PCC defends appointing Labour colleague as 'champion'

Durham PCC Joy Allen has appointed a victims' champion, an anti-social behaviour champion and a domestic abuse victims' voice worker, who started work in January.

The roles are meant to make sure victims' voices are heard and their experiences, views and needs are reflected in decisions and policies.

She said of the three champions: "They've got very detailed plans about what they're going to do.

"What they do for me is to bring the voice of the victims to my attention.

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"Victims are at the heart of everything that I do. I want to make sure that we have got the victims there.

"I think Durham's one of three in the country and I think more are following suit.

"We need to excel. We need to make sure that the criminal justice is suitable and responsive to what the victims' needs are."

However the recruitment of the anti-social behaviour champion was questioned at a Durham County Council police and crime panel meeting.

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Councillor Robert Potts, a former Durham Police sergeant, asked about Ms Allen's involvement in interviewing that champion with two members of the senior leadership team.

He asked: "Do you think it's right now for you to sit on the interview for the anti-social behaviour champion, then giving the job to Andrea Patterson, considering Andrea is, again, a fellow Labour member who, until May, was a county councillor for Crook?

"She's also on your Facebook page for the 'vote Joy Allen for PCC' actually going out and canvassing with yourself and doing Facebook videos for yourself.

Cllr Robert Potts. Picture: Durham County Council.

"I'm just concerned that you've put yourself in that process where you've then appointed Andrea and gave her a full-time job as the anti-social behaviour champion.

"Do you not think you maybe should have stepped away from that?

"You can't be independent for somebody who's spending all day campaigning for you, who's spending their time to help you."

He previously criticised Ms Allen's appointment of fellow Labour member Nigel Bryson, who worked on her PCC campaign, as her deputy without a recruitment process.

He added: "If you look at the four posts that have actually come out since and been recruited, two of which have both gone to Labour Party members who were both involved in the commissioner's campaign."

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Ms Allen replied: "I've been in community safety 30 years, and there's not many people in community safety that I don't know.

"Andrea's got a lot of experience in youth work, in community safety work. She was a rural champion. She did a scrutiny role.

"I'm very very fortunate I've got three very very qualified and very very passionate champions that are actually delivering the (police and crime) plan.

"I've appointed the champions and you can hold me to account for what the champions are doing.

"I'm actually very satisfied with the people who I've appointed. If I know somebody it doesn't disbar them.

Durham PCC Joy Allen. Picture: Tom Banks.

"It's down to the office to make sure the process was due and proper which I'm absolutely assured it has been.

"Anti-social behaviour was the residents' top priority. This appointment was one of the most important appointments that I'm going to make.

"I wanted to make sure that the person who was going to deliver on my behalf I was happy and satisfied with, and I am."

She said the deputy PCC was a political appointment, "it is in my gift and responsibility to appoint", and she knew her deputy could deliver and "hit the ground running".

Charles Oakley, the PCC office's head of governance and finance, said the recruitment followed an "absolutely standard process" to the letter.