Claim That Replacing Police and Crime Commissioners Will Save Money Is False

David Lloyd was the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire from 2012 to 2024.

There can be no surprise that the Labour government has announced the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners – but it is a disappointing development that underlines the Labour party’s fear of democratic accountability and devolution. It also continues a worrying tendency to cancel elections. And as always, with this Government, the facts don’t bear scrutiny.

The Bill which introduced PCCs provided for the role to be the Mayor’s in areas which had Mayoral governance – the first PCC being the Mayor of London. As Mayors continue to be rolled out across the country a resolution needed to be found, lest we be left with a small rump of non-mayoral PCCs. Government prefers a one-size-fits-all approach to governance, and objects to having different models developed for different localities.

The Home Office and the Inspectorates have never liked PCCs. The Home Office would prefer all policing strategy to be for the Home Secretary (with the micromanagement that implies). The officials were always uncomfortable with Theresa May’s move to rid the Home Office of a centralised target culture (her only target being to cut crime). The Inspectorates feel affronted that anyone else holds to account, as they feel it is solely their remit and they believe that their responsibility is to Parliament, not local politicians.

It is therefore clear what the advisors would have recommended. However, the stated reasons for terminating the role are to save the associated cost of an election as the incumbents are not well known.

The potential savings just don’t add up. Of course £20m rolled in to front-line policing would be worth having (after all £20m would buy an extra nine hours of policing across the whole of England and Wales, per annum) but the cost of elections is not part of the policing budget, and for the most part elections take place at exactly the same time and place as other local elections – and even if the Labour Government has cancelled them in the past, it surely will not cancel them again. The total salary cost of Police and Crime Commissioners is approximately £3m. Yet it is suggested that Police Authorities can replace PCCs if there is no mayor. The total cost of allowances on Police Authorities in 2010 was £10m – a comparable figure would be £15m today. Perhaps the Government believes that the full-time role will be replaced by someone doing it for nothing.

The old trope about turnout at polls has resurfaced – the numbers were dismal in November 2012. However, elections now take place at the same time as local government elections – and turnout is broadly the same as for local government elections.

Another suggested reason for dispensing with PCCs is because fewer than 25% of the electorate are able to identify their PCC. It is surprising that the government is so concerned about this level of recognition as it is about the same as those people in the population who recognise their MP – and many times higher than those who used to recognise the Chair of their Police Authority.

The introduction of PCCs was one of the greatest achievements of the Cameron coalition government. For the first time, ordinary people had a direct influence (through the ballot box) on the issues on which the police should focus. Rather than the Chief Constable setting the strategy, a manifesto was supported by the electorate and that was translated into a Police and Crime Plan. The Constabulary was held to account on its delivery of the plan – and the PCC also balanced the cost of policing against what the Council Taxpayer could afford, and proposed an appropriate budget.

There appears to be no plan for what comes next in policing governance. Where they can, Regional Mayors will take on the role. However, Mayors are about economic development (the roles described as being held by Regional Mayors – education and health – are not currently in all their portfolios). Some areas will resurrect their old police authorities (a “role taken on by elected council leaders”) – the model which was widely seen as a failed model.

It will mean that (as happened before) the Chief Constable sets the strategy and the budget. Victims cannot be at the centre of policing: the role of a victim in the Criminal Justice system is merely that of a witness.

Worse still, it is unlikely that a part-timer whose primary role is to be a councillor will find the time to chair their local Criminal Justice Board, so the Criminal Justice system will become even more dysfunctional – disproportionately impacting victims.

The proud legacy of PCCs has been much better support for victims of crime, greater value for money in policing, and greater transparency in holding Police Officers to account. Now, this is all under threat.