Policing and Crime

Responsibility for exercising the functions of the Police and Crime Commissioner in West Yorkshire transferred to the West Yorkshire Mayor on 10th May 2021. Find out more about the role and responsibilities below.

Role and Responsibilities

With regards to policing and crime, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, is responsible for:

  • Securing the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force and holding the Chief Constable to account.
  • Issuing a Police and Crime Plan, determining police and crime objectives.
  • Attendance at the Police and Crime Panel.
  • Preparing an annual report.
  • Calculating a council tax or budget requirement (precept).
  • Maintaining the Police Fund.
  • Appointing, and where necessary, suspending or calling on a Chief Constable to retire or resign.
  • Delegating some of these functions to a Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime where appointed.
  • Consulting the public to ensure that their views and priorities on community safety issues inform the police and crime plan.
  • Commissioning of services which include supporting victims and tackling reoffending.
  • Strengthening links such as inclusive growth and community safety and cohesion.

To provide stronger and more transparent accountability of the police, the Mayor of West Yorkshire holds the Chief Constable to account, helping to make the police answerable to the communities they serve.

The Mayor will ensure community needs are met as effectively as possible and foster local relationships through building confidence. They will work in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level to ensure there is a unified approach to preventing and reducing crime.

The Mayor does not run the police. The role is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account.

About the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime

When the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, was re-elected on 4 May 2024, they nominated Alison Lowe as their preferred candidate for Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC).

The appointment of this position was confirmed at a hearing of the Police and Crime Panel on Friday 14 June.

Read more about the Deputy Mayor

Alison Lowe

Serious Violence Strategy

Communities are now being given the opportunity to shape the response to serious violence through a major consultation. Through our online survey and in-person events, people across the region are being asked to share their views, experiences, ideas and solutions on serious violence. These will then be used to inform the Mayor’s Serious Violence Strategy.

Find out more

Key Information

  1. Police and Crime Plan 2024-28

    The Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin has published her new Police and Crime Plan, which sets out the policing policies for the next four years.

  2. Support for Victims

    The Supporting Victims pages are designed to show you what services are available across West Yorkshire and in your area.

  3. West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership

    The West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) brings together specialists from health, police, local government, education, youth justice, prisons, probation and community organisations to tackle violent crime and the underlying causes of violent crime.

Latest Policing and Crime News

All policing and crime news

Who we are and what we do

  1. The Safety of Women and Girls

    The following page sets the Mayor's work and that of key partners to make West Yorkshire a safer place for women and girls.

  2. Who we are

    Find out more about the staff supporting the Mayor's policing and crime function.

  3. Complaints and Conduct

    Find out more about the complaints process and how to make a complaint.

  4. Transparency and Specified Information

    The Mayor has responsibilities to publish certain information with regards policing and crime as set out in The Elected Local Policing Bodies Specified Information Order.

  5. Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund

    The fund will look to provide support to innovative projects which address at least one of the cross cutting themes within the draft Police and Crime Plan 2021-24.

  6. Holding the Chief Constable to Account

    The Mayor is responsible for securing the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force and holding the Chief Constable to account.

  7. Finance

    The Mayor will publish various financial information, including the police budget, precept, grants and contracts.

  8. Commissioning

    The Mayor commissions a number of different providers to help with the delivery of services, which will benefit the communities of West Yorkshire, reduce crime and help victims to cope and recover from the harm they have suffered.

  9. Custody Visiting

    Custody Visitors have an independent role, checking that people held in police custody (not yet convicted of any offence) are being properly treated.

  10. Vision Zero

    Vision Zero is a partnership approach to road safety management. It is based on the belief that no death or serious injury is acceptable on roads.

  11. Anti-social Behaviour Immediate Justice Scheme

    The Immediate Justice scheme will see offenders of ASB paying back to the community through unpaid work, restorative activities, and repairing damage and harm they may have caused.

  12. Join West Yorkshire's Custody Detention Scrutiny Panel

    Find out more about Join West Yorkshire's Custody Detention Scrutiny Panel.

How we work

Visit the West Yorkshire Police website for...

  1. Anti-social Behaviour Reviews (formerly Community Trigger)

    The Anti-social Behaviour Review process (formerly Community Trigger) allows repeat victims of anti-social behaviour (ASB) to have a greater say in how their complaints are handled - allowing those who have made three separate complaints about anti-social behaviour in the last six months to have their cases reviewed.

  2. Community Resolution (formerly Community Remedy)

    Community Resolution (formerly Community Remedy) gives victims a say in the out-of-court punishment of perpetrators of ASB when a Community Resolution, Conditional Caution or Youth Conditional Caution is chosen as the most appropriate response.

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