Police and Crime Commissioner
On 15 November 2012 Hardwick was elected the first Police and Crime Commissioner for the Lincolnshire Police area. Standing as an independent candidate, winning in the second ballot with a majority of 4,135.
Controversy surrounded him in early 2013, when he suspended his acting Chief Constable, Neil Rhodes, without making the reasons for his actions public. The decision was reversed by a High Court judge on 28 March 2013, with the judge referring to the decision as 'perverse' and 'irrational'.
In further developments after the court decision, Hardwick continued to maintain that Rhodes would not return to his former role of acting Chief Constable. This view was challenged by Paul West, a former Chief Constable now advising the government on policing issues in his role as director of Policing For All. He pointed out that despite the passage of time, Hardwick had not appointed a new Chief Constable and that Neil Rhodes would automatically revert to being acting Chief Constable: "There is currently no chief constable in Lincolnshire, therefore he must act up to be acting Chief Constable. That is clear in the legislation. There is no provision in law for anything other than that to happen." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-21980708
Hardwick yielded to the widespread and mounting criticism of his actions, http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/POLL-Lincolnshire-Police-Crime-Commissioner-Alan/story-18555685-detail/story.html with calls for his resignation, and Rhodes was reinstated on 1 April as acting Chief Constable. The Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel have indicated that it will "hold Mr Hardwick to account if necessary". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-22002417
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