The Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner is the
police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by
Wiltshire Police
Wiltshire Police, formerly known as Wiltshire Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Wiltshire (including the Borough of Swindon) in South West England.
The force serves 722,000 people over an area ...
in the English county of
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. The post was created in November 2012, following an election held on 15 November 2012, and replaced the Wiltshire Police Authority. The incumbent until May 2021 was
Angus Macpherson, a
Conservative Party candidate.
The PCC's office is within Wiltshire Police headquarters,
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...
.
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the election due to be held in May 2020 was postponed to 6 May 2021, as were all other local elections.
The incumbent PCC is Philip Wilkinson, who was elected on 19 August 2021,
following a re-run of the May 2021 election.
List of Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioners
2021 election re-run
Jonathon Seed, the Conservative candidate, withdrew from the contest in the interval between the vote and the count when it emerged that (if elected) he would be disbarred owing to a spent conviction for drink driving.
Seed said he had been advised by his party that the offence would not affect his application and that he had believed he was eligible, although it was reported that Conservative headquarters were unaware of the offence until a few days before the count.
Seed went on to win the election on second preferences.
Wiltshire Police asked Thames Valley Police to investigate the candidacy, "to ensure independent oversight and to remove any potential conflict of interest". Seed was later charged with making a false declaration. He chose to be tried by jury and his case was set to be heard on 18 July 2022. The
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal advi ...
decided to discontinue the case in June 2022, and the following month a 'not guilty' verdict was recorded at Oxford Crown Court.
The cost of a rerun election was expected to be more than £1m. The re-run was held on 19 August 2021. Legislation states that the office becomes vacant two months after a person elected to the office fails to deliver their acceptance (i.e. on 12 July) and requires an election to be held within the subsequent 35 days. To cover the vacancy between 12 July and 19 August, the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel appointed Kieran Kilgallen, Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, as acting Police and Crime Commissioner.
See also
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References
External links
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{{Current Police and Crime Commissioners of England and Wales
Police and crime commissioners in England
Police and Crime
Devizes