THE YOUNGEST ever Worcestershire County Councillor has made history again by becoming the youngest ever chairman of the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel.
Aled Luckman, who represents Alvechurch, was officially elected to the role at the panel’s last meeting.
The panel oversees policing in West Mercia, which includes Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Worcestershire.
Its role is to maintain a regular check and balance on the performance of the directly elected Police and Crime Commissioner.
Coun Luckman, who became the youngest ever Worcestershire County Councillor in May and one of the youngest nationally, said: “I am delighted to have been elected as Chairman for the panel.
“As we see significant changes made to policing legislation nationally, learn lessons from the pandemic and the nature of crime changes, the need for scrutiny panels like this has never been so important and it will be a pleasure to steer the panel through these fascinating times.”
As Chairman, Coun Luckman said he intended to encourage cross-party unity in order to properly scrutinise the PCC, facilitate concise and efficient meetings and act as a strong voice to call out the PCC if the panel are not being listened to.
Prior to being elected as a county councillor back in May, Coun Luckman sat on the Crime Panel as an Independent Lay Member.
He said he wanted to continue his hard work of ensuring ‘strategic policing in West Mercia continued to engage with the youth of today and ensure they have a strong voice’.
The panel will soon be looking to recruit a new independent lay member to fill
the vacancy.
Any West Mercia resident may apply for this role and Coun encourages them to do so.
