GWENT first female police and crime commissioner Jane Mudd has officially started work after being sworn into office. 

The Newport city councillor won the election last week and been installed in the £73,000 a year role after taking the oath of office during a ceremony at Gwent Police headquarters, near Cwmbran, on Wednesday May 8. 

Following her election Ms Mudd said she intends to remain as a city councillor for the Malpas ward “for the time being” but will stand down as council leader at its annual general meeting at the end of this month. 

One of her first duties in the new role will be to appoint a replacement for chief constable Pam Kelly who announced, before the election period, she would be retiring this year. 

During the election campaign Labour candidate Ms Mudd said she would be looking for “a highly experienced leader” to take charge of the force. 

Though police and crime commissioners agree the force budget, and set and update the police and crime plan which is intended to reflect local priorities, as two of their five main functions the chief constable remains in charge of police operations – which police and crime commissioners are barred from getting involved in. 

The oath taken by elected police and crime commissioners requires them to insure the operational independence of the police but they must hold the chief constable to account “for the delivery of local policing”. 

One of the commissioner’s most high profile responsibilities is the power to hire, and where necessary, fire the chief constable and in Gwent less than a year after the area’s first police and crime commissioner was elected the then chief constable, Carmel Napier, was effectively forced out. 

Ian Johnston, who had been elected in November 2012, had issued his chief constable with a “resign or be removed” ultimatum in 2013 in a row over her management style and his belief she was “deeply hostile” to the then new concept of directly elected oversight. 

Due to Ms Kelly’s decision to retire Ms Mudd has been presented the opportunity to appoint a chief constable and she said, before the election, she would be looking for someone “committed to high professional standards with an understanding of the issues and challenges we face in Gwent”. 

The force has been rocked in recent years by allegations of a culture of misogyny and racism and misconduct cases that have been upheld. 

Ms Mudd has said she accepts public confidence in the force needs to be built up but has also said that disciplinary cases have demonstrated action is being taken and is effective. 

Previous police and crime commissioner, Labour’s Jeff Cuthbert, had been criticised for either failing to grasp the potential extent of misconduct or being too loyal or defensive of the force, at the expense of his role as the public watchdog. Claims he had disputed. 

Ms Mudd, at the ceremony thanked Mr Cuthbert for his “dedication to the communities of Gwent” and “for laying firm foundations on which we can build.” 

She said she wants the public to understand she is their representative: “The PCC is there to represent their views and I will work really hard with my team to continue to be that public voice.” 

At the ceremony Ms Mudd also repeated her pride in becoming the first woman to hold the role in Gwent, and the first female police and crime commissioner in Wales. Shortly after her election was announced on Friday, May 3 Emma Wools, the Labour candidate for South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, was also elected and became the first ever Black PCC in Wales, and the first ever Black female PCC in either Wales or England. 

Ms Mudd also repeated her priority is to make contact with residents and communities in Gwent.