The UK Home Office has announced that Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will be abolished, saving the taxpayer at least £100 million and helping to fund frontline officers to cut crime.
Under the system, introduced under the Conservatives in 2012, all 43 police forces covering areas across England and Wales had to answer to an elected official.
It was supposed to boost the accountability and performances of police forces. However, critics, especially Police Chiefs, said that the Commissioners too often tried to interfere and were ineffective.
The next elections for PCCs, scheduled for May 2028, will be scrapped. It comes as local government is also being changed with more mayors being introduced.
The government said two in five people still did not know PCCs existed; turnout at the last elections for the posts was below 25%, and Mayors were four times better known by the public than local PCCs. Some new mayoralties to be elected next May are expected to fall to Reform UK.
PCCs were introduced when Theresa May was Home Secretary and were influenced by America’s electing of key local officials and part of an idea of running services via localism. In policing that meant central government would not tinker in local forces but Labour believes a strong central Home Office is needed, with confidence falling in law enforcement and some forces solving fewer than one in 10 crimes.
The abolition of PCCs will be in a police reform bill that the government is promising, but which is much delayed because Ministers are struggling to find the money to fund the more meaningful measures.
The abolition is a victory for Chief constables and a sign of how influential they are in the Labour government’s thinking about policing. It also makes the merger and abolition of local forces, which Chiefs want and government is considering, potentially easier.
Matthew Scott, the Conservative PCC in Kent, told a news agency that the abolition was a victory for Police Chiefs.
“There is a crisis at the top of policing, with Chiefs facing a record number of accusations of wrongdoing, and the government has given them more power. This is swapping an elected PCC for an appointed one. It is a bit of a mess and removing democracy.”
Matthew Scott
Chief Constables felt while some PCCs were good, too many were erratic and some dismissed as “second rate” local politicians. Some Chief Constable posts remained empty for a long time because of PCC’s dithering it was claimed, and the churn of Chiefs increased.
Police and Crime Commissioners Deemed Failed Experiment
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood said that the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners by the last government was a “failed experiment.”
Mahmood pledged to introduce new reforms so police are accountable to their local mayoralties or local councils.
The Home Secretary added that the savings will fund more neighbourhood police “on the beat across the country, fighting crime and protecting our communities.”
“I would like to recognise the efforts of all current and former police and crime commissioners, and thank them. These individuals served their communities and will continue to do so until they have completed their current terms.”
Shabana Mahmood
The government promised £20m of savings would go directly back into policing, and abolition would save at least £100m over this parliament.
Tiff Lynch, Chair of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said that PCCs were an expensive experiment, which has failed.
“The tens of millions of pounds they cost should instead be a down-payment for the sort of policing service this country and its police officers deserve … The forthcoming police reform white paper is a chance for this government to show it is serious about all of this.”
Tiff Lynch
The announcement comes ahead of the Autumn Budget, which will focus on cutting NHS waiting lists, cutting the national debt and cutting the cost of living, and driving more productive and efficient use of taxpayers’ money by rooting out waste in public services.
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