For instance, do they make the police more locally accountable? Are they sufficiently accountable themselves? What about the low turnout in votes for PCCs? Do they allow for more local innovation? Are they simply there to oversee spending cuts, or are they an expression of devolution and localism?
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What do you think about the role of Police and Crime Commissioner?
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Ordinary people don't hear much about them. It seems their role has not been explained to people very well. Too complicated or political. Don't know how they affect the rest of us.
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I was not aware of this post. Having learned a little about it, I think that whatever makes the police more accountable has to be a good thing. I guess a lot will depend on how the powers of the Commissioner are implemented. Would be a good idea to have periodic reviews of how effective this post has been, especially since it was created fairly recently.
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A totally political move to avoid direct accountability from central government for the impending (even deeper) cuts due on the 25th November. It is just too easy for the Home Secretary to respond by saying it is a local decision by the elected PCC As to what services are being provided. If they wanted more local attention to the provision this was something they could have achieved through improving the function of the Police Authority.
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Thank you for sharing that opinion, there is a question as to the extent of power and budgetary autonomy PCCs can have during austerity. Here is a publicy available recent academic paper by Stuart Lister on one accountability mechanism for PCCs.
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A feature of this year's elections is likely to be clashes between PCCs and councils about funding. The Chancellor, in his Comprehensive Spending Review, undertook to protect police funding in real terms, but this is partly a result of shifting the balance away from central funding to more local funding (council tax). The article below shows divisions between the PCC and the council leader on this point.
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Having watched two PCCs at work I do wonder have they made a difference? Personally it is hard to establish have they done enough differently to justify their existence. Yes in this local example they have made changes to Stop & Search and Mental Health, but it is a moot point whether this would have happened anyway - either a local policing decision or a directive from the Home Office.
It was quite obvious before the PCC role was established that ACPO and the Home Office constructed a legal framework that contained the role of the PCC. The best example I found was that a Police Authority appointed all senior officers (from Assistant Chief Constable to the Chief Constable), the PCC can only appoint the Chief Constable. Yes a few chief constables have departed due to a PCC decision, although it is unclear if anything substantial changed afterwards. What happened with Avon & Somerset Police is hardly encouraging. A chief constable leaves as the PCC makes it clear "you're not wanted", his successor is suspended and after a long period of suspense he too leaves - with a 'golden handshake'.
Now for the urban / metropolitan counties there is the prospect of an elected Mayor who will take the PCC role "under their wing".
The question that needs to be asked is has a PCC made the police do anything they did not want to do?
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The introduction of PCCs was supposed to increase accountability and give the electorate greater input to the policy of their local police force. While these aims are to be applauded, in reality, the electorate is apathetic with low turnouts for PCC elections and a general lack of understanding of how the system works. While the general public wants a police force that it trusts and that is seen to work effectively and efficiently, it appears not to be particularly interested in having a say in who oversees their local force.
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Thank you for this, there is certainly a democratic deficit in terms of electoral turnout. It will be interesting to see whether the elections later this year also have low turnout. A problem for people voting - as well as perhaps not understanding the role as previous comments suggest above - is that most people do not come into contact with the police. Yet it is the electorate as a whole, rather than victims or people coming into contact with police vote. This is one reason why public confidence is potentially so important as a metric.
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There have been plans to increase the powers of PCCs - to join up with other emergency services such as fire and rescue, and even also to join up with healthcare. The Home Secretary recently announced plans to reform police complaints processes which involve giving PCCs more powers.
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There is an excellent article on the kinds of qualities police and crime commissioners should have by former PCC candidate Rachel Rogers:
https://policinginsight.com/opinion/20-questions-ask-pcc-candidates/
Rachel argues that rather than being a kind of supercop, the PCC is someone who can be an effective political negotiator, bringing together multiple agencies and collaborating. Above all perhaps they need to be good at commissioning services.
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the Police and Crime Commissioner's role should be extended in order to support the clear emerging in the Localism Act 2011. We need a commissioner able to oversee and assure in relation to the complaints process over councillors. Currently the problem faced by people is that councillors cannot be sanctioned for anything unless the police themselves feel inclined to act and arrest. This takes too long. Its better for the commissioner to oversee and act on and make the decision to refer the matter to the police and then suspend the councillor if required.0 likes -
I have a question: Do you know what the proportion of independent versus politically-affiliated Police and Crime Commissioners is in the UK? Are there statistics on this?
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Thank you for your question. This situation changes as the candidates declare themselves. A running record is available on this site though it doesn't tabulate the statistics overall:
https://policinginsight.com/analysis/who-is-standing-in-the-pcc-elections-next-may/
Perhaps you could select all, paste into word and then see how often the word Independent occurs (by doing edit > find "Independent" then replace with something and see how many replacements are made).
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In this second round of elections and appointments, many PCCs have chosen not to recruit Deputies. This may prove popular with their electorates since it could free up funds for other roles - including potentially front-line officers. But, on the other hand, the PCC role is growing and so having some elements shared could be the most effective way to plan and strategize. It will be interesting to see whether PCCs continue with this trend of not having assistants.
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In what may be a logical extension of the PCC one Commissioner has invited the public to contribute to the recruitment of their Chief Constable.
The public of Dyfed-Powys are being asked: “What sort of new Chief Constable do you want?” Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn will use people’s views as he works through the recruitment process.
The article in full is on:
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One potential benefit of the PCC is they can more readily act in an advocacy role as part of their duty is to be accountable to an electorate. You can hear West Mids PCC David Jamieson doing so in this link.
LISTEN AGAIN: PCC David Jamieson discussing today's recruitment of 1,150 officers and staff on @bbcwm bbc.in/2bRXwl3 (1hr 5mins in)
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