A police and crime commissioner (PCC; ) is an elected government official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police services. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally overseeing both police and fire services. Commissioners replaced the abolished police authorities. The first commissioners were elected on 15 November 2012.
The UK government intends to abolish commissioners at the end of the incumbents' terms in 2028, with oversight of police services to be transferred to devolved mayors, or to policing committees run by council leaders.
Background
In the 2010 general election campaign, the manifestos of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats outlined plans, respectively, to replace or reform the existing police authorities. Following the election, the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement of 2010 set out that:
Later in 2010, the government published "Policing in the 21st Century", a consultation on its vision for policing, including the introduction of police and crime commissioners. There was a proposal to call them "sheriffs" but this was rejected after focus groups felt it sounded too American. The consultation was followed by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, made the Policing Protocol Order in November 2011, which stated:
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) was commissioned by the Home Office to facilitate co-ordination, representation and support for police and crime commissioners and police governance bodies from November 2012. The association represents all 40 PCCs as of April 2021.
Role and functions
The core functions of a PCC are to secure the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force within their area, and to hold the chief constable to account for the delivery of the police and crime plan. Police and crime commissioners are charged with holding the police fund (from which all policing of the area is financed) and raising the local policing precept from council tax. Police and crime commissioners are also responsible for the appointment and – if necessary – suspension and dismissal of the Chief Constable, although the 2011 Policing Protocol Order states that the PCC "must not fetter the operational independence of the police force and the Chief Constable who leads it". PCCs are able to appoint a Deputy PCC.
Police and crime plans Shortly after their election to office, a PCC must produce a "police and crime plan". That plan must include their objectives for policing, what resources will be provided to the chief constable and how performance will be measured. Both the PCC and the chief constable must have regard to the police and crime plan in the exercise of their duties. The PCC is required to produce an annual report to the public on progress in policing.
Police funding Police and crime commissioners hold the 'police fund', from which all policing is financed. The bulk of funding for the police fund comes from the Home Office in the form of an annual grant (calculated on a proportionate basis to take into account the differences between the 43 forces in England and Wales, which vary significantly in terms of population, geographical size, crime levels and trends), though commissioners will also set a precept on the council tax to raise additional funds. If a PCC wishes to increase the precept by an amount deemed to be excessive, the Localism Act 2011 requires a referendum. It is the PCC's responsibility to set the budget for the force area, which includes allocating enough money from the overall policing budget to ensure that the commissioner can discharge their functions effectively.
Extension to fire services In September 2015, the government undertook a consultation into proposals which would bring England's fire services under the control of PCCs. there are five Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners: for Cumbria, Essex, Staffordshire, North Yorkshire and Northamptonshire.
Police and crime panels The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 established police and crime panels within each force area in England and Wales (excluding Greater London). These panels consist of at least one representative from each local authority in that area, and at least two independent members co-opted by the panel.
Panels are responsible for scrutinising PCC decisions and ensuring this information is available to the public. They must review the PCC's draft police and crime plan and draft annual report before publication, and the PCC must give their comments due consideration. A police and crime panel may require the attendance of the commissioner or a staff member at any time, and may suspend a PCC from office who is charged with a serious criminal offence. Police and crime panels will be able to veto a PCC's proposed precept or proposed candidate for Chief Constable by a two-thirds majority.
A National Audit Office report published in January 2014 found that there were "few checks and balances" on the 41 PCCs between elections. It said police and crime panels, which were set up to scrutinise PCCs, "lack powers" to act on the information they receive.
Oath of impartiality On 16 August 2012, the Home Office announced that every newly elected police and crime commissioner would be required to swear an "oath of impartiality" before taking office. The oath reads:
The then Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, Nick Herbert said:
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, set up to act as an "umbrella body" for the elected PCCs, revealed that it had been asked by the Home Office to "seek views from police authorities and prospective candidates on the wording of the oath". By the time the first police and crime commissioner had been elected, in November 2012, the original Home Office text of the "Oath of Impartiality" had been significantly modified. As an example, this is the amended oath as delivered by the police and crime commissioner for Avon and Somerset:
In South Wales, the title "Oath of Impartiality" was replaced by the term "Oath of Office" on the PCC's website with no mention of "impartiality". In other police areas, like Thames Valley, the PCC's website describes it simply as "The Oath".
The written form of the oath which is signed by all PCCs on taking office is not headed "Oath of Impartiality" but "Declaration of Acceptance of Office".
Eligibility for election Candidates must be 18 or over. In England, candidates must be registered to vote at local elections at an address within the police area on the date of nomination; in Wales, they must be registered to vote in parliamentary elections, except that overseas electors cannot stand and a local election registration is sufficient for certain people who cannot vote in parliamentary elections, namely peers, "qualifying EU citizens", and "EU citizens with retained rights" (see below for definitions of these terms). Members of the House of Lords are not barred from standing (with the above exception in Wales that they must be registered to vote in local elections in the area). Members of the House of Commons, the European Parliament and the UK's devolved legislatures are not barred from standing but, if they win, they must resign before they can take up a PCC appointment.
Those disqualified from standing or continuing to hold office include:
Anyone who is, or is nominated as a candidate at an election taking place on the same day for, the police and crime commissioner for a different police area. This includes combined authority mayors exercising the responsibilities of a PCC. Anyone who is not: a British citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, a "qualifying Commonwealth citizen" (meaning a Commonwealth citizen who either does not need leave to enter or remain or has indefinite leave to remain in the UK), a "qualifying EU citizen" (a citizen of a country listed in Schedule 6A of the Representation of the People Act 1983 – currently Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain, or Denmark – who does not need leave to remain or has infinite right to remain), or an "EU citizen with retained rights" (meaning a European Union citizen who was settled in the UK at the time of Brexit and has been allowed to retain some rights associated with their citizenship, such as residence and voting in local elections). Anyone who has ever been convicted of an imprisonable offence. This applies even if they were not actually sentenced to imprisonment, or if the conviction is "spent".The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 provides that less serious convictions become "spent" after a period of time, meaning (under section 4 of that Act) the person is treated in law as not having been convicted of the offence. However, this does not affect disqualifications; Section 7(1)(d) of that Act states: "Nothing in section 4(1) above shall affect ... the operation of any enactment by virtue of which, in consequence of any conviction, a person is subject, otherwise than by way of sentence, to any disqualification, ... the period of which extends beyond the rehabilitation period applicable ... to the conviction." Anyone who is a police officer or is directly or indirectly employed by the police, as well as staff of a PCC (except a deputy PCC, who must be temporarily acting as PCC if it is a by-election), the Mayor of London, members of the Common Council of the City of London, and that council's staff in its capacity as police authority. "Staff" in this sense includes contractors. Anyone who is disqualified under certain provisions of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 including civil servants, members of the regular armed forces or the holders of any judicial offices specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (as amended). Anyone who is a member of the legislature of any country or territory outside the UK. Anyone who is a member of staff of a local council that falls wholly or partly within the police area in which the election is to be held – including anyone employed in an organisation that is under the control of a local council in the police area for which the election is to be held. Fire and rescue authorities are also covered if the PCC in question is also ex officio a fire and rescue authority. Anyone who is the subject of a debt relief order or interim order, a bankruptcy restrictions order or interim order, or a debt relief restrictions undertaking. Anyone who is disqualified under the Representation of the People Act 1983 (which covers corrupt or illegal electoral practices and offences relating to donations) or under the Audit Commission Act 1998.
Candidates must secure the signatures of 100 people registered to vote within the force area in which they wish to stand and must pay a deposit of £5,000. A person with an anonymous entry in the register of electors cannot nominate a candidate for election. The appointed Deputy PCC is held to similar criteria as the PCC. During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom the Cabinet Office reduced the number of signatures candidates required on nomination forms in order to reduce social interaction.
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners published a candidate briefing prior to the 2021 elections, setting out "Guidance, advice and information for anyone interested in standing as a candidate in the 2021 Police and Crime Commissioner elections".