The role of PCCs, PFCCs and the 2020 elections
Association of Police and Crime Commissioners
With reference to:
https://www.police.uk/information-and-ad...
'PCCs work with the police and other partners to cut crime, give the public a voice at the highest level, and hold forces to account and help restore trust.'
https://www.apccs.police.uk/find-your-pcc/
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_and...
Police area Police and crime commissioner
Avon and Somerset Constabulary Sue Mountstevens (Independent)
Bedfordshire Police Kathryn Holloway (Conservative)
Cambridgeshire Constabulary Jason Ablewhite (Conservative)
Cheshire Constabulary David Keane (Labour)
Cleveland Police Barry Coppinger (Labour)
Cumbria Constabulary Peter McCall (Conservative)
Derbyshire Constabulary Hardyal Dhindsa (Labour)
Devon and Cornwall Police Alison Hernandez (Conservative)
Dorset Police Martyn Underhill (Independent)
Durham Constabulary Ron Hogg (Labour)
Essex Police Roger Hirst (Conservative)
Gloucestershire Constabulary Martin Surl (Independent)
Hampshire Constabulary Michael Lane (Conservative)
Hertfordshire Constabulary David Lloyd (Conservative)
Humberside Police Keith Hunter (Labour)
Kent Police Matthew Scott (Conservative)
Lancashire Constabulary Clive Grunshaw (Labour)
Leicestershire Police Willy Bach (Labour)
Lincolnshire Police Marc Jones (Conservative)
Merseyside Police Jane Kennedy (Independent)
Norfolk Constabulary Lorne Green (Conservative)
Northamptonshire Police Stephen Mold (Conservative)
Northumbria Police Kim McGuinness (Labour)
North Yorkshire Julia Mulligan (Conservative)
Nottinghamshire Police Paddy Tipping (Labour)
South Yorkshire Police Alan Billings (Labour)
Staffordshire Police Matthew Ellis (Conservative)
Suffolk Constabulary Tim Passmore (Conservative)
Surrey Police David Munro (Conservative)
Sussex Police Katy Bourne (Conservative)
Thames Valley Police Anthony Stansfeld (Conservative)
Warwickshire Police Philip Seccombe (Conservative)
West Mercia Police John Campion (Conservative)
West Midlands Police David Jamieson (Labour)
West Yorkshire Police Mark Burns-Williamson (Labour)
Wiltshire Police Angus Macpherson (Conservative)
Dyfed-Powys Police Dafydd Llywelyn (Plaid Cymru)
Gwent Police Jeffrey Cuthbert (Welsh Labour)
North Wales Police Arfon Jones (Plaid Cymru)
South Wales Police Alun Michael (Labour Co-operative)
In Greater London there are two police forces. The City of London is policed by the City of London Police and the City of London Corporation is the police authority. The Metropolitan Police District is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service and the Mayor of London is the police authority through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime. The Mayor may also appoint a Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime to act on his behalf.[29]
The Mayor of Greater Manchester is the police authority for the Greater Manchester Police.
As the above list shows, the list of current PCCs is broadly representative of most political parties. My understanding is that potential PCCs are usually councillors in their areas and nominated for selection by the ruling political party of those councils.
However, I have become aware of the existence of a single-issue pro-bloodsports and hunting activist organisation called Vote-OK:
https://www.vote-ok.co.uk
https://www.vote-ok.co.uk/about_vote-ok
Vote-OK was set up by the Countryside Alliance to target MPs not in support of the Hunting Act and replace them with MPs of their own choosing who would vote for repeal of the Hunting Act.
This is a subversive and insidious campaign which undermines the integrity of the electoral process and the impartial selection of PCCs to manage police budgets, direct appointments of Chief Constables and set policing priorities for the public as a whole.
My questions are as follows:
1. What protocols are in place to prevent this sort of political action from interfering with the process of appointing impartial PCCs at election time in 2020 and for any future PCC elections?
2. Are there plans to minimise the risk of partisan politics by balancing the selection of a PCC from any single political party with an equivalent selection of a Deputy PCC from any other political party so that single-agenda political activist groups cannot gain control of policing via manipulation of the electoral process? The public trust has to be maintained.
'PCCs work with the police and other partners to cut crime, give the public a voice at the highest level, and hold forces to account and help restore trust.'
S Rhosier
Thank you for your email to the Association of Police and Crime
Commissioners. Please accept this email as an acknowledgement of receipt.
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners is the national
membership body for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), and other local
policing bodies across England and Wales. We help PCCs to provide national
leadership and influence change in the policing and criminal justice
landscape. As such, it is not part of our role to respond to reports of
crime, complaints regarding Police Forces, or Police and Crime
Commissioners.
If you would like to report a crime, please contact your local police
force, or alternatively dial 101 if you do not require an emergency
response. You should always call 999 when it is an emergency, such as when
a crime is in progress, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, when there
is danger to life or when violence is being used or threatened.
If you would like to make a suggestion or a complaint about how your local
area is policed, you should contact your local PCC. You can find your
local PCC [1]here.
If you would like to make a complaint about either police officers or
staff working for a police force, then please visit the [2]website.
If you would like to make a complaint about your local Police & Crime
Commissioner, you will need to contact the Police & Crime Panel for your
area. Information on this will be provided by your local council.
If we are otherwise able to respond to your enquiry, we will endeavour to
get back to you within 20 working days.
The APCC is a transparent organisation and complies with the new Data
Protection Regulations. More information about the sort of personal data
we hold, our purpose and lawful basis for doing so and who we share
personal information with can be found in our privacy statement [3]here.
The GDPR gives you new rights about what happens to your personal data and
you have the right to object to us processing your personal information.
Information on how to do this is included in our privacy statement.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.apccs.police.uk/find-your-pcc/
2. https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/
3. http://www.apccs.police.uk/wp-content/up...
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your email of the 9 November 2019, entitled “Freedom of Information request - The role of PCCs, PFCCs and the 2020 elections”.
Please find as follows the answers to the questions in your email:
1. “What protocols are in place to prevent this sort of political action from interfering with the process of appointing impartial PCCs at election time in 2020 and for any future PCC elections?”
During an election, each PCC candidate will present a manifesto to the public setting out their priorities for how the local area is policed. Once elected, PCCs will then develop a Police and Crime Plan in consultation with the Chief Constable, Police and Crime Panels and the public. This process ensures that the Police and Crime Plan reflects the needs and concerns of the local community.
Additionally, the Electoral Commission is responsible for supervising the conduct of PCC elections to ensure they comply with the law. Locally, it is the responsibility of the returning officer to oversee the election and report to the Electoral Commission.
2. “Are there plans to minimise the risk of partisan politics by balancing the selection of a PCC from any single political party with an equivalent selection of a Deputy PCC from any other political party so that single-agenda political activist groups cannot gain control of policing via manipulation of the electoral process?”
We are not aware of any plans for the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act - which determines the appointment of Deputy PCCs - to be amended.
Please note that locally, the Police and Crime Panel provides check and balance with regard to PCCs. Panels are charged to with scrutinising the PCC and dealing with complaints.
Furthermore, in your email you share that your understanding of PCC selection processes is “that potential PCCs are usually councillors in their areas and nominated for selection by the ruling political party of those councils”. Please note that PCCs are selected to stand by local political parties in a similar way to MPs (unless they stand as independents). They are not appointed or nominated by local councils.
We hope that the above helps.
Kind regards,
APCC Secretariat
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The APCC is a transparent organisation and complies with the new Data Protection Regulations. More information about the sort of personal data we hold, our purpose and lawful basis for doing so and who we share personal information with can be found in our privacy statement here. The GDPR gives you new rights about what happens to your personal data and you have the right to object to us processing your personal information. Information on how to do this is included in our privacy statement.
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