Police and Crime Commissioner nominations deadline passes

Commissioners will hold police forces to account

Nominations for candidates to become police and crime commissioners in Wales' four force areas have closed.

North Wales, South Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Gwent Police forces will each have a commissioner.

The elections on 15 November have been described as the biggest shake-up of policing for almost 50 years.

But the Home Office was warned last month that turnout in the elections could be the lowest in British history.

The police and crime commissioners (PCC) will replace police authorities in 41 areas in England and Wales and will be paid a salary between £65,000 and £100,000.

Commissioners will be responsible for appointing the chief constable of their force, setting out local policing priorities, reporting annually on progress, and setting out the force budget and community safety grants.

The UK government says commissioners are not there to run local police forces but to hold them to account.

In Dyfed-Powys two candidates are standing: Christine Gwyther (Labour) and Christopher Salmon (Conservative).

Gwent has four candidates: Ian Johnston (independent), Hamish Sandison (Labour), Nick Webb (Conservative) and Christopher Wright (independent).

In North Wales there are five candidates: Richard Hibbs (independent), Colm McCabe (Conservative), Tal Michael (Labour), Warwick Nicholson (Ukip) and Winston Roddick (independent).

In South Wales there are four candidates: Michael Baker (independent), Caroline Jones (Conservative), Alun Michael (Labour) and Tony Verderame (independent).

The idea for PCCs came from the UK government in a pledge to make the police "more accountable through oversight by a directly elected individual".

The proposal was fleshed out in a white paper - Policing in the 21st Century - and enacted in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, which became law in 2011.