Richard Rhodes (police commissioner)

On 15 November 2012, Rhodes was elected the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria Constabulary; he stood as the Conservative Party candidate. He is the first person to hold the post, and defeated Labour candidate Patrick Leonard.^[2] In September 2015, he announced that he would not be seeking a second term and would stand down at the May 2016 PCC election.^[3]

He did not seek re-election in the 2016 PCC elections and was succeeded by Peter McCall.

In April 2013 the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald newspaper ran a story about Richard Rhodes's spending of £700 on a chauffeur for two evening engagements in the Lake District in January and February. Four days after publication, Cumbria police arrested a number of Cumbria police staff over the alleged 'leak'. In October 2013 the Crown Prosecution Service announced that no criminal proceedings would be taken against one of the 'whistleblowers', Mrs Irene Brown.^[4] (who was not allowed back in to her police staff role). He was forced to pay this money back when it appeared in the press, but was not prosecuted for theft and was allowed to remain in his position as commissioner despite misuse of public funds.^[5]