Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Alison Hernandez has announced her decision to step away from party politics and will continue to serve as an Independent, without any political affiliations, for the rest of her term of office.
The Commissioner said she wanted to reassure police officers, staff, volunteers and members of the public the priorities set out in the Police and Crime Plan remained the same.
Alison Hernandez is now in her third term having first been elected in 2016. The Commissioner is supported by a team of non-political staff led by a chief executive, and they will continue their work, holding the police to account and fulfilling their statutory obligations.
In November last year, 2025, the government announced that Police and Crime Commissioners will not be replaced when their current terms of office end in May 2028. Further police reforms are expected to be announced in the coming weeks when the government is due to publish a white paper.
The Commissioner said: “I have decided to step away from party politics and become an Independent. I believe it will enable me to fight to secure the policing resources we have in Devon and Cornwall – 43 per cent of which is funded by all of us through our council tax. The imminent Government white paper on policing worries me.
“Rushed timescales, work done in secret with little consultation, this feels like something being done *to* the police and the people, not being done with or for us. And the timing of the abolition of PCCs, again not planned, makes me anxious for our area. We cannot afford for party politics to get in the way of ensuring we all work together to get the best deal for the people of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”
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