PCCs “on probation” after failure to meet public expectations

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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According to a conclusion made by a powerful committee of MPs, the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales, designed to increase democratic accountability for law enforcement, are “on probation” after suffering the failure to cut through to the public.

The Home Affairs Select Committee has narrated in a report that the case for PCCs has yet to be made, after low election turnouts and the failure of some PCCs to live up to the public expectations.

PCCs were initially elected during November 2012 when the turnouts were really low even less than 15 per cent. They were intended to replace police authorities drawn from local councils.

After it has been noted that allegations of cronyism have been levelled against some commissioners over their choice of deputies, the home affairs select committee has also recommended that at the next round of elections in 2016 commissioners should name their intended deputy so they are elected on the same ticket, boosting transparency and preventing claims of nepotism.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz has said: “The concept of police and crime commissioners is still very much on probation. Some Commissioners have fallen well short of the public’s expectations and urgent reforms are needed to ensure that this concept does not put at risk public trust and engagement in the police, the very objectives for which PCCs were brought in.

“Deputies should not be cronies that are given their job on the basis of nepotism. By electing them on the same ticket we ensure that the public will be able to have their say on someone who often acts with the powers of the Commissioner.”

Mr Vaz has also indicated the need for police and crime panels having stronger powers to scrutinise PCCs’ removal of chief constables.

He has also stressed that all PCCs should “review their auditing arrangements immediately” to ensure their setting of targets did not “promote the manipulation of crime figures” through under or misreported crime.

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