Sue Mountstevens

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]

Sue Mountstevens
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner
Assumed office
21 November 2012
Preceded byOffice created
Personal details
Born1955 (age 65–66)[1]
Political partyNone (independent)
Children3

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 was a director of 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
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Independent Sue Mountstevens 83,985 35.81% 41,719 125,704 64.95
​​
Conservative Ken Maddock 57,094 24.35% 10,748 67,842 35.05
​​
Labour John Savage 49,989 21.32%
​​
Liberal Democrats Pete Levy 43,446 18.53%
​​
Turnout 243,963 19.58% Rejected ballots: 9,190
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. Archived from the original on 17 December 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-10.
  10. "Avon and Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner Election". Bristol City Council. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  11. "Verification Statement Summary" (PDF). Bristol City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-04-05.
  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. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014.
  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.
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