Election preparations in place across the city and two counties

Elections in the city and two counties will take place on Thursday 4 May and, as usual, Leicestershire Police is prepared and ready to support a peaceful polling day.

The arrangements and running of mayoral, city council, district and borough and parish council elections are managed under law by local councils, following the clear guidance of the independent Electoral Commission. The police’s role is to maintain a safe space for elections to take place peacefully and to investigate any reports of breaches of electoral law. This means staying in close contact with the officials at polling stations and managing election processes, carrying out regular patrols, and engaging with the public where necessary throughout the day.

This Thursday many people will be casting their votes between 7am and 10pm at polling stations across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. As usual, Leicestershire Police will have regular patrols in place on polling day and specially-trained investigators will be liaising with organisers if there are any reports or concerns raised by candidates, their agents, or members of the public.

It is the first elections in England where photo identification will be needed at polling stations. Local election officials will be asking to see photo ID on the day. Police officers will not ask to see ID for election purposes.

Chief Superintendent Jonny Starbuck said: “Leicestershire Police is prepared and ready to support election day across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. As usual, we have a robust patrol plan in place to support the day and a specially-trained team to look into any concerns by organisers, candidates or members of the public. Police play a supporting role in elections which are organised by local councils. We are expecting a peaceful day across the city and two counties. Any concerns can be reported to the police online at www.leics.police.uk or 999 in an emergency.”