Elections for police and crime commissioners "failed voters"

The elections for police and crime commissioners "failed both candidates and voters alike", a report by the Electoral Reform Society has said.

Polling Stations across the borough of Rochdale were largely silent and across the Greater Manchester area, the turnout was a disappointing 13.5% overall with only 12.1% of Rochdale voters participating.

The polls took place in 41 police force areas in England and Wales, and had a turnout of just 15%, a peacetime low.

The Electoral Reform Society said a poll it commissioned showed almost 90% of people still do not know who their elected representative is.

The Home Office said it would look at the points made in the report.

PCCs replaced police authorities in England and Wales - except in London - in what the Home Office described as "the biggest democratic reform in policing in our lifetimes".

The commissioners will be in post until 2016 and will have the power to set policing priorities, budgets and also to hire and fire chief constables.

In its report, the Electoral Reform Society, an independent campaign group, described November's elections as "chaotic".

It said turnout was affected because they were held in winter, and voters were not given enough information.

A Populus poll commissioned by the society, and carried out last month, showed just 11% of the 1,624 respondents knew who their elected PCC was, it said.

The society has recommended that:

Another major election should never be held in winter months, as it discourages people from turning out
Voters should not be "left in the dark" about who or what they are voting for
There should be a level playing field for candidates through well-designed election rules

Last week, the Home Office was criticised for not having "sufficient resources or the level of expertise" required to run effective elections.

The Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) - a body for electoral staff, which has more than 1,700 members - also criticised the timing of the PCC elections, saying it was "not in the interests of voters".