Stephen Bett is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politician. He was the

Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner The Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner is the police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Norfolk Police in the English County of Norfolk. The post was created in November 2012, follow ...

between 2012 and 2016.

Political career

Bett is the former chairman of the Norfolk

Police Authority A police authority in the United Kingdom was a public authority that is responsible for overseeing the operations of a police force. The nature and composition of police authorities has varied over time, and there are now just four dedicated "poli ...

and a former Conservative Party Councillor. In the 2012 PCC elections, on 15 November 2012, he was elected

Police and Crime Commissioner A police and crime commissioner (PCC; ) is an elected official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police services. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally ...

for

Norfolk Constabulary Norfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Norfolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 908,000 in a mostly rural area of , including of coastline and 16 rivers, including the Broads N ...

with a total of 39,988 votes on a turnout of 14.5%. He was the first person to hold the post.

Controversy

After an investigation by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, it was revealed that between November 2012 and October 2013, Bett had claimed £3024 for 70 round trips from his home to his workplace. He paid back £2721.60 after independent

auditors An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

found that he had over-claimed. In June 2014, he stepped aside as PCC while the

Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...

(IPCC) led an investigation into his

expenses An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in general, to another person or group as payment for an item, service, or other category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition i ...

. He returned to work in July 2014, stating that "there is a grey area within the legislation when it comes to a PCC stepping aside ... unless I return to full duties there is a significant likelihood of a protracted and expensive legal wrangle" and that "taking all this into consideration, I have decided that the best course of action is for me to return to full duties". In December 2014, the IPCC announced that he would not be facing criminal charges in relation to his expenses.

References

Police and crime commissioners in England Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Independent police and crime commissioners Independent politicians in England Councillors in Norfolk Conservative Party (UK) councillors {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub