Wales (excluding London and Manchester). Each area has one Police and Crime Commissioner for its police area.
In Wales, there are four police areas, with each area electing a Police and Crime Commissioner. The four Welsh police areas are:
-
Dyfed Powys
-
Gwent
-
North Wales
-
South Wales
The South Wales Police Area covers 7 voting areas:
-
Bridgend
-
Cardiff
-
Merthyr Tydfil
-
Neath Port Talbot
-
Rhonda Cynon Taf
-
Swansea
-
The Vale of Glamorgan
With a Local Returning Officer appointed for each of the above voting areas.
Debbie Marles is the Police Area Returning Officer for the South Wales Police Area for the May 2021 PCC Elections, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the PCC election including:
-
liaising with Local Returning Offices in the South Wales Police Area
-
giving notice of the Election
-
the nomination procedure
-
encouraging participation
-
ensuring that the requirements as to the content of the candidates’ election addresses and the procedures for submitting those addresses are complied with
-
the collation of local totals and calculation of the result
-
the declaration of the result
The Local Returning Officer is responsible within their voting area for:
-
ensuring the election is administered effectively
-
the provisions of polling stations
-
the printing of ballot papers
-
the conduct of the poll
-
appointing polling station staff
-
managing the postal vote process
-
the verification and count in their voting area
-
transmission of the local totals to the Police Area Returning Officer
Verification and Count
The verification and count of the Police and Crime Commissioner will be conducted at local counting centres with the Regional Hub based at the Memo Arts Centre, 7 Gladstone Road, Barry, CF62 8NA, where the declaration of the final result of the election will be held. The process to be followed requires local declarations of the result in each local area followed by a collated overall result for South Wales Police Area.
There will be two count venues:
Memo Arts Centre
Gladstone Road
Barry
CF62 8NA
Barry Leisure Centre
Greenwood Street
Barry
CF63 4JJ
Verification and Count Venues
Timetable of Verification and Count
The verification of the Police and Crime Commissioner Election will commence from 9.00am on Friday 07 May 2021. The count will commence from 9.00am on Sunday 09 May 2021.
For further information about the role of a Police and Crime Commission please see www.southwalescommissioner.org.uk.