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.
PCC reports on progress made over the past eight months deliver justice for victims of crime and anti-social behaviour.
Despite funding cuts from Government’s Safer Streets programme, PCC announces her plans to cut crime and improve community safety will still go ahead.
PCC has welcomed the launch of a new service enabling the public to anonymously or confidentially report corruption and criminality within policing.