Norfolk's Police and Crime Panel voted on 16 June 2026 to appoint Mark Stokes, Chief Executive of the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner Norfolk (OPCCN), as Acting Police and Crime Commissioner during the run-up to an election to choose a permanent replacement.

Stokes will hold both his existing Chief Executive position and the Acting Commissioner role at the same time for approximately four weeks. The Panel confirmed he will receive no additional pay for taking on the extra responsibility, given the short-term and interim nature of the arrangement.

No Acting Chief Executive will be appointed to cover his normal duties in the meantime. Stokes told the Panel that the OPCCN's experienced senior management team would work together to maintain operations during the period.

The Panel heard that Stokes's main focus as Acting Commissioner will be on election preparations, supporting candidates, and organising an induction process for whoever wins the vote. Major political decisions and significant commissioning choices will be held over until a new, elected Police and Crime Commissioner takes office.

The existing Police and Crime Plan remains in force during the interim period, and all services commissioned under it will continue as normal. Key partners and stakeholders have already been contacted to confirm it is business as usual.

As part of the arrangements, the Panel also agreed to temporarily shift responsibility for handling any conduct complaints against the Acting Commissioner to the Deputy Monitoring Officer at the OPCCN, rather than following its usual delegation procedure.

The meeting, which lasted just eight minutes, was chaired by Cllr Sarah Butikofer of North Norfolk District Council.