Scrapping Police and Crime Commissioners Would Weaken Voter Oversight, Former PCCs Warn

Former PCCs say removing elected oversight risks leaving policing less accountable

Former holders of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) role have warned that the government's plan to abolish PCCs and transfer their powers to mayors or local policing boards from 2028 will reduce direct public accountability for policing.

The Home Office described the PCC experiment as a failure, citing low election turnouts, limited public awareness of the role and potential cost savings of about £100m. Ministers say the functions will be moved to elected mayors or newly formed local policing crime boards to cut "unnecessary bureaucracy".

Steve Turner, who served as Cleveland PCC, warned the transfer could leave areas effectively governed by unelected deputies if mayors delegate PCC responsibilities to their deputies.

"The PCC model, for all its flaws, should have been revamped, it should have been streamlined, it should have been made more accountable to the Home Office," Turner said, adding that mayoral mandates often reflect broader economic priorities rather than specific policing platforms.

Cleveland's Labour PCC Matt Storey challenged the government's savings calculation, saying it includes roughly £87m tied to avoiding separate PCC elections. He argued a simpler alternative would be to hold PCC elections on the same day as other polls — as happens in parts of Tees Valley — which would save money without eliminating the office.

"PCCs have been central to delivering priorities such as the Safer Streets programme and targets on neighbourhood policing, knife crime and violence against women and girls," Storey said. "It is not clear who will lead this work after 2028."

Durham's Labour PCC Joy Allen criticised the way the decision was announced, saying commissioners were told only an hour before the wider public and that there had been no meaningful consultation with PCCs or policing stakeholders.

"It's not in the manifesto, there's been no engagement at all with PCCs or apparently anybody in policing," she said.

The transfer raises practical challenges in areas covered by multiple mayors. For example, Durham falls under the remit of both North East Mayor Kim McGuinness (Labour) and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen (Conservative). The Home Office has since said both mayors would sit on a local policing crime board alongside council leaders and up to two co-opted members.

Ben Houchen welcomed moves to reduce bureaucracy and direct more resources to frontline policing, saying voters care more about fewer crimes than job titles. A spokesperson for Kim McGuinness — a former Northumbria PCC — argued that bringing PCC functions under mayoral control would enable a more joined-up approach to public safety, linking policing to transport, regeneration and skills.

The proposals have divided opinion: supporters say they will improve coordination and reduce duplication; critics say they risk diluting an individually elected check on police forces, could place policing decisions within broader mayoral agendas, and may leave a gap in local accountability if powers are routinely delegated to deputies.

As the 2028 handover approaches, questions remain about how responsibilities will be shared in multi-mayor areas, how savings have been calculated, and who will lead existing national initiatives that PCCs currently deliver locally.