The UK government announced Thursday it will abolish Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales by 2028. The move ends a 16-year experiment with elected officials overseeing local police forces.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told Parliament the system had failed. Responsibilities will transfer to mayors and council leaders across the country. The government expects to save at least £100 million from the change.
Mahmood said in the Commons: «The introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners by the last government was a failed experiment. I will introduce new reforms so police are accountable to their local mayoralties or local councils. The savings will fund more neighbourhood police on the beat across the country, fighting crime and protecting our communities.»
Fierce pushback from commissioners
Emily Spurrell, chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, condemned the decision. The PCC for Merseyside said she was «deeply disappointed by this decision and the lack of engagement with us».
Spurrell warned: «Abolishing PCCs now, without any consultation, as policing faces a crisis of public trust and confidence, and as it is about to be handed a much stronger national centre, risks creating a dangerous accountability vacuum.» She argued elected PCCs had «transformed policing accountability».
Police and Crime Commissioners were introduced in 2012 by the Conservative government. The 43 elected officials across England and Wales set crime priorities and held power to appoint or dismiss Chief Constables. The abolition represents the biggest shake-up of policing in over a decade.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
