Sue Mountstevens

Sue Mountstevens
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 November 2012
Preceded by	Office created
Personal details
Born	1955 (age 60–61)[1]
Political party	Independent
Children	Three

Sue Mountstevens (born 1955) is a British independent politician. Since November 2012, she has been the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner. She is the first person to hold the post and was elected on 15 November 2012, having stood as an independent candidate.^[2]

Biography

Before being elected as the police and crime commissioner, Mountstevens was an independent member of Avon and Somerset Police Authority (the body which, as Police and Crime Commissioner, she replaces), vice-chair of the Independent Monitoring Board for Bristol Prison and was a magistrate for 15 years. Earlier in her career she ran the Mountstevens Bakeries chain.^[3][4]

She has three children and lives near Pill, North Somerset.^[5]

Election as Police and Crime Commissioner

Mountstevens was elected to the role of Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner in the elections held on 15 November 2012, which used the supplementary vote system. She stood as an Independent and was elected on the second round, after second preference votes were counted. Mountstevens was the only Commissioner elected with a mandate exceeding 10% of the electorate, having been chosen by 10.1% of those eligible to vote.^[6][7] She took the oath of office on 21 November 2012.^[8]

Avon and Somerset Police Commissioner election, 2012 [9][10][11]
Party		Candidate	1st Round	%	2nd Round	Total	First Round Votes  Transfer Votes
	Independent	Sue Mountstevens	83,985	35.81%	41,719	125,704	​ ​
	Conservative	Ken Maddock	57,094	24.35%	10,748	67,842	​ ​
	Labour	John Savage	49,989	21.32%			​ ​
	Liberal Democrat	Pete Levy	43,446	18.53%			​ ​
Turnout			243,963	19.58%	of which 9,190 were spoilt votes.
	Independent win

Decisions made in office

One of the powers of Police and Crime Commissioners is to appoint or dismiss the chief constable.^[12] On her second day in office, Mountstevens decided to invite applications for appointment to that role, to be taken up after the contract of the incumbent, Colin Port, expired in early 2013, rather than extending his appointment. Port then decided to retire rather than re-apply for the position.^[13][14] In January 2013, Mountstevens announced Nick Gargan as Port's successor; the appointment was subsequently approved by the relevant police and crime panel, and Gargan took up the appointment in March 2013.^[15]

After allegations of gross misconduct in May 2014, Chief Constable Nick Gargan was suspended for 18 months. In July 2015 he was cleared of the charges of gross misconduct, but was found guilty of eight counts of misconduct, and in August 2015 was handed eight final written warnings.^[16][17]

On 19 August 2015, Mountstevens accused Gargan of abusing his authority, and losing the confidence of staff and the public, and asked him to resign. In her statement, Mountstevens said Gargan was being required to resign or retire “due to a lack of confidence by local people, police officers and staff in his position as leader of Avon and Somerset constabulary”.^[18]

References

1. "Ms Susan Anne Mountstevens". Duedil. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
2. "Avon and Somerset PCC election: Sue Mountstevens wins". BBC. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
3. "Your PCC". Police and Crime Commissioner for the Avon and Somerset Police Area. 16 November 2012.
4. "Background and Experience". Sue Mountstevens. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
5. "PROFILE: Avon and Somerset PCC Sue Mountstevens". This is Bristol. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
6. "Government responsible for feeble mandates". Electoral Reform Society. 17 November 2012.
7. "Sue Mountstevens highest mandate in UK". Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner. 18 November 2012.
8. "Avon and Somerset PCC Sue Mountstevens sworn in". BBC News. 21 November 2012.
9. "Details of the Stage 1 count result" (PDF). Bristol City Council.
10. "Details of the stage 2 count result" (PDF). Bristol City Council.
11. "Verification Statement Summary" (PDF). Bristol City Council.
12. "Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, section 38". UK Legislation. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
13. "Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Colin Port to step down". BBC News Online. 22 November 2012.
14. "Statement: Chief Constable". Avon and Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner. 22 November 2012.
15. "Avon and Somerset's new police chief announced". BBC News Online. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
16. http://www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk/Document-Library/CCs-Misconduct-Proceedings/CCs-proven-charges-of-misconduct.pdf
17. https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/investigation_commissioner_reports/Chief_Constable_Nicholas_Gargan.pdf
18. "Police chief asked to resign despite being cleared of gross misconduct". The Guardian. 19 August 2015.

External links

• Sue Mountstevens on Twitter