Alison Hernandez was first elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in May 2016, effectively to hold the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police to account for the performance of the force on behalf of the communities we all serve. She has been re-elected a further two terms of office. Most recently in May 2024. The term of office is for four years.
She is responsible for setting the strategic direction and priorities for Devon and Cornwall Police via the police and crime plan. This includes setting the police budget (£433 million) and local police precept (the amount residents pay for policing in their council tax). Overseeing the largest government investment in policing in a decade.
The force has achieved global recognition via a World Class Policing Award for work with Operation Encompass to better help children affected by domestic abuse and helps evidence her ambition of getting the best out of the police. She has also received recognition from the City of Exeter with an award from His Worshipful the Lord Mayor for her personal campaigning efforts for people suffering with domestic abuse.
Alison is responsible for the police estate and in 2020 built one of the top 10% most sustainable buildings in the UK in the form of Exeter Police Station. Reopened 13 Police Enquiry Offices and secured the highest number of police officers the force has ever had in its history.
She also has a statutory duty to commission support services for victims of crime and to deliver community safety initiatives, including Restorative Justice. This service received a Howard League for Penal Reform award.
She is the Chairman of the South West Reducing Reoffending Partnership, Local Criminal Justice Board and Vision Zero (road safety partnership), holds the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners national portfolios for Serious and Organised Crime, along with Criminal Justice.
She is a graduate of Kingston University, Plymouth Business School and the Institute of Corporate Governance. Has worked across the UK, Singapore and Australia running her own management consultancy business.
Alison has a teenage daughter and she lives in Torquay, Devon where she was born and raised.