Stephen Mark Turner (born October 1971) is the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). He was elected on 13 May 2021, for the Conservative Party.

Background

Prior to being elected as PCC for Cleveland, Steve Turner was the chief of staff for two MPs. He earlier worked for

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as a manager, but resigned in the early 1990s after accepting a police caution for handling stolen goods. Turner was elected as a

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest pa ...

Councillor for the Longbeck Ward of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council on 7 May 2015 after receiving 19.8% of the vote. Councillor at

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the local authority of Redcar and Cleveland. It is a unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional fun ...

before he defected to the Conservative Party in 2017.

Police and crime commissioner

In May 2021, Turner stood as the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate in the Cleveland PCC election and was elected after winning 54% of votes in the first round. Turner assumed the role on 13 May, replacing the acting PCC, Lisa Oldroyd. In September 2021, Labour MP Andy McDonald named Turner in parliament using

Parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...

alleging Turner was sacked from a previous employer for "systematic theft". Turner later admitted that he received a police caution in the 1990s for handling £15 of stolen goods, and voluntarily resigned from his position of store manager at

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. In November 2021, it was reported that Turner was being investigated over a historical

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

claim. The investigation was being managed by the

Independent Office for Police Conduct The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales which, since 8 January 2018, is responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wale ...

and conducted by a force external to Cleveland Police. Turner rejected calls to resign over the claim, and was not been suspended from the Conservative Party despite calls from the Labour Shadow Home Secretary

Nick Thomas-Symonds Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (born 26 May 1980) is a British academic, barrister and politician who has been Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tor ...

. In May 2022 the investigation was discontinued with no action taken against him.

Personal life

Turner is married to Redcar & Cleveland Borough Councillor Andrea Turner and has three adult sons. He is also a grandfather.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Steve Living people Police and crime commissioners in England Conservative Party (UK) councillors Conservative Party police and crime commissioners 1971 births