A community voice that will hold the police to account will be chosen as the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Police and Crime Commissioner elections take place this Thursday (May 6).

PCCs are elected every four years and they must secure “efficient and effective” police for the local area, appoint the chief constable and hold them to account for running the force.

They also set the police and crime objectives for their area through a police and crime plan.

The former Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Police and Crime Commissioner Jason Ablewhite resigned in November 2019 following allegations relating to an exchange with a member of the public on social media.

It led to Conservative Ray Bisby taking the place as acting PCC since December 2019.

Just last week Cambs police announced that walk-in enquiry offices at all bar two of Cambridgeshire’s police stations were due to be scrapped.

Police said it is a cost cutting move to “streamline services”.

Here are the PCC candidates for 2021 -

Darryl Preston, Conservative

Darryl Preston is a former senior police officer, who served for 10 years with the Metropolitan Police and 20 years in Cambridgeshire.

After retiring from the police force, Mr Preston became a senior official at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) in Westminster.

Nicky Massey, Labour

Councillor Nicky Massey is a domestic abuse survivor and campaigner, who is chair and host of domestic abuse forums and conferences.

She has been working in crime prevention and helped co-design the operation against county lines drug dealing – Op Carmel – as well as cycle prime prevention.

Rupert Moss-Eccardt, Liberal Democrats

Rupert Moss-Eccardt is a security and policing professional, who currently provides cyber advice to UK police forces. He was part of the team that established the National Centre for Policing Excellence.

Sue Morris, Reform UK

Sue Morris, from Reform UK – formerly the Brexit Party – will also stand for election as police and crime commissioner.

Polling day is on Thursday May 6 and in some areas five or six elections are being held simultaneously with districts, counties, parishes, elected mayors and some planning referendums being held at the same time as the PCC elections.

  • PCC counting in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk will take place on Saturday May 8.