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Elections 2021

Police Area Returning Officer 2021

Voters in 41 police force areas in England and Wales (excluding London) elected a Police and Crime Commissioner for their force area on 6 May 2021. These elections were postponed from May 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Matthew Barber was elected Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley Police Area. 

The Notice of Inspection of Election Expenses was published on 2 August

Results are available on a local level for the Cherwell District, and for the Thames Valley Police Area as a whole. 

You can also download a summary of the first preference votes broken down by authority, and the second preference results by authority. 

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were introduced in the 41 police authorities across England in 2012. They are elected representatives who oversee how crime is tackled in a police force area. Their aim in to cut crime and to ensure the police force is effective. They are elected for a four year term. 

Further information about the role is available from Thames Valley PCC website or the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners. 

History of Police and Crime Commissioners

Police and Crime Commissioners are elected using the Supplementary Vote System (SV) and a Police Area Returning Officer (PARO) is appointed to conduct the elections across each area and declare the result.   

The Thames Valley Police Area is made up of 13 local authorities which have Local Returning Officers who are responsible for arranging and delivery the poll for the electors in their area. The number of votes counted in each local area are then collated by the PARO to provide the overall result. In 2021 the PARO for the Thames Valley Police Area is Yvonne Rees, who is also the Local Returning Officer for the Cherwell area. 

The 13 local authorities which make up the Thames Valley Police Area are: