Police and crime commissioner nominates deputy for Bedfordshire

An Arlesey councillor has been put forward to be the new deputy police and crime commissioner for Bedfordshire.

Ian Dalgarno has been nominated by police and crime commissioner (PCC) Festus Akinbusoye for the role.

The county’s police and crime panel will meet tomorrow (Thursday) for a confirmation hearing, where the PCC will formally present the appointment.

The panel members will then give their feedback to the commissioner who will then take the final decision on the appointment.

The commissioner said: “The roles and responsibilities of police and crime commissioner keep expanding. Part one of the recent Home Office review of PCCs has determined that all PCCs will be required to have a deputy, and many already do.

“Given the statutory, spending and executive responsibilities I have as commissioner for areas ranging from the entire police estate to finance, criminal justice system to national policy setting, or service commissioning to partnership working; I have decided on appointing a deputy PCC.

“Councillor Ian Dalgarno is an experienced local councillor and cabinet member, with commercial experience managing multimillion pound businesses. His experience as former chair of Bedfordshire's Police and Crime Panel also means he will bring additional scrutiny and expertise into my office to assist with holding the Chief Constable to account.”

Councillor Dalgarno represents Arlesey ward on Central Bedfordshire Council and is the council’s executive member for community services.

The role of deputy PCC will be a part-time role, working three days a week on a fixed-term contract to run in line with the commissioner's current term in office.