Joy Allen has been elected the next Police and Crime Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington.
The announcement was made early evening today (Saturday 8 May) at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, following an election on Thursday 6 May.
Labour candidate Joy Allen won with 80,510 votes after second preference votes were counted.
The election saw a rise in turnout to 35.37%, compared to 17.7% in 2016.
Joy Allen will hold the Chief Constable to account for the performance of the police force, effectively making the police answerable to the communities it serves.
She will replace Acting Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner Steve White who will return to his role as Chief Executive.
Ms Allen will commence office on Thursday 13 May and will serve a three-year term.
The extra patrols will be targeted in locations which have the highest prevalence of knife crime, serious violence and ASB.
A road safety campaign highlighting the fatal consequences of the ‘Fatal Four’ driving offences will be visible across the UK.
A lucky school pupil from Ferryhill has triumphed in a prize draw organised by PCC Joy Allen as part of a fun and interactive online safety programme.