Guidance for Candidates and Agents at Police and Crime Commissioner elections

The Police Area Returning Officer 

Each police area has a Police Area Returning Officer (PARO) who has overall responsibility for the election of the Police and Crime Commissioner in that area. The Police Area Returning Officer is the Acting Returning Officer for a designated UK Parliamentary constituency which falls wholly or partly within the police area. In practice, this means they are normally a senior officer of one of the local authorities in the police area and independent of the authority in respect of their electoral functions.

The Police Area Returning Officer is responsible for the nomination process and for calculating and declaring the result of the election. The Police Area Returning Officer will liaise with and coordinate the work of Local Returning Officers in their police area, and they also have the power to give directions to Local Returning Officers relating to the discharge of their functions at the election.

The Police Area Returning Officer will offer briefings ahead of the election and we strongly encourage you or your agent to attend, even if you have been an agent or stood for election before. 

The Police Area Returning Officer will also be the Local Returning Officer for the individual local authority area they represent.

You can contact us to find out who the Police Area Returning Officer is for each area. The Police Area Returning Officer will also be able to provide contact details for Local Returning Officers.

The Local Returning Officer 

Local Returning Officers are responsible for running the Police and Crime Commissioner election at a local level. They are responsible for administering the conduct of the poll, the issue and opening of postal ballot papers and the counting of votes for their voting area. 

The Local Returning Officer for the Police and Crime Commissioner election is the person who acts as Returning Officer for local elections in that area and is normally a senior officer of the local authority and is independent of the authority in respect of their electoral functions. 

Some Local Returning Officers may also offer briefings on local arrangements for the poll.

You will be able to contact the Local Returning Officer for any local authority area by contacting the relevant local authority elections office. Addresses and telephone numbers of all elections offices can be found on our website www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter.

The Electoral Registration Officer

The Electoral Registration Officer is responsible for maintaining the register of electors and absent voters’ lists for their local authority area. The Electoral Registration Officer is normally a senior officer in the local authority and may also be the Returning Officer. You can find the contact details for all Electoral Registration Officers at   www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter

The Electoral Commission

We are an independent statutory body established in November 2000 by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. We are currently headed by ten Commissioners, including a Chair. We report directly to the UK Parliament through a committee chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons. 

We are responsible for registering political parties and non-party campaigners, the monitoring and publication of significant donations to registered political parties and the regulation of party and non-party campaigner spending at certain elections. We also have a role in promoting voter awareness. We are required to report on the administration of certain electoral events, including Police and Crime Commissioner elections, to keep electoral matters under review and, if requested, must review and report on any electoral matter. We also accredit observers to be present at election proceedings.

We do not run elections but have responsibility for providing advice and assistance on electoral matters to all those involved in elections, including Police Area Returning Officers, Local Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, political parties and candidates.

We are here to help, so please get in touch if you have any questions.