Summary
“On 5 May 2016, Police and Crime Commissioners(PCCs) were directly elected by the public across England and Wales for the second time. PCCs –introduced in 2012 – were intended to strengthen the accountability of the police, reconnect the police and the public, and drive innovation and efficiency in policing. To do this, they were granted a range of powers, including setting local police priorities, appointing and dismissing Chief Constables and directing police and crime reduction budgets. The election of a single, locally accountable figure represents a radical change from Police Authorities which previously held Chief Constables to account. Based on one of the first ever empirical studies of PCCs, this report highlights a set of key findings and related recommendations for newly elected PCCs to develop internal capacity and build key relationships that are essential to the unique and challenging role. This report considers key lessons from the first set of PCCs, and focuses on understanding the PCC role, and developing robust and accountable relationships with both Chief Constables and Police and Crime Panels.The research entailed a total of 60 interviews with PCCs, Chief Constables, deputy PCCs, Police andCrime Panel members and other local and national stakeholders between 2012 and 2014. This report also consolidates lessons from other recent reviews ofthe PCC policy, including the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee (2014; 2016), the Committee on Standards in Public Life (2015).”--Page 1.